by RYN MACARTHUR
Intern Lifestyles Reporter

A ball and bat is to baseball as goggles, helmets, special clothing, boots, bindings and boards are to snowboarding.

“This sport is so expensive,” Thomas A. Miceli, snowboarding team president, said. “All of [the costs] come out pocket.”

It is this level of dedication that has led the Appalachian State University snowboarding team to the top of their game.

“A club sport competing against [other] varsity sports, we hold our own,” Miceli, senior industrial design major, said.

The snowboarding team separated from the ski team six years ago. The team’s current roster has nine women and 22 men.

“By far, this is largest team we have ever had,” Miceli said. “There are 22 new members.”

The team has a videographer that is also a part of the snowboarding team as a racer.

“I have a lot of film equipment and I thought I would be really great for the team,” Will E. Taylor, videographer and member of the team, said.

There are video clips available from national competitions and of team members completing jumps and other tricks on the snowboarding team’s Web site.

“Filming is a big part, but I’d rather be snowboarding,” Taylor, sophomore marketing major, said. 

The team focuses on racing and different rules for each type of event. There are several different types of snowboard races at a standard event.

During the fall, the team practices Mondays and Thursdays at Appalachian Ski Mountain at 6 p.m.

The fall season consists of ultimate Frisbee games and team dinners.

During the winter, the team practices from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

“We are just trying to make [the team] better, to make it more interesting,” Miceli said.

In the boardercross event, four snowboarders line up to a gate with a randomly set drop time.

“It’s really important you get the start right, the start’s huge,” Miceli said. “It can be anywhere from a couple of seconds to 15 seconds.” 

Other events include freestyle and the giant slalom, which is an Olympic event.

 “For giant slalom, you have one hour to inspect the course,” Miceli said. “You can get disqualified if you run it.”

An individual racer lines up to the line and an alarm that says “racer ready” will sound 10 seconds before the gun will go off.

Five seconds later, the timer tells the racer they can go at any time.

The snowboarder races two runs and the total time from the two runs gives the placement of the racer.

The team practices freestyle and general snowboarding techniques.

In freestyle, a snowboarder will use manmade items such as handrails and boxes.

“For freestyle, we just go into the park and do whatever,” Miceli said.

Snowboarding is a huge commitment for the team with school and the sport often competing for time.

“Whenever we aren’t in class, we will be snowboarding,” Miceli said.

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