Skwal
Encyclopedia
A skwal is the main piece of equipment used for skwalling, a hybrid sport combining the carving of Skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....

 and riding feel of snowboarding
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...

. It is similar to a snowboard
Snowboard
Snowboards are boards, usually with a width the length of one's foot, with the ability to glide on snow. Snowboards are differentiated from monoskis by the stance of the user...

 or monoski
Monoski
The term monoski may refer to either of two unrelated pieces of ski equipment. It is the device used in the sport of monoskiing.The monoski, invented in the 1960s and popularized in the 1970s and '80s by monoskiers like Mike Doyle, is similar to a snowboard in that both feet are attached to one...

 in that both feet are attached to the same board. On a skwal the feet are one in front of the other, in line with the direction the skwal is pointing in. This differs from snowboards (in which the feet are side-on to the direction of the board) and monoskis (in which the feet point in the direction of the board, but are side-by-side).

History

The skwal was invented by two French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 ski-school instructors Patrick "Thias" Balmain and Manuel Jammes, with the first prototype appearing in 1992. They envisaged it as a way to offer different sensations to what skiing and snowboarding
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...

 could offer, at a time when 'carving' skis were only just starting to take off. A French company called Lacroix took an interest, recruited Patrick Balmain, and started producing skwals. A few years later, Patrick left Lacroix and started his own skwal-making company. There are now several other makers of skwals, though the sport has never gained the widespread popularity its creators predicted - possibly due to the perceived difficulty of the sport. The sport is nonetheless gathering a few more adepts every year.

See also

  • Skiing
    Skiing
    Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....

  • Mogul Skiing
    Mogul skiing
    Mogul skiing is a type of freestyle skiing where skiers ski terrain characterized by a large number of different bumps, or moguls.-Moguls:...

  • Grass skiing
    Grass skiing
    Grass skiing was started in France in 1966 as a method for training for alpine skiing. Short skis that were actually rolling treads, much like those on tanks, or wheels were used. These skis were attached to the skiers boots and a grassy downhill slope was found. Depending on the skill of the...

  • Monoskiing
    Monoskiing
    Monoskiing is a snow sport that uses monoski. There are three types of monoskiing, one is used for waterskiing one for snow skiing and the final is a new experimental design that is equivalent to mountain boarding...

  • Skiboarding
    Skiboarding
    Skiboarding is a winter sport which combines elements of skating, snowboarding, and skiing. Skiboards are used and worn in conjunction with standard ski boots that connect to the skiboards with use of a binding. Skiboards can be grouped into two general categories. Regular skiboards are generally...

  • Snowshoe walking
    Snowshoe
    A snowshoe is footwear for walking over the snow. Snowshoes work by distributing the weight of the person over a larger area so that the person's foot does not sink completely into the snow, a quality called "flotation"....

  • Snowkiting
    Snowkiting
    Snowkiting is an outdoor winter sport where people use kite power to glide on snow or ice. The sport is similar to kitesurfing, but with the footwear used in snowboarding or skiing. In the early days of snowkiting, foil kites were the most common type; nowadays some kitesurfers use their water gear...

  • Water skiing
    Water skiing
    thumb|right|A slalom skier making a turn on a slalom waterski.Waterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water, skimming the surface.-History:...

  • Skiing
    Skiing
    Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....

  • Teleboard
    Teleboard
    -History:Developed during the winter of 1996 by Martin and Erik Fey, the Teleboard consists of a long, narrow, snowboard with two free-heel telemark bindings arranged one in front of the other at a slight angle to the longitudinal axis...

  • Freestyle skiing
    Freestyle skiing
    Freestyle skiing is form of skiing which used to encompass two disciplines: aerials, and moguls. Except the two disciplines mentioned earlier Freestyle Skiing now consists of Skicross, Half Pipe and Slope Style...

  • Alpine skiing
    Alpine skiing
    Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...

  • Sports
    • Winter sport
      Winter sport
      A winter sport is a sport which is played on snow or ice. Most such sports are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally such sports were only played in cold areas during winter, but artificial snow and ice allow more flexibility...


External links

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