All You Need to Know About Snowboarding Classes for Beginners

Learning new hobbies can be exciting for most people. You get to have fun and learn, and at the very same time, take care of yourself. Snowboarding is exciting, but it is also vital that you remember it is an extreme sport and it will require a lot from you. However, it is also an opportunity to explore the beautiful snowy mountains as you fall in love with all that nature has to offer.

What Is On Offer

For beginners, there’s a need to learn how to snowboard from certified instructors, and this is precisely what you get from snowboarding classes. Also, you get to improve your skills gradually as you build your confidence on the snow.

Beginner lessons cover an array of points, such as;

How to use the equipment.
The basics to snowboarding like how to stand with your feet strapped.

There are several types of lessons offered. These vary according to the client’s preference. Some are individual training sessions, while others accommodate groups. There are also options for children and others for adults.

Things You Should Do Before Going to Class

As earlier mentioned, snowboarding is an extreme sport. It challenges your physique, and you might have a hard time after the first class. Thus, before attending your lesson, make sure you exercise. This tests your body and makes it easier for you on the snow.

Learning something new brings surprises, you might get hurt on the snow, though just a little. It is advisable to carry protective equipment in case you fall to avoid bruising. The gear should be for your kneecaps and elbows.

It is advisable that you rent out your equipment, we are not sure you will like snowboarding, but we are hoping you do. Renting is also cheaper than buying the entire set. Most training facilities have rentals. Remember, you cannot get innerwear, mittens or gloves, so you need to bring your own.

Ensure you test out your coordination and balancing abilities. In the beginning, it will prove difficult to stand with both feet strapped, but if your balance is on point, you will get the hang of it. And you are in for a fantastic experience snowboarding.

With every milestone you make on the snow, like making your first turn, you will be glad you decided to try it out. Snow is fun and exciting. You get to learn in the hands of world-class instructors who take pride in teaching you how to snowboard like a champion.

Finally, remember you are going on the snow, it will be cold. It is crucial to buy thermal wear. Keep warm as you have fun.

Snowboarding History

Modern snowboarding began in 1965 when Sherman Poppen, an engineer in Muskegon, Michigan, invented a toy for his daughters by fastening two skis together and attaching a rope to one end so he would have some control as they stood on the board and glided downhill. Dubbed the "snurfer" (combining snow and surfer) by his wife Nancy, the toy proved so popular among his daughters' friends that Poppen licensed the idea to a manufacturer, Brunswick Corporation, that sold about a million snurfers over the next decade. And, in 1966 alone, over half a million snurfers were sold.[4] Later versions of the "snurfer" were flat planks of wood with a pointed bent upward tip with a rope connected to help keep control of the board and later models closer to the modern snowboard made up of various components.[citation needed] In February 1968, Poppen organized the first snurfing competition at a Michigan ski resort that attracted enthusiasts from all over the country.[5] One of those early pioneers was Tom Sims, a devotee of skateboarding (a sport born in the 1950s when kids attached roller skate wheels to small boards that they steered by shifting their weight). As an eighth grader in Haddonfield, New Jersey, in the 1960s, Sims crafted a snowboard in his school shop class by gluing carpet to the top of a piece of wood and attaching aluminum sheeting to the bottom.[6] He produced commercial snowboards in the mid-70s.[citation needed][7] Articles about his invention in such mainstream magazines as Newsweek helped publicize the young sport.[citation needed] The pioneers were not all from the United States; in 1976, Welsh skateboard enthusiasts Jon Roberts and Pete Matthews developed their own snowboards to use at their local dry ski slope.[8][9][citation needed] Also during this same period, in 1977, Jake Burton Carpenter, a Vermont native who had enjoyed snurfing since the age of 14, impressed the crowd at a Michigan snurfing competition with bindings he had designed to secure his feet to the board. That same year, he founded Burton Snowboards in Londonderry, Vermont.[10] The "snowboards" were made of wooden planks that were flexible and had water ski foot traps. Very few people picked up snowboarding because the price of the board was considered too high at $38 an were not allowed on many ski hills, but eventually Burton would become the biggest snowboarding company in the business.[11] Burton's early designs for boards with bindings became the dominant features in snowboarding. In the early 1980s, Aleksey Ostatnigrosh and Alexei Melnikov, two Snurfers from the Soviet Union, patented design changes to the Snurfer to allow jumping by attaching a bungee cord, a single footed binding to the Snurfer tail, and a two-foot binding design for improved control