Snowboarding began when an engineer from Muskegon, Michigan, named Sherman Poppen, invented a toy for his daugther. He tied to skis together and attached a rope to the end so she would have control. This beought the idea of the "Snurfer". He manufactured the idea and sold about a million snurfers over the next decade.
He started snurfing competitions and attracted enthusiasts from all over the country. One of these was Tom Sims. He was a devotee of skateboarding. He crafted a snowboard in 8th grade and got the idea. He started making commercial snowboards in the 70's and started the idea.
Around this same time Jake Burton Carpenter impressed a crowd at a snurfing competition by making his own binding that attached his feet to his board. That same year he founded Burton Snowboards. He did not sell very many snowboards until later on. People thought that they were too expenisive at $38.
During the 1970s and 1980s as snowboarding became more popular. Creators came up with new mechanisms and designs that turned into todays snowboards.
In 1982 the first National Snowboard race was held near Woodstock, Vermont, at Suicide Six.
In 1983 the first World Championship halfpipe competition was held at Soda Springs, California. Tom Sims organized it.
Today Snowboarding has become very popular and their are many tournaments all over the world. Snowboarding is an olympic sport and also is in the X-games. Terrain parks are a huge hit for snowboarding and there are terrain parks in many of the alpine ski resorts now.
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