Para snowboard is a winter sport consisting of

racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...

down a snow-covered surface while standing or sitting on a

snowboard Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Mar ...

. An adaptation of

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

for athletes with physical impairments in different classifications, it is governed by the

International Ski and Snowboard Federation The International Ski and Snowboard Federation, also known as FIS (), is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. It was previously known as the International Ski Federation () until 26 May 2022 when the name was cha ...

(FIS). The parasport comprises five events:

snowboard cross Snowboard cross, also known as boardercross, is a snowboard competition in which four to six competitors race down a course. Snowboard cross courses are typically quite narrow and include cambered turns, various types of jumps, berms, rollers, ...

, team snowboard cross, banked slalom, dual banked slalom, and

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding competitive discipline. It involves racing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in Slalom skiing, slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant sl ...

. At the

Winter Paralympic Games The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. Th ...

, Para snowboard events were included as part of the Para alpine skiing programme in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, and has been its own

Paralympic sport The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

since

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

. The World Para Snowboard Championships were held for the first time in 2015.

History

In the 1600s, residents in the

Kaçkar Mountains The Kaçkar Mountains (; , ''Kajkar''), formerly known as the Lazistan Mountains or the Mountains of Khaghtik(), are a mountain range that rises above the Black Sea coast in northeastern Turkey. With the highest peak, Kaçkar Dağı, at an elevat ...

of Turkey used lazboards, rectangular boards with a rope attached to the front, for traversing snow. Around the same time, miners in Austria made use of a similar board called the ''Knappenross''. In 1965, the

Snurfer The Snurfer was the predecessor of the snowboard. It was a monoski, ridden like a snowboard, but like a skateboard or surfboard, it had no binding. According to the 1966 patent by inventor Sherman Poppen, it was wider and shorter than a pai ...

was developed as the precursor of the modern

, initially made from binding two

ski Skis are runners, attached to the user's feet, designed to glide over snow. Typically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partially secured heel. For climbing slopes, ski skins c ...

Snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

then rose in popularity in the late 20th century and it was included as an

Olympic sport Olympic sports are sports that are contested in the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games. The 2024 Summer Olympics included 32 sports; the 2022 Winter Olympics included seven sports. Each Olympic sport is represented at the Internation ...

starting with the 1998 Paralympics, partly due to its appeal to a younger demographic. Formerly called adaptive snowboard, Para snowboard was governed by the World Snowboard Federation (WSF) until 2010, when a memorandum of understanding was signed to transfer governance to

World Para Snowboard The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; ) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nin ...

in collaboration with the WSF to continue the sport's development. At the time, World Para Snowboard also worked with the

(FIS) on various technical aspects. Since July 2022, the sport is governed by the FIS, as is Para alpine skiing and Para cross-country skiing. According to the

International Paralympic Committee The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; ) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nin ...

(IPC), "Para" should always be capitalised and followed by a space.

Classification

As of 1 October 2022, the IPC recognises three classifications, which is conducted by officials certified by the FIS: * SB-LL1: more significant impairments in at least one leg. Athletes may use

prostheses In medicine, a prosthesis (: prostheses; from ), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through physical trauma, disease, or a condition present at birth (congenital disorder). Prosthe ...

. * SB-LL2: less significant impairments in at least one leg. * SB-UL: impairments in at least one arm. People with impairments in both upper and lower limbs can choose to be assessed for either an upper- or a lower-limb impairment.

Events

The FIS describes the following five events: *

Snowboard cross Snowboard cross, also known as boardercross, is a snowboard competition in which four to six competitors race down a course. Snowboard cross courses are typically quite narrow and include cambered turns, various types of jumps, berms, rollers, ...

(SBX) * Team snowboard cross * Banked slalom * Dual banked slalom *

Giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding competitive discipline. It involves racing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in Slalom skiing, slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant sl ...

Competitions

The FIS sanctions Para snowboard competitions at three levels: global, continental, and national. The first level consists of the Paralympic Winter Games, the World Para Snowboard Championships, and the Para Snowboard World Cup. The second level of competitions comprises five Para Snowboard Continental Cups—the European Cup (EC), the North American Cup (NAC), the South American Cup (SAC), the Asian Cup (AC), and the Australia New Zealand Cup (ANC)—as well as the

FISU World University Games The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

. The third level includes

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

s and FIS races.

Paralympic Games

Athletes have campaigned to have Para snowboard included at the Paralympic Games since at least the early 2000s, and the sport was rejected from the

2010 Winter Paralympics The 2010 Winter Paralympics (), or the tenth Paralympic Winter Games, were held in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, from March 12 to 21, 2010. The opening ceremony took place in BC Place Stadium in Vancouver and the Closing ...

. In May 2012, the decision was made to include Para snowboard events at the 2014 Paralympics, as part of the Para alpine skiing programme. Para snowboard has been its own

since the 2018 Paralympics, with the programme consisting of men's and women's events in banked slalom and snowboard cross. As of

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Brenna Huckaby Brenna Huckaby (born January 22, 1996) is an American snowboarder. She competed at the 2018 Winter Paralympics, winning gold medals in the Snowboarding at the 2018 Winter Paralympics – Women's snowboard cross, snowboard cross and Snowboarding a ...

from the United States is the most decorated female Paralympic snowboarder, with three gold medals and four total medals.

Matti Suur-Hamari Matti Suur-Hamari (born 31 May 1986) is a para-snowboarder. He is a three-time medalist, including two gold medals, at the Winter Paralympics. He represented Finland at the 2014 Winter Paralympics and again at the 2018 Winter Paralympics where ...

from Finland is the most decorated male Paralympic snowboarder, with two gold medals and four total medals. The most successful nation in Para snowboard is the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, with a total of 21 medals (7 gold, 8 silver, 6 bronze).

Risks

A study of 567 athletes at the 2022 Paralympics found the highest incidence rate of injury to be among those competing in Para snowboard, especially in competitors' lower limbs and the head and neck area.

References

External links

Para snowboard
at '' Paralympic.org {{IPC-recognised paralympic sports

Snowboard Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Mar ...

Snowboarding