Super Sonico Magazine May. 2014 | Page 28

SNOWBOARDING Now that we have learned about Norway, we can focus on this specific sport. A sport which demands discipline, courage and passion. 2 7 Super Sonico | Magazine Snowboarding, like its surfing and skateboarding ancestry, is as much a lifestyle and culture as it is a popular sport. Its popularity is attributed to a freedom of expression rarely enjoyed by many mainstream sports. Snowboarding can be enjoyed recreationally (for fun), with around 2 million people in the UK travelling to winter playgrounds every year, or competitively at both amateur and professional levels. It may not come as news that skiing was initially devised as a method for travelling across snowy plains and not for cranking huge powder turns in the name of fun. It may, however, surprise you to learn that examples of rock carvings discovered in the Arctic rim, depict men standing on what appear to be very long skis, and date back as long as 5000 years ago... yep, Stone-age rippers!