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j 1 economist sun stoudville tribune safurdayffeb201999 9 economist sun stouffville tribune 5 i snowboarding culture has been embraced by canadian youth bypamchiotll v v v t f v correspondent r i ihirryyearsago the hills were alive with the sound of 1 music r b today however the slopes are resonating k with whoops and wails of people crash landing onto their knees and keavilypadded butts unequivocally snowboarding is now the in thing with the popularity of this dpwhhill sport rapidly going uphill considered wayxooler than skiing snowboarding offers more than- thrills and spills- it affords young people the chance to express themselves in a wild and crazy way its whatyou call an extreme sport explains drew flann 1 assistant ski and snowboard school director at ski dagmar its featuredqri tsn as a crazy kind of thing to do right alongwith skateboarding ahd surfing snowboarding is loved for the excitement it generates there is little if almost no social aspect to it unlike the unwinding that is inherent with the skijodge and beach scenes- when kids come out they come out to ride flann explains v j- they dont sit in the barwith their friends v snowboarding is especially popular with young people aged12 to22 if giverithechoice between skiing and snow- thanks to its newness and high level of excitement skiers on the other hand are older and more relaxed flann says i theyll go out do some ski ing then come in and have a cof fee most snow- boarders- he says go straight home after their session the high energy vjl sport is gaining attend jk sk2 x w tion from the over30 r x j crowd slowly but surely skva the controversy over the pot- f- xffft j t smoking issue at the last winter olympics probably made the sport better known speculates boarding that age group would likely decide onthe latter flann who doesnt think the rossrebagliatirug j i scandal dampened the sport vjv j fs r in style for the slopes thejatestjii snowboard gear jor girls from the shelves of firehall skis sports j n unionville hatbyvsd gogges by spy l- i -h- teivlfav v jacket by rlde -ryx-i- r gloves by kombl pants by nsa itimeless- board byrftfe i j ci boots by vans c jl r j sll j- iw f lym fh ih photoloriemmerson h in fact flann says last years controversy may have brought snowboarding into the mainstream of light it is becoming more common for parents of teenaged snowboarders to give it a whirl a direct result of their chil drens enthusiasm dalefrieberg 18 learned to snowboardlast year after being an avid skier since theage of four her father is an experienced skier who just bought a vattlrlip1tshisfirst jumrl skyl gounti staffotostevbsoi v is the assistant general l vv lubthrsveel macdonald 1 manager of xakeridge ski resort just south of uxbridge and he says about 30 per cent of the snowboarders he sees are female ive also seen people in their 50s and 60s who became bored with skiing and switched over they want more excitement they want the hills to become challenging again macdbriald says its such a goqcl sport frieberg says its a completely different feeling than being on skis first day is going to be horrible warns skyloftiski dountry clubssnowboard director pierre knobbs but uearnihg curve isaster than in skiing you can pick it up ittyell after only a couple of clays f f knobbs says skiers wilpfirid it a litde easier since theyll have a grasp of chairlifts and show conditions j r a prettyscared at first more males but riowl see more fically for snowboarding is all the thecoldurearenotoutra- s b3p see youth page 10 ofthe pictureand dont sitinttie corrective glassesxorvcontactv dark- its notgoqci foryoureyes lensesqra newtprescriptioh will vthere should beiight ihhefobrh putypur eyes where you want v but riotbrightehough to wash out- them to beback- in- thepicture l