Snowboard

(Seulement disponible présentement en anglais)

(Photo credit: Sebastien Hachey & Canada Snowboard)

Para-Snowboarding refers to a modified version of the sport of Snowboarding, with changes in equipment, rules, and technical specifications that enable a person with a physical disability to participate in both recreational and competitive activities. Snowboarders who have become disabled and others who live with a disability are part of the sport, recreation, and lifestyle that is Snowboarding.

Para-Snowboarders compete in a time trial (also known as “sling shot”) version of the Snowboard Cross (SBX) Event. The sling-shot format consists of each rider performing two or three timed runs, with only one rider on the course at a time. The course set up is the same as for able-bodied snowboard cross events at the provincial series level.

A sling-shot snowboard cross format provides a combination of both race and freestyle elements, while challenging the athletes regardless of their disability. The event format is also conducive to the internationally recognized classification process, which has been established by the World Snowboard Federation Adaptive Snowboard Sub-Committee.

The ideal Adaptive SBX slope will allow for the construction of all or some of the following terrain features:

• Banks (crescent shaped)
• Doubled banks
• Rollers
• Offset rollers (single, double, triple, etc.)
• Minor jumps

Other terrain features can be built, but safety considerations and the riding level of the athletes must always be respected. If the competition includes athletes in the Visually Impaired Disability Class, for safety purposes an alternate route must be created by placing a second set of gates going around potentially dangerous features.

Classification

Process and procedures involved in classifying athletes include physical assessment of muscle strength, joint range of motion, coordination, and muscle tone. Sport-specific skills are then assessed in the field of play to confirm classification. Visual assessments are commonly performed by the International Blind Sports Federation.

There are three (3) disability categories for adaptive snowboarding:

1. Visual Impairments
2. Standing (amputees, incomplete spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy)
3. Sitting (paraplegia, bilateral lower extremity amputees).However, there is currently  no equipment to support this category

The development of a Snowboarding program for persons with intellectual disabilities will continue to be reviewed, but will focus on the opportunity for growth within a Special Olympics context.

HISTORY

Since 2007, Canada Snowboard has been developing the world’s first comprehensive program for competitive adaptive snowboarding. The Canadian Adaptive Snowboard Program consists of athlete development camps, adaptive snowboarding competitions, training opportunities for coaches, and training materials for coaches and officials. Canada Snowboard also developed the world’s first Adaptive Snowboarding National Team.

In 2008, Canada Snowboard hosted the first ever adaptive snowboarding World Cup in Whistler, British Columbia. This international event made history by introducing  classification concepts for the first time in the history of the sport.
(Source: Canada Snowboard)

Need more Information?

For more information on events, clinics, and coaching workshops, to offer your assistance in developing para-snowboarding, or to join our para-snowboarding e-mail list, please contact the Sport Development Manager, Dustin Heise, at dustin@canadasnowboard.ca or 250-889-7345.