Some Ski and Snowboarding News and Thoughts

While I had nothing worthy of a specific post here’s a few nuggets from recently articles, press releases and other stuff that has come our way.

The Knee Brace is Gone

Back in August I was wondering if it was finally time to ditch my knee brace (you can read the post here; it links to an interesting article on ACL surgery recovery). I’m now pleased to report the brace is (hopefully) gone forever! I ditched it during the current ultimate frisbee season, and frankly I’m not interested in going back. I’ve also ditched it for ice hockey, and am planning not to wear it riding as well.

I felt it was time to lose the brace before it became a crutch. It’s been more than two years since my surgery, so I think the time was right; it provided the support I needed, but wearing it any longer might have made me dependent on it. So far, I don’t feel like I’m favouring one leg or the other without it. I will say this, though: I am MUCH more cognizant of the pressure I put on my knees during sports than I’ve ever been in my entire life. Hopefully this will prevent another injury.

For anyone interested, the knee brace that’s kept me going the past couple of years has been the Donjoy Defiance. You can view the posts I wrote on the brace here. I have nothing but good things to say about it.

New Whistler Lift

I was very excited when I initially heard rumblings out west that a new chairlift had been built on the Creekside part of Whistler Mountain.

Unfortunately, the new lift is a temporary one for pedestrians to easily get between different parts of the Dave Murray Downhill.

Click here to check out the excellent overview at WhistlerBlackcombSnowReport.com.

When Work and Snowboarding Intersect

It’s not often, particularly in my line of work, that I get to connect snowboarding and my job. However, a recent development in the industry I work in now gives me that chance – for one blog post, at least!

If you follow Internet governance issues at all (I know, it doesn’t sound horribly exciting) you’re likely aware that there’s a movement afoot to get a slew of new Top Level Domains (TLDs) introduced. A TLD is a domain name “extension” like .COM, .NET or .ORG. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which governs how and when extensions like these get introduced (among many, many other things), is taking a serious look at adding hundreds more in the near future. So, it’s not unlikely that in 2011 you’ll see all sorts of new extensions, from .ECO to .HORSE. (While there is no confirmed list at this time, I’m aware of at least one group each lobbying for the introduction of both of those extensions.)

Given the company I work for sells domain names, I’ve been keeping a close eye on the progress of this. And as an avid snowboarder and a so-so cyclist, I was pleased to recently discover Adrenaline TLD, which plans to apply to introduce five new extensions: .SKI, .SURF, .BIKE, .BOARD and .SKATE.

“Adrenaline TLD Inc. intends to be at the forefront of this new era by introducing five new Top Level Domains spaces dedicated to the 1 billion global action sports participants, professionals, organizations and corporations,” their site says. “Skiers, surfers, bicyclists, boarders and skaters will find unique navigation opportunities, safe and dedicated content for their passions through the provision of domain names using the .ski, .surf, .bike, .board and .skate extensions.”

I think these guys could be on to something with these extensions. While I certainly don’t think they will reach .COM sales levels (there are currently more than 80 million .COM names on the Internet), you don’t need to sell a zillion domains to be a success in this business. And I think those five extensions are targeted to audiences broad enough that they could move a fair bit of volume and reach avid audiences. Their proposed domain extensions are easy to identify and make mental associations with.

What do you think? Would you buy a .BOARD or .BIKE extension?

I wonder if they’ve thought about .SHRED!