A Brief Look At Snowboarding

Visitors to the Winter Olympics in Nagano Japan in 1998 were witnesses to the debut of snowboarding as an Olympic sport, it having been approved as such in 1994 by the International Olympic Committee. It is not surprising that it reached the world’s largest sports stage. Since the mid 1960s, an ever increasing number of snowboarders have taken to ski slopes around the world. Its popularity as a winter sport is perhaps best understood if you consider that in the mid 1980s snowboarding was allowed on less than ten percent of the ski areas in the United States; today it is permitted on over ninety-five percent.

Not far removed from the design of a skateboard or surfboard, the snowboard is designed to dash down a snow covered slope. Unlike skiing, this sport entails using a piece of equipment that looks like a short wide ski. Snowboarders’ boots are mounted in flexible bindings that are slightly perpendicular to the board, rather than facing forward as in a pair of skis.

Snowboarding’s broadest appeal is among young people. The largest age group of participants falls into the age range of eighteen to twenty-four. There are two primary reasons for this. The first is cost. Whereas a pair of entry-level skis may run from four to six hundred dollars, one can purchase a starter snowboard, with boots and bindings, for approximately two hundred dollars. Or they can go even cheaper through rental. The second reason centers on athletic creativity and the perception that it is “hip.” The sport lends itself to myriad styles, techniques, and tricks.

Freestyle is the most common form of snowboarding to those new to the sport. Few, if any, tricks are incorporated as part of the run down the slope. Freestyle boards are usually wider, more stable, more flexible and lighter than other boards so that beginners can more easily negotiate turns and bumps.

The freeride style is the form most embraced by snowboarders. Freeriders are not limited to the type of terrain they use (i.e., Snow-covered or dry slopes.) Additionally, they will adapt to various snow conditions, such as deep powder or ice. Aerial, surface and halfpipe tricks make up part of the repertoire of the freerider. Freeride boards are stiffer than freestyle types so to better execute hard turns.

The fastest form of boarding is freecarving. Very few jumps or tricks are performed; speed is the essence of freecarving. Carving is usually executed on hard-packed snow and requires hard turns while hurtling down the slope. It is not a style meant for beginners because of the necessity of advanced board control. Freecarve boards (also known as Alpine boards) tend to be longer and narrower than other kinds of boards.

One of the great allures of snowboarding is the chance to perform a variety of tricks. Not unlike surfing or skateboarding, snowboarding tricks involve jumps, twists, and spins. Some of the better known maneuvers are ollies, nollies, melons, poptarts, flails, Japan air, and Canadian bacon.

Snowboarding should continue to grow in popularity as a winter sport. Its acceptance as an Olympic sport and its ever increasing television coverage has brought the sport into the sports mainstream.

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Rio De Janerio Wins 2016 Summer Olympic Games

South America will host the Summer Olympic Games for the first time in 2016, as Rio De Janeiro, Brazil was awarded the honor on Friday. Rio beat out the US choice of Chicago, Illinois along with Tokyo, Japan and Madrid, Spain to earn the right to host the games. Despite a high pressure effort from the American power elite–including President Barak Obama and TV gabfest queen Oprah Winfrey–Chicago was the first city eliminated from contention.

Bookmakers offered odds on the host city choice, with Rio listed as second favorite at +200. Chicago had been the wagering favorite at most books, particularly after President Obama got involved personally in the US bid effort. Chicago was bet as high as a -300 favorite, while Madrid and Tokyo were priced in the +250 range. Some suggest that Tokyo didnt deserve to have such short odds, but was the beneficiary of regional pride from the notoriously enthusiastic betting population of Japan. Despite some media attention to the betting odds, bookmakers reported that they didn’t receive a lot of action on the event.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, got the better of his US counterpart with a passionate speech that stood in marked contrast to Obamas typically baleful collection of talking points. The Brazilian leader stressed the unfairness that South America had never hosted the games in his speech to the committee;

“It is a time to address this imbalance. It is time to light the Olympic cauldron in a tropical country.”

The Olympic committee was apparently swayed by this presentation and paid no mind to Rios many downsides. It is without a doubt the most dangerous of the finalist cities, where drug cartels and armed bands of thugs roam without impunity. Well do to Rio citizens are used to removing watches and jewelry before they drive anywhere lest they be targeted by carjacking brigands. Rios murder rate is also one of the highest in the world. Brazilian bid officials have stressed that security will be a priority at the games and it better be lest the Olympics turn into a bloodbath.

Some IOC members suggested that the summary dismissal of Chicagos bid was more of a rebuke of the notoriously corrupt USOC. The last two Olympics held in the US were tainted by crime and corruption. The’96 Atlanta Olympics were disrupted by a terrorist bombing, while the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games were marred by a well known bribery and corruption scandal. Some suggested that US President Obama’s quick and perfunctory visit was taken as more of an insult by the delegates than anything else.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Greek ceremony kicks off countdown to Vancouver

Here’s the thing about the Olympic torch-lighting ceremony which, come to think about it, is the thing about the entire Olympic movement.

If you believe the Olympics represents something deep and profound about the human condition – and is not just a wildly profitable sports brand – then you believe in all of this.

You believe the Olympic flame is a powerful symbol of peace and unity in the world. You believe the torch relay – which starts Thursday in Greece and wanders around the country for seven days before it’s passed over to VANOC in Athens – has the power to unite the country.

You even believe the torch-lighting ceremony, which kicks off the whole enterprise Thursday, is a timeless ritual which puts us all in touch with the ancient Greeks and the birthplace of democracy.

Now, not all share in this belief, but if you’ve worked on the Vancouver Games night and day for the better part of a decade, you can feel everything the ceremony represents. And standing here on this day – amid the olive trees and the ruins of ancient Olympia – you can’t help but feel the same tug.

“I think (Thursday) is going to be a really special day for all of us,” said Terry Wright, VANOC’s executive vice-president. “For many of us it’s 10 years-plus of work. (Thursday) begins the countdown and 117 days later the flame gets lit in Vancouver in the cauldron.

“I thought it would be neat to see the flame, but I wasn’t expecting to feel as overpowered by the ground we’re standing on and the thought that, 2,500 years ago, this whole idea of people competing in peace began. It’s a great idea and we’re about to do our part to push it along.”

Thursday, at the Temple of Hera and the site of the first Olympic Stadium, a ceremony which is steeped in symbolism will symbolically begin the final countdown to the Vancouver Winter Games. It will begin with a torch lighting by the high priestess, followed by her prayer to the god Apollo, followed by an interpretive dance by seven of the lesser priestesses, and will culminate with the passing of the flame to the first torch bearer in the Greek portion of the relay.

In this case, it’s Vassilis Demitriadis, the Greek slalom specialist who’s taken part in three Olympics.

OK, you can insert your own Greek-skiing joke here, but, the point is, none of this holds up if you start wondering about champion skiers in a Mediterranean country or how you become a high priestess these days.

You just have to suspend your sense of belief. Then it all begins to make sense.

“It’s absolutely stunning to see the emotions in everyone around us today, feel the energy, to look at that flame and the message and the power behind the flame,” said Jim Richards, the program director for the torch relay.

And what message is that?

“The message behind the flame is the message behind the Olympic Games. It’s the spiritual element, it’s enlightenment, it’s brotherhood, it’s peace. It’s all the values we see coming out in the Games.”

Well, maybe not all of them, but let’s press on.

This ceremony has been designed especially for Vancouver 2010 and therein lies a story. This will be the first time the torch-lighting ceremony will be held at the ancient stadium for a Winter Games. In the past, it was held at the De Coubertin Grove, situated just up the hill from the stadium and named for Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics.

Two years ago, however, wild fires consumed much of this area and wiped out the De Coubertin Grove. Those same wildfires – which swept across Greece and resulted in a state of emergency – also threatened the site of the Olympic stadium before they were turned away by a firefighting force augmented by archeologists and townspeople from Olympia.

Powerful forces were at work on this site, that day. Maybe they can’t all be explained but they were still there.