Snowboarding is both fun and risky. Many beginners, fueled by ignorance, end up getting injured. The injuries can range from minor scrapes and sprains to severe muscle or bone damage, and in some cases, even threaten lives. That's why I want to take advantage of the offseason to create a series to help everyone understand the risks and accidents in snowboarding, compiling various issues encountered by my students during teaching to share with everyone!

Snowboarding Protective Gear

• The Newbie Turtle: This is the most common protective gear for beginners. After playing for a while, most people will add various built-in hip, knee, wrist, and elbow guards. Additionally, a snowboarding helmet is essential. From beginners to experts, a helmet is an indispensable lifesaver!

Instructor or Instructional Videos

• Many people think that hiring an instructor is expensive. However, instructors are indeed a great help for many beginners. A good instructor will help you develop a good risk awareness in the beginner stage, such as safe falling and getting up, knowledge about the slopes, etc. These are things that most videos and online resources cannot provide quickly.
• However, videos also have their advantages. Firstly, they are free of cost. There are various instructional videos available online. Watching videos from different platforms can also help you learn snowboarding through continuous practice. However, it may be difficult to correct mistakes in real-time during the ride, leading to deformed movements, incorrect exertion of force, and a lack of timely understanding of safety knowledge, thereby hiding certain risks.

Slope Angle Concerns

• Many beginners, even without an instructor, will practice skills like traversing slopes on beginner slopes. However, in reality, after learning safety knowledge and other content, practicing snowboarding on slopes with some degree of steepness will help you grasp the basics of snowboarding faster. 

Additional Knowledge

• Catch edge is the most common injury in snowboarding accidents, followed by collisions. Because snowboarding beginners, unless they are particularly reckless, many people cannot gain speed during the beginner stage, unlike skiing, where speed increases uncontrollably. The majority of bone fractures in the beginner stage are caused by falls! Therefore, always be cautious of catching edges!

Snowboarding is an exciting sport, but safety always comes first. Let's take advantage of the offseason to understand and master the skills and safety knowledge of snowboarding together!