Olympic Snowboarding

Since the introduction of Olympic Snowboarding to the program in 1998 (Nagano, Japan), the sport has continued to explode into the winter sports market as a major player and attraction with vibrant stars, crazy fans, high flying stunts and dramatic moments throughout.

There are some that protested the introduction of snowboarding into the Olympics in 1988, due to the sports split sanctioning with the sport of skiing. Many Proud, Soulful Snowboarders felt that a snowboarding Organization should be the sanctioning body.

At that time, the ISF (International Snowboard Federation) was the potential sanctioning body that wanted to carry the flag for snowboarding. The IOC (International Olympic Commission) disagreed that the ISF had suffient membership and organizational capacity to manage and administer the sport of snowboarding as it relates to the IOC. So, the FIS (Federation International de Ski) was grated the right to represent and manage the sport of Snowboarding to the IOC.

It was a crazy time, but it all worked out. Since then, those soulful riders have had to just accept that the FIS is our sanctioning body, and even that has not been able to hold back to growth of the sport. Snowboarding has become one of the most widely popular and entertaining sports of the Winter Olympics.

The most recent Olympics, held in Vancover, Canada during Febuary 2010, was no exception. The TV ratings during the Mens Halfpipe Final were astronomical as the world tuned in to see if Shaun White could pull it off again, which he did.

Now, there is a very real chance that SNowboarding Slopestyle will also be added to the Olympic lineup as we head toward the next go around in Sochi, Russia. Hang on tight.

Olympic Level Snowboarding on Youtube

Olympic Halfpipe

Olympic Boardercross

The Sport has come a very long way in the past 20 years. I love seeing the level of the riding and the kids across the country that are excited about snowboarding. It will continue to gain presence and power as a respectable member of the winter sport world.

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