History: The history of snowboarding is unlike that of other winter sports, some of which are thousands of years old. It has only been within the past 30 years that snowboarding has caught on, with the credit going to Sherman Poppen, of Muskegon, Mich. In 1964, Poppen built a snowboard after watching his daughter try to slide down a hill while standing on her sled. His invention became popular enough to attract the attention of the Brunswick Corp., who manufactured the "Snurfer" for about $10 each. It was 14-year-old Jake Burton Carpenter who, after using the Snurfer, decided it could use some adjustments. By the time he was 23, in 1977, Carpenter, using an inheritance he had gotten from his grandmother, had founded Burton Snowboards, now the world's largest snowboard manufacturer.
By the mid-1980s, snowboarding's popularity erupted. According to industry estimates, snowboarders spent more than $150 million on boards and gear in 1997.
The first National Snowsurfing Championship took place in 1982 at Suicide Six Ski Area in Woodstock, Vt. Downhill and slalom races were featured, and, a year later, the halfpipe was introduced. The first snowboarding World Cup was held in 1987, with two events in both Europe and America. On Dec. 5, 1995, the International Olympic Committee announced that snowboarding would become a medal event in Nagano.
Snowboarding
No Grab: Twisting or arching while going up.