“What's a Cool You Are?”

1. History and Challenges of Olympic Sport Disciplines “What’s a cool yoU are?” Snowboarding’s Carving & Bonking into the 1998 Olympic Games Megan Popovic hen snowboarders arrived in Nagano to compete The staid old Olympic Games, it seems, are in at the 1998 Winter Olympics they were the out- W for a culture shock. Originally consigned to the siders – the odd, resistant, in-your-face distant cousins arena of so-called extreme sports, snowboard- – of the Olympic family. Their perceived disregard for ing has its own language – freestyle maneuvers the values of the Olympic Movement and insistence have names such as Canadian Bacon, McTwist toward segregation from the mainstream, formalized and the Flying Squirrel, and boarders falling sporting domains served to highlight their philosophical “cratering” or “bailing”. Riders also have their and social differences from the other athletes. Yet, like own style – bicycle courier chic – that makes the defi ant mavericks that captivate public attention on once-roguish freestyle skiers look positively con- myriad global stages, the snowboarders of Nagano mes- ventional. Grunge appearances aside, the sport merized audiences in Japan and television broadcasts has exploded on recreational slopes, where it is around the world. Now a decade later, it is possible to regarded as the hip sibling to alpine skiing.1 propose that their youthful spirit, cool styles, and rebel- lious natures brought life and vitality to the production “Boarding comes of age: The Olympics welcome the wild child of the and future of the Olympic Games. ski slopes,” Macleans, 8 February 1998. The entrance of snowboarding into the Olympics was 12 JOURNAL OF OLYMPIC HISTORY SPECIAL ISSUE Olympic Congress Copenhagen 2009 Inhalt_JoH_Best_of_09.indd 12 04.09.2009 13:57:31 not immune from the affl ictions of growing pains – both in part because of its low retail price and instant popu- within the snowboarding culture and between snow- larity, the board was considered to be more of a gimmick boarders and the auxiliary organizations prior to and than a legitimate sport.5 In addition to their fad-like iden- during the Games themselves. From Terje “The legend” tity, Snurfers were diffi cult to maneuver because the haakonsen’s refusal to participate in the Games, to the boards lacked edges and bindings and they were steered FIS-ISF controversy over snowboarding’s organizational and stopped with a hand-held rope attached to their front representation, to the stripping of Rebagliati’s gold medal end. Due to its primitive design and mediocre image, by the IOC for marijuana consumption, to the “old man” Snurfers were banned from most commercial ski hills (fIS-IOc) versus “punk” (snowboarders) media drama- because they were deemed “too dangerous.”6 As Snurfer tization,2 snowboarding’s immersion into the Olympic popularity increased during the late 1960s, Poppen rec- Movement was not a smooth – albeit exciting – journey. ognized the potential for this new recreational tool and To truly grasp the essence of this historical episode, it is organized an annual Snurfer competition. Snurfers, as the essential to understand the standpoint from which snowboarders based their views of the Olympic Movement specifi cally and sport in general. At the snowboarding venue in Nagano, a large message was spray painted in the snow underneath the Olympic rings insignia that stated: “What’s a cool you are?”3 What stands out initially is the term “cool,” as snowboarding and snowboarders brought with them a certain variety of popular, youthful hip-ness to the Olympic scene. However, at second glance, this statement is more reve- latory of the dynamics of their presence. The sound of the phrase alludes to “school,” hence asking observers what school or philosophy do they belong to: the snowboarders or the Federation International du Ski (FIS) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC)? The purpose of this paper is to show on why such a clash of values and cultures took place around snowboarding’s emergence into the 1998 Games. First, it will reveal the historical and cultural foundations of snowboarding to illuminate why snowboarders held contrasting perspec- tives from traditional athletes about the Olympic Games. Subsequently, the the depiction of the events and disson- ance surrounding the Games themselves, with particu- lar emphasis on snowboarders’ perceptions, will be dis- cussed. The primary intention of this paper is to expose 1. History and Challenges of Olympic Sport Disciplines the unique school of ideals that snowboarders brought with them to the Olympic Games and how their philosophical diversity from conventional sports provoked the inevitable collision between the differing schools of Magazine advertisement for Poppen’s Snurfer sporting thought. Shredding the Roots of Snowboarding4 The earliest snowboard arrived on the market at the genesis of the new leisure movement during the 1950s and 1960s. Initially intended to be a winter toy for his children, Sherman Poppen tied two pairs of children’s skis together with some doweling and fashioned a surf- board for the snow. He licensed his idea to Brunswick Manufacturing and his evolutionary board received its product launch in grocery and sporting good stores at the beginning of the 1966-67 ski season. In an attempt to cash in on the surf-boom sweeping the United States, Poppen dubbed the board the ‘Snurfer’, a mix of the words ‘snow’ Jake Burton (far L) and Tom Sims (far R) at the 1983 US Open and ‘surfer’. Over the next decade, upwards of one of Snowboarding (as known as the National Snowboarding million Snurfers were sold across the country; however, Championships) JOURNAL OF OLYMPIC HISTORY SPECIAL ISSUE Olympic Congress Copenhagen 2009 13 Inhalt_JoH_Best_of_09.indd 13 04.09.2009 13:57:33 new implement enthusiasts hailed themselves came from the great potential for the activity and the industry of the United States and Canada to hike one-and-a-half kilo- snowboarding on the on the Pacifi c coast. Raised on the meters through the back country snow to the competi- New Jersey shore, no less than one hundred kilometers tion site on a hill near Poppen’s hometown of Muskegon, from Burton, Sims’ early obsession with skateboarding Michigan. While the invention of the Snurfer offi cially enticed him to develop a winter substitute for his favo- sparked the popularity of snowboarding, it was not until a rite pastime. After graduating from high school, he left decade later that the sport of snowboarding crystallized. for sunny Southern California with pal Chuck Barfoot and the two became obsessed with modifying skate and Sticking Snowboarding’s Blueprint: Burton & Sims7 surfboards. In 1971, they opened their fi rst shop, Sims From its offi cial inception in the 1970s, a philosophi- Skateboards and, as skateboarding increased in popular- cal dichotomy existed within the sport of snowboarding. ity during the decade, Sims was at the forefront of inno- Jake Burton and Tom Sims are considered to be the pion- vation. The new design of skateboards and higher produc- eers of modern snowboarding and these two forefathers tion standards infl uenced the emerging leisure activity. of snowboarding possessed opposite viewpoints on the Sims patented the ‘ski board,’ coined the Flying Yellow 1. History and Challenges of Olympic Sport Disciplines future direction of their sport. Ultimately, two streams of Banana, and launched it into the market in 1977.11 By the snowboarding consciousness emerged in the late 1970s early 1980s, the skateboarding industry had grown for and percolated throughout the development of the sport over a decade and the mentality surrounding this activ- over the next two decades. ity carried over to the embryonic sport of snowboarding. The positions of Burton and Sims arose from their In 1984, only one year after Burton’s inaugural contexts, contrasting sport and leisure backgrounds. Burton was Sims organized his own World Championships in Soda a competitive ski-racer and he insisted that competition Springs, California. A halfpipe, usually fabricated out of between participants was imperative in order to estab- wood or concrete for skateboarders, was his unique addi- lish snowboarding as a legitimate sport. He was shocked tion to the sport that paralleled the pipe or pool medium that the development of the Snurfer had not progressed in skateboarding. For the fi rst time, competitors ‘dropped since it was fi rst marketed a decade before and, in 1977, in’ and performed non-rational airs, rotational airs, and he founded Burton Snowboards in Manchester, Vermont. inverted tricks12, being judged on the degree of diffi culty, Working around the clock and leading his employees control, and originality.13 There was an entire cohort of on snowboard “Safaris” across the United States in the snowboarders who felt that Sims was “an egomaniac company van to promote his boards, Burton strove to with a grand marketing scheme to get all skateboarders have his boards surpass the Snurfer aura. Burton lobbied to embrace his version of boarding and make a trillion vigorously for local ski areas to open their lifts to snow- dollars.”14 For many riders on the East Coast, the half- boarders and in 1982, these efforts were rewarded when pipe was considered to be skateboard plagiarism and they Suicide Six Resort in Pomfret, Vermont became the fi rst believed Sims drove the focus within snowboarding from resort to allow snowboarding. In addition to pioneer- racing toward a new, unwelcomed direction. ing the admission of snowboarding to resorts, Burton’s The divergence between Burton and Sims fore- company was infl uential in providing constant technical shadowed the clash between snowboarders and FIS/IOC product innovation as his company developed the fi rst at the 1998 Olympic Games. The paths carved by Burton board with such technology as a P-tex base, metal edges, and Sims formed the historical foundation of snowboard- and hi-back bindings to handle the diffi cult terrain.8 The ing culture and drove the development of the sport itself.

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