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Boardsports are active outdoor sports that are played with some sort of board as the primary equipment. These sports take place on a variety of terrains, from paved flat-ground and snow-covered hills to water and air. Most boardsports are considered action sports or extreme sports, and thus often appeal to youth. Some board sports were marginalized in the past. However, many board sports are gaining mainstream recognition, and with this recognition, they have enjoyed wider broadcast, sponsorship and inclusion in institutional sporting events, including the Olympic Games.[1]
Surfing is the first known boardsport, originating from Polynesian culture. Skateboarding was then invented by surfers looking to "surf" on land.[2] It is hard to estimate when most boardsports were "invented" because people have been making homemade versions throughout history. For example, it is not hard to conceive of a person, who is familiar with the concept of skiing or sledding, standing sideways on a plank of wood and riding down a snow-covered slope. M.J. "Jack" Burchett is credited with first doing this in 1929, using horse reins and clothesline to secure his feet on the plank of wood.[3] Most boardsports have similar, equally unknown origins.
Using data collected in the past decade, it is estimated there are 18-50 million skateboarders,[4][5] 5-25 million surfers,[6] and 10-20 million snowboarders[7] in the world. Approximately 100 million people[8] participate in boardsports worldwide.[9]
- ^ It's Official: Skateboarding Joins the Olympics - Article - Tackyworld.com
- ^ Inventor of the Week: Archive
- ^ Snowboarding History Archived January 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "HickokSports.com - Sports History - Skateboarding". Archived from the original on 2010-12-04. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
- ^ "American Demographics: Your Questions Answered - statistics about skateboarders - Brief Article - Letter to the Editor - Statistical Data Included". www.findarticles.com. Archived from the original on 23 January 2005. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ Number Of Surfers In The World | Surfline.Com
- ^ "Neuropeans - Arts, Sports, MKP2001, Neurope Tower, Europanto". Archived from the original on 2002-03-18. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
- ^ "Global Boardsports Participation Tops 100 Million - with Contribution from Stand up Paddle Boarding".
- ^ "Snowboarding". Retrieved 29 April 2015.