Snowboarders enjoy an amazing rush of wind, cold, and grace. Throw in outrageous death defying tricks and you have the recipe for an amazing adrenaline rush for all to see. Just like in any competition each athlete will attempt harder and harder tricks to be crowned number one, and do so with no regards for their own health. These athletes risk everything for their cause. They constantly push the envelope until they reach a point at which they can no longer go forward. This is the point where the sport will achieve a stalemate for a short amount of time. It will stay at this standstill until one of the amazing athletes steps beyond the current threshold and performs a new trick. Due to the constant competition and top prize of being the best in the world, they continuously work to achieve greatness. This causes the sport and many tricks to evolve.

In 1996 a new competition was formed by the sports giant ESPN. This competition was created to showcase various action or extreme sports to the public. Many consider this competition to be an Olympics for the extreme athlete. This opened the door to many other competitions around the world, and opened various other stages for athletes in the snowboarding business to showcase their ever improving skills. With the added exposure, the limelight grew larger, and the bar had to be raised. Suddenly athletes were attempting harder stunts; trying 540 spin moves, nose grabs, tail grabs, and any new trick they could try. Just like baby Evil Kinevils they would dream about the ever changing sport, and the chance to shine.

Once this boost in popularity began to take hold, more and more athletes turned to the sport of snowboarding to portray their skills. As more people rushed to the sport, again the sport continued to evolve. Prior to this time the sport hadn't always been known for the athletic moves and true athletes. Now athletes that could be playing other professional sports were choosing this avenue versus basketball, baseball, or other top notch professional sports. With the level of athleticism per participant rising, again the bar had to be reset and pushed to a higher level. All of the athletes could now jump higher, run faster, and were in better shape than ever before.

Today the tricks continue to evolve with the popularity of the sport growing. If you watch the Winter X Games at the end of the month you will see many "old school" tricks as well as some with a "new school" feel. You will now see back flips, front flips, full extensions, and many other challenging tricks. With the tricks getting harder the sport can only continue to grow. Every year new tricks are tried and perfected that have never been done before, if you are an avid boarder start racking your brain now and you could be the next in line to showcase a trick that you can call your own.

Learn more about this author, Curtis Clontz.
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