By MARCI VON SAVOYE
In-line skating was more a blessing than an innovation for the skiing world; it gave serious skiers an opportunity to improve their skills during the off-season. Snakeboarding, a new and rather obscure sport, has the potential to become snowboarders' dry-weather sport.
Travis Gneiting, a member of the 'Street Urchin' snakeboarding team in Salt Lake City, called snakeboarding a summer alternative to snowboarding. Gneiting, a junior at West Jordan High School, said snakeboarding has actually helped him figure out how to better perform snowboarding tricks.
The snakeboard has the same wheel base as a skateboard, but instead of a flat board surface there is a foot platform above each set of wheels. Between the two foot platforms is a crossbar that varies in length. The longer the length, the higher the speed the boarder can achieve, said John Gray, regional promotion manager and originator of the 'Street Urchin'.
The sport was originally invented by two surfers, James Fischer and Oliver Macleod-Smith in South Africa about eight years ago.
'They were buddy surfers looking for something to do on land,' Gray said. 'They wanted to mimic surfing a little bit more.'
Like snowboarding, snakeboarders strap their feet in. Though that may sound restricting, it actually gives the snakeboarder the freedom to perform feats that the skateboarder can't, such as front and back flips or inverted aerials, said Gray.
'Everything is made a little bit easier because you're strapped in,' Gray said. 'With that in mind, then they developed the snakeboard where you can generate momentum with the foot action so you don't have to take your foot off to push.'
A snakeboarder does not need the timing and accuracy that skateboarders do to successfully complete a stunt. However, because the boarder is strapped to the board, the sport becomes more risky.
'It's more dangerous than skateboarding because you can't just bail off of it,' Gray said.
Gray gave up snakeboarding himself when his persistent wrist injuries were interfering with his other athletic passion: golf. Gray said, however, that with protective gear, such as wrist guards, knee pads and a helmet, snakeboarding is no more hazardous to the body than in-line skating.
The most difficult thing to learn in snakeboarding, Gray said, is the initial propelling motion. Once a boarder masters the motion, then the specialized tricks become easier.
'It's not easy to learn,' Gray said. 'For most people it takes a solid one to two hours of just getting on it and falling off of it again to get the toe-heel motion. It's initially a very awkward movement. It takes dexterity and balance. There's nothing that mimics that kind of action.'
Gray's girlfriend also snakeboards. When Gray was at the University of Utah demonstrating the board, he said women actually had an easier time with picking up the motion. Gray said some women picked up on the motion in only five to 10 minutes.
'It's much more natural for females to just learn how to ride the board,' Gray said.
Gray, an attorney in Salt Lake City, said he was probably the first person in Utah to step onto a snakeboard. Gray's father is a friend of the CEO of Snakeboard U.S.A., who introduced Gray to the unique sport.
The boards are still manufactured in South Africa and have been heavily marketed in Europe. Gray said they are huge in Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. The main U.S. office is located in San Diego. Gray said snakeboarding will be a featured event in MTV's 'Extreme Games' this year.