Snowboarding in Turkey

Snowboarding in Turkey

Faculty of Engineering, Eastern Mediterranean University 1

SNOWBOARDING IN TURKEY

TERM PROJECT

Submitted To

Hatice Güneyyeli

at

Eastern Mediterranean University

by

Tamer TUNALI

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course

ENGL201 Technical Report Writing

General Education Department

Modern Languages Division

Gazimağusa, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

14 June, 2010



ABSTRACT

This report is about snowboarding, which may be considered one of the most

popular winter sports in all around the world. The purpose of this report is to inform

people about snowboarding and its features. The report initially presents definition and

history of snowboarding; then it shows snowboarding styles and snowboard types, as

well as snowboarding in Olympics and in Turkey. The report recommends that,

everyone, and even those who have a little interest, should learn snowboarding.



TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………….……iv

INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………...…….1

DEFINITION AND HISTORY OF SNOWBOARDING……….…………............2

Overview: What is Snowboarding?...............…………………………….…...….2

Origin of Snowboarding ……………………………………...…………........…..2

Popularity of Snowboarding…….…..……………………………………………4

SNOWBOARDING STYLES, TYPES AND EQUIPMENTS …………....………6

Snowboarding Styles …………………………………...………………...……….6

Freeriding or All Mountain Riding ………………………………………………6

Freestyle Riding………………………………………………………..…………7

Freecarve or Alpine Snowboarding………………………………………………7

Snowboard Types……………………………………………………….………….8

Freeride or All Mountain Boards…………………………………………………8

Freestyle Boards…………………………………………………………………..9

Carving, Alpine or Race Boards…………………………...……………………..9

SNOWBOARDING IN OLYMPICS & IN TURKEY……….…………………...10

Snowboarding In Olympics……………………………………………………...10

Snowboarding In Turkey………………………………………………….……..11

Heli-Boarding in Turkey……………………….………………………….……12

CONCLUSION…….………………………………………………………………..13

REFERENCES……….……………………………………………………………..14



LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Snurfer.............................................................................................................2

Figure 2. Old Man Snowboarding..................................................................................3

Figure 3. Freeriding…....................................................................................................6

Figure 4. Freestyle…......................................................................................................7

Figure 5. Freecarving…………………………………………............................…….7

Figure 6 . Sandwiched Construction..............................................................................8

Figure 7. Freeride Snowboard.….………………..........................................................8

Figure 8. Freestyle Snowboard......................................................................................9

Figure 9. Alpine Snowboard..........................................................................................9

Figure 10. Half-Pipe.....................................................................................................10

Figure 11. Snowboarders at the Peak...........................................................................12



INTRODUCTION

Snowboarding is one of the most popular and the fastest growing winter sports

in all around the world. According to Encyclopedia of Wikipedia snowboarding is a

“sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard

attached to a rider's feet”. Snowboarders from every age are riding all over the

mountains, performing unbelievable tricks. It is not just performed on the mountains,

but also in parks or on rails like a skateboard. For example, companies search for

better boards, turn the wooden piece of board into today’s snowboard with a lot of

different technologies. Snowboarding is still developing with new tricks and new

technologies.

This report will be about snowboarding. The primary aim of this report is to

inform about the history of snowboarding, styles of riding, equipments and

snowboarding in competitions such as Olympics. This report will show the differences

between riding styles and what types of boards used for each style of riding and its

brief specifications. The intended readers of the report are those who are interested in

snowboarding, and thinking about to start snowboarding.

The three parts of this report present (1) definition and history of

snowboarding, (2) snowboarding styles and equipments, and (3) snowboarding

competitions in the world and snowboarding in Turkey. The first part will give

information about snowboarding and its origin. The second part will show

snowboarding styles and equipment types. The final part will focus on snowboarding

in Olympics like half-pipe competitions, and snowboarding in Turkey such as

developing ski centers with snowparks and best places to get started.



DEFINITION AND HISTORY OF SNOWBOARDING

Overview: What is Snowboarding?

According to Encyclopedia of Britannica, snowboarding is a “winter sport

evolved from skateboarding and surfing… Developed in the 1960’s, snowboarding

was believed to have originated in the United States, where several inventors exploded

the idea of surfing on the snow”. In simple words, snowboarding is riding a board on

the snow with your feet strapped on it, but it is much more than just going down the

hill; it is a sport which offers freedom of self expression and a truly unique feeling.

Origin of Snowboarding

There is nothing

certain about who created this

sport first, but the first

commercial object as a

snowboard was invented by

Sherman Poppen in 1965 and

it was called “The Snurfer”, a

combination of snow surfer.

Figure 1. Snurfer.

Note. Sports hall of fame.

(2004). Retrieved on May 16,

2010 from the World Wide

Web:http://www.mashf.com/

2001_inductees.htm

http://uk.gizmodo.com/2006/10/26/#098653




The Snurfer was like a long skateboard deck with a rope attached at the tip of it

which offered some control to the rider. It had no bindings to strap the feet on it.

Snowboarding started to become popular in the 70’s and 80’s by snowboarding

pioneers such as Shawn Farmer, Tom Sims and Jake Burton who started to create their

own companies and came up with new board designs, materials etc. There have been

definitely a lot of creativity and development, as well as failure during the evolution of

snowboard. One of the greatest developments came from Jake Burton. He started to

make snowboards from fibre-glass in 1979 and he added bindings for better control.

Another major development was adding steel edges in 1980 which allowed boarders to

ride on hard snow and ice. All these developments turned the snurfer into the

snowboard that we all know today. Snowboarding is still developing with new

technologies and ideas.

However, there is an interesting fact

about the oldest snowboard and snowboarder

ever known. Inhabitants of Petran (a village in

Rize) have been riding something called

“Üzme” for over more than 150 years. So,

Petran is the first place ever known people

started standing sideways on boards and

gliding down the hills. Üzme is a lot like the

Snurfer but it is much older. The only

difference from the Snurfer is that a wooden

stick made from hazel is used to give more

control to board. About 90 percent of this

Figure 2. Old man snowboading.

Note. Ritzer, B. (2008). Retrieved on May

22, 2010 from the World Wide Web:

http://blog.jonessnowboards.com/2008/09/

the-origin-of-snowboarding-discovered/





small town’s people ride and none of them have ever skied before. The equipment has

stayed true to its origins up to today. Professional gold medalist Swiss snowboarder

Ueli Kestenholz came to this place in 2005 and he was amazed about what he saw. A

few years later, another professional rider Jeremy Jones visited this town. They both

agreed that this is the real origin of snowboarding. Jones (2008) describes that:

We met up with the oldest rider in the village, Selim. Seventy

years old, and started riding in 1946. He has been riding almost

daily for 62 years and it shows. Gimpl and I dropped in next to him

and he took off effortlessly, standing tall and proud as we did all

we could to hold on. The sport was started out of necessity to get

around the village in deep snow. The boards are so perfect for the

terrain and snow conditions that the equipment had hardly changed

in 150 years.

After their discovery, their fans and some other people started to believe that the real

origin of snowboarding is Turkey. In 2008, Redbull sponsored a competition in this

small town between snowboarders with new equipments, and inhabitants of Petran

with their 150 years old boards. Even though it’s unbelievable, old boarders won in

the deep snow.

Popularity of Snowboarding

When snowboarding first became popular, people didn’t know what it was as

there were no instructors, no lessons or any books. It was an unknown sport and in 25

years, it is spreaded in all around the world. Alaska snowboarding pioneer Farmer

(2005) states that back in 70’s and 80’s snowboarding was free and wild, wherever



you go on the mountains you knew that no one else ever ridden there before. It was

about discovering and having fun.

It wasn’t all perfect for the boarders. At the beginning years of snowboarding,

snowboarders were restricted from ski resorts. They had a lot of problems with the ski

industry, ski resorts and skiers in general. For ski resorts, snowboarding was

something temporary unlike skiing. Snowboarders were just young people with a lot

of energy back in 80’s, trying skateboard maneuvers on their snowboard and crashing

all the time. Skiers saw this new thing and they didn’t understand what it was, so they

rejected and tried to ban it. Also it was starting to be a competition for ski industry

which wasn’t something they wanted. After the construction of big ski resorts in the

80’s, they began to welcome snowboarders for their profit. CEO of Aspen Skiing Co.

Pat O’Donnell (2005) states “there was a prejudice from skiers toward

snowboarders… Even though I’m a little bit of a geezer, I’ve been snowboarding

myself full-time for six years. I’ve never been back on skis”. There are a lot of people

like Donnell who never returned back on skis after trying snowboard. And today

snowboarders are almost as much as skiers in most of the world.



SNOWBOARDING STYLES, TYPES AND EQUIPMENTS

Snowboarding Styles

After learning how to ride a snowboard properly, it is important to choose a

riding style because it will determine the snowboard equipment the rider has to use

and also where the rider will be riding such as at the slopes, off-piste on untouched

snow, in the park on rails, etc. Each style has its own competitions. There are three

main riding styles as follows:

Freeriding or All Mountain Riding

According to ABC-of-Snowboarding

freeriding is about “mastering an all-around style

that will allow you to ride, carve and jump on any

terrain On Piste and Off Piste”. Freeriding is not

the best style for making big jumps and to be on

air, it is good for the riders spending most of their

times on the ground rather than in the air but also

for those who want to make jumps and be a

freestyler from time to time. It is the most popular

style in the world and most suitable for beginners.

Figure 3. Freeriding.

Note. Tomoarigato. Retrieved on May


http://tomoarigato.com/HowToChoose

Snowboard.com/page2.html





Freestyle Riding

ABC-of-Snowboarding notes that this

style of riding, “adrenaline rushes and is

considered by many the most spectacular and

wild style of snowboarding. It involves doing

tricks both on and off the air in snowboard

parks”. On the ground most of the tricks are

performed using rails, boxes, tables and so on. It

is not the best category for riding off-piste but there are no limits for freestyle, so it

involves also doing tricks off-piste. Freestyle competitions are more popular than

others because there is more risk and also adrenaline.

Freecarve or Alpine Snowboarding

According to ABC-of-Snowboarding

freecarve or alpine snowboarding focuses on

“speed and is concerned with the ultimate

carving turn. It is about expanding the full

length of the mountain, and making impressive,

high speed slalom turns as you go downhill”.

Because of the high speed, the turns get very

powerful and it requires a lot of strength and

energy. This is not a good category for beginners and those who just want to enjoy the

mountain by making slow turns and do a couple of tricks.

Figure 4. Freestyle.

Note. Ehow. Retrieved on May 14, 2010

from the World Wide Web: http://www.

ehow.com/videos-on_8664_snowboard-

tricks-jumps.html

Figure 5. Freecarving.

Note. Jelling, J. Retrieved on May 14,

2010 from the World Wide Web:

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/

alpinesnowboarding






Snowboard Types

There are different boards in the market and

each board shows differences for any skill level, snow

type and riding style. According to Encyclopedia of

Wikipedia, snowboards are “generally constructed of

a hardwood core which is sandwiched between

multiple layers or fiberglass”. By developing

technologies, lighter and stronger materials are used

like Carbon Fibre, which has a low weight than steel

but stronger. There are also differences between the

materials used in boards for each riding style. For example, manufacturers use more

flexible materials when producing freestyle boards because flex helps to control the

board easier which is something required to do tricks. There are three main types of

boards for three riding style:

Freeride or All Mountain Boards

These boards are the most popular

because they have a wide range of area to use

but they are not the best in any specific category

like park or pipe riding. They have a directional

shape which means it’s for riding primarily in

one direction. They have sharp steel edges to use on every surface, even on ice. Their

flex is not too much or stiff either. More flex help for more easy turns and less flex

Figure 6. Sandwiched

Construction.

Note. ABC-of-Snowboarding.

Retrieved on May 14, 2010

from the World Wide Web:

http://www.abc-of-

snowboarding.com

Figure 7. Freeride Snowboard.

Note. Burton Custom. Retrieved on May


http://www.burton.com






makes is stable at high speeds. Freeride boards are in the middle. This is a Burton

Custom in Figure 7, one of the most selling freeride boards of all the time.

Freestyle Boards

These boards are wider, shorter, lighter and

more flexible than any other boards so they are

easier to maneuver and perform tricks but they are

not stable at high speeds because they are short and

flexible unlike long and stiff freecarve boards for

high speeds. Most of them are in twin shape which makes riding switch, also called

fakie, easier.

Carving, Alpine or Race Boards

These type of boards are narrower than

any other type of boards. They are also long and

stiff and designed for high speeds. They are best

for making quick turns. They have very good

steel edges for stability so it grabs the surface

perfect on high speeds. They are constructed for riding only on one direction and they

are not for performing tricks. They look like a wider ski and preferred by advanced

riders who like high speeds.

Figure 8. Freestyle Snowboard.

Note. Burton Dominant. Retrieved

on May 10, 2010 from the World

Wide Web: http://www.burton.com

Figure 9. Alpine Snowboard.

Note. Goltes. Retrieved on May 10, 2010

from the World Wide Web:

http://www.abc-of-snowboarding.com





SNOWBOARDING IN OLYMPICS & IN TURKEY

Snowboarding In Olympics

Snowboarding has become so popular around the world in the 90’s so the

International Olympic Committee decided to make it an Olympic sport in 1994.

Snowboarding first appeared in the Olympics at Nagano, Japan in 1998. Two events

made in that year, the giant slalom which is similar to ski event and a half-pipe

freestyle event in which

competitors perform tricks

while going from one side of a

semi-circular pile of snow to

the other. In 2002 the giant

slalom turned into parallel

giant slalom which is an event

that involves head-to-head

racing. A third event added in

2006 and it was called snowboard cross which the competitors race with each other

down a course with jumps and other obstacles. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in

Vancouver, Shaun White won his second gold in the half-pipe. White recorded a score

high enough to secure the gold medal without a second run. He performed his second

run as a victory lap and he finished his run with a trick called “Double McTwist 1260”

which he named “The Tomahawk”. Only two snowboarders in the world performed

this trick for now and the other one is “Podladtchikov” from Russia.

Figure 10. Half Pipe.

Note. BBC Sport. (2006). Retrieved on May 14, 2010 from

the World Wide Web: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/

other_sports/winter_sports/4542266.stm




Snowboarding In Turkey

Snowboarding in Turkey have started getting popular at the end of 90’s and

nowadays, ski centers like the one in Uludağ are full of snowboarders. It seems that

every year more young people are starting this sport and attending to winter festivals

such as Snowfest and Whitefest, which are getting more popular among the university

students. Places to snowboard in Turkey are Uludağ (Bursa), Kartalkaya (Bolu),

Sarıkamış (Kars), Palandöken (Erzurum), Erciyes (Kayseri), Kartepe (İzmit), Davraz

(Isparta), Bozdağ (İzmir) and Ilgaz (Kastamonu).

Uludağ is one of the first ski centers in Turkey. It offers the most alternative

with the number of pistes and ski resorts and it is preferred by most of the skiers and

boarders. The total length of 20 pistes in Uludağ is about 25km’s. Kartalkaya has two

ski resorts and Dorukkaya Hotel opened the biggest snowpark in Turkey in 2009

which made this place one of the most popular snowboarding areas in Turkey. While

Kartalkaya offers great freestyle riding opportunities, Sarıkamış has the best quality of

snow in Turkey which is in perfect crystal shape and it’s the best place to ride off-piste

in deep snow without the risk of avalanches. Erciyes is also great with its smooth and

non-perpendicular pistes for new beginners. Thus, Palandöken in Erzurum has the

most upright and difficult slopes. Although there are many places to snowboard,

snowboarding still needs to be developed in Turkey. Unfortunately, there is no half-

pipe in Turkey for today but with the help of a couple of sponsors, snowboarders may

be able to use half-pipes in the near future.



Heli-Boarding in Turkey

There is also opportunity to heli-

board in Turkey. According to Wikipedia

Heli-board or heli-skiing is “off-trail,

downhill skiing that is accessed by a

helicopter, not a ski lift. Heliskiing is

essentially about skiing in a natural –

albeit highly selected – environment

without the effort or gear compromise

required for hiking into these areas as in ski touring or ski mountaineering”.

Professional riders all over the world come to Turkey to taste the feeling of freedom

when riding down from the peak of the Kaçkar Mountains which is located in the

north-east of Turkey, on the shores of the Black Sea. Heli-Boarding is only for

professionals and it has serious risks like avalanches and getting lost in the deep snow.

Alaska snowboarding pioneer Farmer (2005) states “unless you are fully prepared to

be in a situation of life or death, you shouldn’t be up here”, which shows the

seriousness of this sport. To prevent these risks, the heli-boarding companies are

providing gears like a GPS (Global Positioning System) device to riders and following

them with a Helicopter.

Figure 11. Snowboarders at the peak.

Note. Heliskiing. (2008). Retrieved on May

26, 2010 from the World Wide Web: http://

www.heliskiingreview.com/heliskiingreview/i

mages/operators/56Nu9066/32RO9064_Helib

oarding%20Alaska%20Drop%20Off.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_environment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski_touring

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski_mountaineering





CONCLUSION

In this report, I have presented history of snowboarding, snowboarding styles

and types, as well as snowboarding in Olympics and Turkey. Afterwards, I have

informed about an interesting fact about the origin of snowboarding that is the oldest

snowboard ever known is in Turkey, named as “Üzme”. In addition, I focused on three

styles of snowboarding which are freeride, freestyle and freecarve and the most

popular style is freeride because it involves riding any kind of terrain. I have also

explained the three types of boards for each style and snowboarding in Turkey with

great places to ride. In my opinion, nowadays snowboarding is becoming one of the

most popular winter sports with different styles and unlimited tricks to learn; therefore

it is important to keep it popular especially in Turkey, as snowboarding in Turkey can

be more popular by building half-pipes and snow parks in major ski areas like Uludağ

and this way, snowboarders in Turkey can improve themselves to compete with other

competitors from different countries. This will also attract more tourists to the

unknown beautiful mountain resorts like the one in Sarıkamış. In a final manner,

snowboarding is a great sport with a lot of attraction and I think everyone, and even

those who have a little interest, should learn snowboarding.



REFERENCES

ABC of Snowboarding. (2003). Snowboarding basics & background information.

Retrieved April 15, 2010 from the World Wide Web: http://www.abc-of-

snowboarding.com/info/snowboarding-basics.asp

Curly, K. (Producer), & Harrison, K (Director). (2005). First Descent.

Heliskiing. Online Encyclopedia of Wikipedia . Retrieved May 16, 2010 from the

World Wide Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliskiing

Jones, J. (2008, September 13). The origin of snowboarding discovered. Retrieved

May 02, 2010 from the World Wide Web: http://blog.jonessnowboards.com/

2008/09/the-origin-of-snowboarding-discovered/

Shaun White. Online Encyclopedia of Wikipedia. Retrieved April 10, 2010 from the

World Wide Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_White

Snowboard TR. (2009, October 26). Snowboarding in Turkey. Retrieved May 05,

2010 from the World Wide Web: http://www.snowboard.gen.tr/index5.htm

Snowboard Types. Online Encyclopedia of Wikipedia. Retrieved April 10, 2010 from

the World Wide Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowboard

Snowboarding. Online Encyclopedia of Britannica. Retrieved May 02, 2010 from the

World Wide Web: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/550613/

snowboarding

Snowboarding. Online Encyclopedia of Wikipedia. Retrieved April 10, 2010 from the

World Wide Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowboarding

Snowboarding at the Winter Olympics. Online Encyclopedia of Wikipedia.

Retrieved May 16, 2010 from the World Wide Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/

wiki/Snowboarding_ at_the_Winter_Olympics

Snowboarding in Turkey

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