Free the Square Tails!

[AndyYT316]

As I'm sure some of you know, there was a lot of discussion about allowing alpine boards in the USASA snowboardcross events. Just curious if anyone has any updates on that, and if alpine boards will be totally banned next season. I'd like to start using an alpine board for snowboardcross, and if this takes affect I might need to get a board with a rounded tail. Feel free to put your thoughts in this thread too.

[Dave ESPI]

I'd actualy just love to know where on the eastcoast we can compete in such competitions since I did Boardercross back in the day (early X-GAMES pre-ESPN TV prime-time stuff) at Mount Snow, VT in '96 or so. I think that it should be "soft boot-ONLY". You can ride any board you want, but must have open bindings. Any Boots ? any Bindings ? ...... just not the same with hardboots.

* sorry guys Just my opinion

[sfleck]

Dave, we usually have some usasa BX races at Bousquet which is real close to jiminy. You'll have to put up with some hardbooters though... do I dare ask what the reasoning is behind your soft boots only claim?

[Pow]

Dave, we usually have some usasa BX races at Bousquet which is real close to jiminy. You'll have to put up with some hardbooters though... do I dare ask what the reasoning is behind your soft boots only claim?

^to lower ourselves to their level and avoid shamefully owning them:lol:

[philfell]

What does it matter what boots a competitor uses? SBX is a race you should use the equipment you are the fastest on.

As far as USASA.....They have had a ban on square tail boards for years now, probably close to a decade. This is not new and won't change anytime soon. The "alpine" boards people where useing at "nationals" were mainly F2 boards, these have a slightly rounded tail so USASA was ok with them. Yes I know it's gay, but that's USASA. In FIS events you can use any damn board you want to, as long as it's wider than 16cm at the waist.

[philfell]

^to lower ourselves to their level and avoid shamefully owning them:lol:

Soft booters usually win most SBX races. So I wouldn't be to cockey in saying we would own them, because right now that isn't the case at all. In most courses soft boots have the advantage. That isn't the same as saying that everyone who post here would be faster on soft boots in a SBX course. It should be a choice left up to the athlete.

[Slim]

What does it matter what boots a competitor uses? SBX is a race you should use the equipment you are the fastest on....In FIS events you can use any damn board you want to, as long as it's wider than 16cm at the waist.

If SBX is a race on the 'equipment you are fastest on', why would there be any rules regarding waist width on a board?

[Neil Gendzwill]

Because narrower than that and it's damn near a Skwall? At some point they have to define what is or isn't a snowboard.

[Pow]

ahh, beat me to it. but i was going to use the opposite extreme and explain that you cannot race on a tobaggan, that would not be a snowboard.

[neil sunday]

a tobaggan would be hard to fit through the start gate :)

[Red]

Dutch Championships in Laax Switserland this year: three of the first fore riders in the SBX were on hardboots!!!!

[Dave ESPI]

Olympic Gold and Silver and Bronze in sno-X was 2 softies and 1 hard thsi year in Torino.

The thing with snoX is that hardboots limits your ability to ride in close quarters, OR to go switch (sometimes this saves your ass from a catastrophic wipeout)

I've never throught about riding hardboots backwards.......... I'm crazy, not INSANE.

Soft boots give you a better "wiggle room" for small adjustments that don't require a lot of leg and knee throw for movement like a hardboot set up would.

Sure once all spaced out and gaps between racers are established, hardboots and an alpne board is faster, but not always the case. There were 2 other hardbooters that raced in the Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge Finals up at Loon this year, and neither of them placed in the medal range for their age groups even though they were indeed "fast".

AS to Bosquet, I was there for the Instructors run in the beginning of March. The 3/4 mile lift (*A) on the trail map I think is "Broadway" or something like that was icy under the loose granular surface, and was super difficult to take that hard left down from the chircane off the lift drop afte the gate.

I went switch through it so I would come into it regular, and pulled it tight at the lower end of that turn, but the board totaly still came out from under me, and I managed to have the most spectacular "snowplow" snow spray plume of the day. I saved the gate, but wiped out turning right again as I got way to agressive trying to make up time on the ice.

I took a second run ( it didn't count) and I nailed the course and even hit both those turns at nearly full speed.

Gah, sometimes it is just the luck I guess, but then again, that is running gates, not doing whoopty-doos , rollers, tabletops, and drop ledges 8 men wide ;)

[philfell]

The thing with snoX is that hardboots limits your ability to ride in close quarters, OR to go switch (sometimes this saves your ass from a catastrophic wipeout)

I've never throught about riding hardboots backwards.......... I'm crazy, not INSANE.

Soft boots give you a better "wiggle room" for small adjustments that don't require a lot of leg and knee throw for movement like a hardboot set up would.

Sure once all spaced out and gaps between racers are established, hardboots and an alpne board is faster, but not always the case.

I disagree with almost all of what you've said above. But you know how the saying goes opinions are like...........everyone has one.