I was approached by Crowood Sports Guides asking if I would be interested in writing a book about snowboarding. I accepted the challenge and started typing away at my computer. My brain was so overloaded with information about snowboarding that I found it quite easy to keep the words flowing.
In school I wasn’t the best at English grammar but to be honest, the most important bit is getting the info out of your brain and into written format. Crowood weren’t particularly helpful in correcting any mistakes in grammar so I decided to bring in some support. Sophie Everard is one of my friends and was working for Cooler Magazine at the time. Sophie went through and corrected any mistakes so I could feel confident that I was handing over a polished document.
- 30,000 words
- 96 pages
- 150 colour sequence photographs
Crowood Sports Guides provide sound, practical advice that will make you into a better sportsperson, whether you are learning the basic skills, discovering more advanced techniques or reviewing the fundamentals of your sport. Snowboarding, is the latest addition to this popular sports guides series and gives in-depth background to snowboarding’s progression from enfant terrible of the slopes to mainstream winter sport.
Contents include:
- How to set up a snowboard
- Choosing the right equipment
- Detailed explanation of the correct techniques for boardercross, halfpipe, slopestyle, big air and rails, featuring sequenced photography and diagrams
- Getting the most from Snowboard Parks
- Step-by-step guide to maintaining your board
- Preparing for competition: nutrition and fitness
RRP: £9.99
Available on Amazon.com
PREFACE
Snowboarding is an exciting sport charged with adrenaline. Not only does it keep you extremely fit and active through the winter months, it enters you into the world of a competitive sport that is very lifestyle driven and exhilarating.
In comparison to skiing, snowboarding is still considered to be a relatively new sport, having been displayed in just four Winter Olympic Games. However, in that short space of time the practice, popularity and coverage of snowboarding has rocketed, and the slopes of the world have seen a major change, from being nearly 100% dominated by skiers, to the split being practically even between snowboarders and skiers.
In the early days of snowboarding, mainstream media was quick to paint a caricature of a snowboarder, as a wayward and dangerous adolescent that was a menace to the mountain slopes. Snowboarding has now enjoyed a complete image turnaround and has developed into a both an extremely popular and profitable industry. Global snowboard competitions such as the Half Pipe in the Winter Olympics are heavily televised and receive terrific viewing figures, if not nearly the lion share, in the case of the recent Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Athletes now enjoy lucrative and rewarding careers, bolstered by brand sponsorship and celebrity exposure, and with earnings pushing them to the upper echelons of athlete income.
This book offers an in depth understanding of the sport from it’s infancy to the current day, with a detailed history of how this sport has enjoyed such fast progression and acceptance into the world of competitive sport. A thorough insight into the necessary equipment and exactly how to set up a snowboard, and run-down of the various disciplines, from the Olympic (Halfpipe, Snowboard Cross and the Parallel Slalom), to the non-Olympic (Slopestyle, Big Air and Freeride) are covered in extensive detail.
Approaching the snow park, a daunting and intimidating experience for any snowboarder, will be addressed, as too are the common ‘rules’ of the snow park, which are in place to avoid accidents and crashes. How to tackle jumps, or ‘kickers’, as they are commonly referred to, for the first time, and of course land them, will be covered, as too will the somewhat bewildering terminology commonly used in snowboarding, which to an outsider would seem like a foreign language.
Each section is carefully illustrated and detailed with tips and techniques, sequence photography and diagrams. The correct techniques across each discipline from Olympic and non Olympic are carefully broken down to give a concise understanding of these very different styles of snowboarding. Finally, tips for competition preparation, both for yourself and for your equipment, are addressed, and advice proffered on how you would make a career out of this dynamic sport.
This book is geared at being accessible for both newcomers to the sport and seasoned, more experienced snowboarders.
Dan Wakeham 
Leave a comment