Skiboarding

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Skiboarder performing a grab.

Skiboarding is a winter sport which combines inline skating / ice skating and skiing. Skiboards are generally around 100 centimeters long, symmetrical, twin tipped, and very wide. In addition, they generally have non-release bindings very similar to snowboard hard-boot bindings. However, specialized skiboards are now in the market which may feature ski-like releasable bindings and/or lengths up to 120cm. The sport is often, and incorrectly, called snowblading or skiblading. "Snowblades" are a trademark of Salomon.

1 History
2 Core Companies
3 See Also
4 External links

[edit] History

There is uncertainty about who invented the first true skiboard. Jason Levinthal of Line, Mark Merkel of the now defunct Powder Company, and Micheal Canon formerly of Canon Skiboards all started producing skiboards around 1994. After skiboarding started to become popular, French ski company Salomon released their version of skiboards in response to skiboarding's popularity and experiments such as Atomic's Shorties and Kneissl's Big Feet.

Skiboarding quickly grew in popularity, and soon larger ski companies such as Salomon, K2, etc. started to produce skiboards. This made it hard for many smaller companies like Journey and Imperial to compete, so they were forced into bankruptcy.

Skiboarding was replaced with skiing in the X games, a hard hit to the United Skiboard Series (USS). Professional skiboarders no longer had a forum to compete, and several professional skiboarders including Mike Nick, Iannick B., and Nicky Adams switched to freestyle skiing. The lack of professional circuit caused skiboarding to drop in popularity around 2001.

Since then, skiboarding has been growing a steady following. Some elements of skiboarding are easier to learn than skiing, so many people with little or no experience in snow sports can use it as an easy way to get down the slopes. Skiboards can also be used as a tool to learn skiing, or as a change of pace for advanced skiers. The short length and sidecut of skiboards makes them easier to turn than traditional skis, but their short length also makes it more important to have a centered stance.

In 2004, White Dwarf, a skiboarding video by Bentfilms, was released. This video was the first to highlight the technical possibilities of skiboarding separating it from skiing and showcased the talents of many new riders.

[edit] Core Companies

Skiboarding, like many small sports, has a very tight knit community. There are only a few companies that excusively make skiboarding products. Companies that make only skiboarding products are called "core companies." Core companies:

are owned and operated by skiboarders
make only skiboarding related products
put their profits toward advancing skiboards and skiboarding

Because of the limited market in small sports like skiboarding, these companies often don't make enough money to stay in business. Former core companies in skiboarding that are no longer in business include Groove, Journey, and Imperial.

Line, today famous for its twin tip skis, began exclusively as a skiboarding company. Eventually, Line began making twin tip skis, and stopped focusing on skiboarding. Currently, Line skiboards lack many of the features that originally made them famous. Line no longer uses the industry standard 4x4 binding pattern nor sponsors skiboarders and skiboard events.

Since Line switched its focus from skiboards to twin tip skis, several new companies have stepped up to fill the void left in skiboarding. These companies include: