The Future of Snowboarding

This appears as a letter to the sports editor in the New York Times, Sun March 13.

("Snowboarding, Once a High Flying Sport, Crashes to Earth")

Global warming, anyone? The West suffered through a warm and dry winter last year, and now it is the East’s turn. Snowboarding, so dependent on consistent cold, must wonder whether it will even exist in a generation or two. So, too, twin-tipped skis, rocker and camber ski shapes, and other technological advances have allowed skiers to mimic much of what a boarder can do. The unique capacity of a snowboard is disappearing as quickly as the snow.

For an industry in need of constant exposure to capture minds and hearts, skiing and snowboarding are primarily Olympic year mainstays, a mere two weeks every four years. With day passes costing a small fortune, the sport faces tough times in a stagnant and often harsh economy. The combination of these factors can result only in bankruptcies and empty undersides of boards, lacking sponsors’ logos.