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| SnowBoarding Pictures! |
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| TIMELINE OF SNOWBOARDS! |
1965: Sherman Poppen invents the "Snurfer" for his kids by bolting
two skis together.
1968: The first "Snurfer" contest is held at Blockhouse Hill, outside
Muskegan, Mich. The contest runs annually for 10 years.
1970: Inspired by sliding on cafeteria trays in upstate New York,
East Coast surfer Dimitrije Milovich starts developing snowboards "based
on surfboards design with a rudimentary idea of how skis work." The boards
had metal edges, which pre-dates all other claims by 15 years.
1971: Milovich is granted a patent for his snowboard design. He never
renews it and the patent expires in 1988.
1975: Milovich sets up Winterstick production in Utah and develops
a swallow-tail board based on the same design in surfboards. One year later,
he creates a double-edged design which he also patents. Milovich and Winterstick
are featured in the March issue of Newsweek and have a two-page photo
spread in Powder magazine, giving snowboarding some early national
exposure.
1977: Milovich obtains a written confirmation from Petit-Morey and
Kendall Insurance, the insurance brokers for America's ski resorts, that
snowboards are in fact covered under regular ski liability. This proves that
resort acceptance is based on the mountain manager's preference.
1978: Milovich retails Wintersticks in 11 different foreign
countries.
1979: At the annual "Snurfer" contest held in Michigan, Jake Burton
Carpenter tries to enter his own equipment. There are protests about his
non-Snurfer snowboard design. An open division is created which only Jake
enters and wins.
1980: Burton, Flite and Winterstick both utilize a P-Tex base on their
prototype boards, introducing ski technology to the industry.
1982: Paul Graves organizes the National Snowsurfing Championships
held a Suicide Six Ski Area in Woodstock, Vt., featuring a slalom and downhill.
This is the first time riders from all over the country compete against each
other. The contest draws media from the likes of Sports Illustrated,
NBC's "Today" show, and "Good Morning America."
1983: Burton Carpenter puts on the National Snowboarding Championships
in the spring at Snow Valley, Vt. Tom Sims holds the inaugural World Snowboarding
Championships at Soda Springs Ski Bowl in the Lake Tahoe area and it becomes
the first competition to have a halfpipe event.
1984: Jeff Grell designs the first highback binding, enabling snowboards
to be ridden effectively on hardpack. The bindings were first developed for
Flite Snowboards then later for Sims Snowboards.
1985: "Absolutely Radical," the first magazine exclusively about
snowboarding, appears in March. Six months later the name is changed to
"International Snowboard Magazine."
1986: The World Classic (later renamed the World Snowboarding
Championships, or the "Worlds") relocates from Soda Springs to Breckenridge,
Colo. The March event draws big sponsorship money from watchmaker
Swatch.
1987: A group of progressive snowboarders headed by Juris Vagners
of the PSIA work together to develop the first PSIA manual for snowboard
instructors.
Versatile Productions and Snowsurfing International of Aspen, Colo. co-produce
the first ever nationally televised snowboarding event, the "Aspen Grand
Prix of Snowboarding."
1988: Veteran surf company Ocean Pacific warms up to snowboarding
by developing its own line of winter clothing. It also sponsors the "OP Aspen
Grand Prix of Snowboarding," which begins OP's involvement in professional
snowboarding competitions.
1989: OP further expands its involvement in snowboarding by holding
the first OP Pro of Snowboarding at June Mountain, Calif.
1990: In June, Breckenridge Ski Corp. announces plans to house the
Snowboarding Hall of Fame, with artifacts from the sport's not-so-distant
past.
1992: Snowboarding commands over $340 million dollars in total
sales.
