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Imagine seeing an athlete 30 feet in the air, upside down, grabbing his snowboard, and sticking out his tongue at the cameras. Think about the raw adrenaline it would take to attempt a double back flip on a board. Ponder the reaction as thousands of fans scream your name as you land this trick for the first time ever! This dream almost seems surreal, but to many extreme athletes it isn't surreal at all, and could be the difference between a silver or bronze medal. As the popularity of the sport increases, so do the amount of competitions and competitors. Snowboarding is an exciting sport that is here to stay; proof of this is because of several competitions. Three of these are the Winter Olympics, Winter X Games, and the U.S. Open keeps this sport growing and our American Athletes sharp for International competition.

The grandfather of all sport is the Olympics. This contest is the world's largest and representatives from many countries participate for the prize to say they are best in the world. Winning the gold at the Olympics is no easy task. Not only do you compete against the others representing their countries, but you have to qualify and achieve the honor to represent your own country. One of the greatest accomplishments for many athletes are serving their country and bringing home the gold.

If the Olympics are the grandfather of all sports, for snowboarding the Winter X Games created by ESPN is the father of the sport. This battle among snowboarding greats vaulted the sport into the lime light and is partially responsible for the state of snowboarding today. Each year the X Games push the envelope and create new and exiting competitions using snowboards. This event will continue to lead the charge for all events regarding snowboarding and extreme sports to come.

The United States Open could be considered the little brother to the Olympics. It can be used as a stepping stone for Olympics hopefuls. Located at Stratton Mountain in Vermont, the snowboarding warriors battle it out to become part of the team to represent the United States by wining the U.S. Open. Once being crowned champion they will then be considered to be the best at that sport in the entire country!

In the world there are hundreds of snowboarding competitions annually. Each one piggy-backing of one another to push the sport to be the best it can be. With the ever increasing popularity of the sport more and more competitions will be created and better boarders will emerge. This is great for the sport and will continue to help itself. As long as the other tournaments follow the guidelines that the Olympics, Winter X games, and the U.S. Open of Snowboarding have set in place, they will be able to be participated in at a great rate, and portray some of the greatest snowboarding ever seen.

Learn more about this author, Curtis Clontz.
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