The Evolution of Winter Sports

The Evolution of Winter Sports Brought To You By Plastic Winter enthusiasts know that ge ing out in the snow is dependent on the proper equipment. When it comes to winter sports, we have a proud history of designing fun, if not slightly dangerous, ways to enjoy the great out doors even when the temperature drops. Plastics have been a part of that exciting journey...

Snowshoeing The ﬁrst device to serve as a foot-extender for easier travel over the snow was originated in Central Asia about 4000 B.C. In fact, the snowshoe/ski is one of the oldest inventions of man, ranking in importance with the wheel. The ﬁrst snowshoes were nothing more than bent twigs with rawhide lacing. Ash became the wood of choice, though birch, willow and spruce have been used, as well.

Snowshoeing The 1970s began a new evolution in snowshoes. Old wooden frames were replaced with lighter aluminum ones and neoprene lacing replaced rawhide. The base of the shoe became neoprene, followed by polypropylene and then hypolon. Today’s shoes are the lightest and most durable. Photo Credit

Skiing The first primitive ski was found in a peat bog in Sweden and dated back to sometime between 2500 and 4500 B.C. Early Scandinavians developed skis to move quickly over snow while hunting or defending territory. Skiing has been an official Olympic sport since the first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France in 1924.

Skiing Though the ﬁrst skis were constructed using the long femur bones of animals and a ached with crude leather thongs, today’s models rely heavily on plastic materials to achieve the strength, weight and design required by modern racers and enthusiasts. Photo Credit

Hockey There is evidence of an ancient hockey- like game played across Europe and the First Nations of Eastern Canada. The first recorded hockey games, however, were played by British soldiers stationed in Kingston and Halifax during the mid-1850s. Traditional hockey sticks were wooden, but today, many are instead made of fiberglass, carbon fiber, aluminum, and various composite materials.

Hockey Plastics have found their way into hockey sticks through nanotechnologies like polymer Baytubes® carbon nanotubes, which create more durable sticks and improve puck handling and speed. Photo Credit

Bobsledding The bobsled was developed from the sled of ancient times, which was merely a strip of animal skin stretched between smoothed strips of wood acting as runners. The ﬁrst step in this evolution was the toboggan. It was conceived and developed about 1890 by a group of thrill-seeking American and English vacationers in Switzerland who were looking for something more daring than plodding through the Swiss Alps on snowshoes.

Bobsledding Today’s bobsleds are much sturdier and easier to steer than their wooden counterparts. The front of the bob is covered with a streamlined plastic cowling, and the whole machine is steered by cables a ached to the blades. Team members wear plastic helmets to help protect their heads from high-speed collisions. Photo Credit

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The Evolution of Winter Sports

by Plastics Make it Possible on Jan 19, 2010

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The Evolution of Winter Sports — Presentation Transcript