Skateboarding vs

							     Skateboarding vs. Snowboarding
                            Konstantin Kirilov
                             ID #100030849


  Everyday life can bore you to death and for this reason some people have

found ways to diversify their spare time. Skateboarding and snowboarding

are without a doubt the most popular extreme sports of our time and while

nonetheless similar, they represent two very different lifestyles and views of

the world surrounding us.

  One reason why the two sports are so similar can probably be found in the

fact that snowboarding actually started when people tried to use their

skateboards on snow. Later this idea developed into a discipline of its own

but in the beginning it was essentially an exotic offshoot of skateboarding.

Both sports are preferred by young people and have become symbols of

Generation-X. Another thing they have in common is that men and women

can be equally good at them, unlike football or hockey for example. Twice a

year several large companies and federations organize the Xgames, where

both snowboarding and skateboarding are present, with the best riders in the

world sharing one arena for several days.

  Despite all of these similarities, the two sports have very distinct features

that separate them from one another. Skateboarding is practiced mainly
during the summer and is somewhat affordable with an average kit reaching

no more than two-hundred dollars. Snowboarding on the other hand is a

winter only sport and is quite expensive if you want to be good at it – a new

board with all the extra equipment needed often exceeds a thousand dollars

and that does not include the thermal clothing needed to survive the chilling

temperatures on the mountainsides. Also, you can skate practically anywhere

in a city, while snowboarding requires special conditions and you often have

to travel for hundreds of kilometers, sleep in hotels and pay your lift cards,

which makes it pretty expensive to say the least.

  While skateboarding is divided into two main types – vert and street,

snowboarding can be alpine, freeride, vert or racing. It is also an Olympic

sport and an official sport in a lot of countries, whereas skateboarding is

largely street culture and is not featured in any sporting event outside of the

Xgames.

  What’s good about the two sports is that when you learn one of them, the

other will be easier to master than before that. Whichever you choose, you

are bound to experience the thrill of riding on the edge and pushing the

limits to what you can achieve.