Snowboarding
Has Snowboarding Peaked?
To hear the Boston Globe tell it, skiing is finding its ‘cool’ again, and that may signal a drop in popularity for snowboarding. Among the article’s arguments:
- At the X Games, Shaun White was outdone by four feet worth of vertical in the halfpipe by a skier.
- From 2004 to 2005, the most recent statistics available from the National Sporting Goods Association, the number of skiers in the United States grew by 600,000, while the number of snowboarders dropped by 600,000. No word on whether every single one just traded spots with one another.
- According to three 12 year olds interviewed:
“Skiing is the thing now.”
“There’s a lot more options with the tricks. For every trick
for snowboarding, you’ve got two tricks for skiing, because you’ve got
two skis.”
“I don’t know many people who snowboard.”
There’s also some funny counter-arguments from 12 year old snowboarders.
The article isn’t exactly serious, but it does make an interesting point: the introduction of stuff like half-pipes and slopestyle have made skiing cool again. I must say, I’m certainly paying more attention to skiers in the news and television these days, and always stop to watch them in the pipe. Now if someone could only spiff up the older generation of skiers — you know, the ones that still wear one-piece pink and black ski suits on the slopes. 
Discussion
4 comments for “Has Snowboarding Peaked?”
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Yep. An argument I made several months ago back in june of 06.
http://www.ski-blog.com/2006/06/where_did_the_rebel_factor_in.html
The two sports are on a collision course to swap roles again.
Twin tips and jibbing are big and Tanner Hall is everything that Shawn White is.
things are getting over-glorified, the pursuit of money is over-glorified, snow sports are now involved … some things are just better off not being mixed with the media … what they think isnt what we think
I’ve been snowboarding for twelve seasons. I can remember when there were more skiers on the hill than snowboarders. I’ve been told that I was “one of those terrible snowboarders that scrape all the snow off the hill”. I’ve been yelled at by skiers that can’t link turns and thought I was cutting them off.
Skiing is fun, but I don’t think I will ever consider it cooler than Snowboarding. I might be biased, but Snowboarding just seems better to me. It’s smoother, more fluid. When Snowboarders do tricks their aren’t arms and legs and poles all flailing everywhere. I know they are totally in control, they just don’t look like it.
Anyways, to each his own, but I will be a snowboarder for life.
[...] It’s a safe bet at this point to declare that skiing is still more popular than snowboarding. Maybe snowboarding has peaked after all. [...]