Snowboarding is a winter sport where the rider has a board attached to his feet and sets off to go down a slope, which is usually covered by snow. Its development was inspired by other sports such as surfing and skiing in the United States in the 1960s, but was initiated as a winter Olympic event in the year 1998. Since its introduction as a winter sport, it has developed different styles for both recreational and professional purposes. Examples of commonly known snowboarding styles include free style and free ride.
The competing countries or participants in the Olympics snowboarding events usually exhibit similar characteristics. Aside from the strict nature of guidelines provided, they are expected to follow in the event. For instance the style of competition between competitors is almost identical. This is observed across all the five events for men and women. However, it is natural that minor differences in the styles of competition to be noticed. For example where some athletes are more aggressive, show a higher level of prowess, show off stunts and others impress the crowd more due to the competitive nature of the events.
Other than competitors at various snowboarding events in the Olympics having to dress up in a comfortable manner, that not only keeps them safe like the waterproof and breathable snowboard jackets and pants, the clothing should also allow them to move freely (Thorpe, 2012). Participants from different countries wear clothing of different colours and mostly these colours always contain the colour of their respective national flags. The colours foster a sense of patriotism among the competitors from their respective countries. The colours also signify that the athlete represents a certain country. The team members wear similar colours to not only show which country they come from but also to distinguish them from the rest of the participants and this can be observed across the board. It conjures a sense of teamwork and oneness among members of a group.
Conclusion
Being an event organised with similar activities to be carried out by different participants from different countries, the Olympics is filled with practices and traditions followed over the years by its participants. It is therefore true to say that most competing countries in the competitions portray the same behaviour ranging from the styles in competition, their dressing among others. The data acquired from the survey also proves it as the responses given for the questions asked do not diverge and the respondents seem to agree with each other.
Works Cited
"Snowboarding at the Winter Olympics." - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. <http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowboarding at the Winter Olympics>.
Thorpe, Holly. Snowboarding: The Ultimate Guide. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood, 2012. Print.
