Oops! I was only Snowboarding!

I.J. Samson Junior High
St. John's, Newfoundland

By Matthew M. (Grade 9)

Snowboarding, like many other sports, has a calculated risk. A lot of people think that it's crazy to take that risk in case you get hurt, but think it's even crazier to keep doing it after you get hurt. People break arms, legs, wrists, fingers, knees, and ankles all the time and, when they have healed, start up again.

I have been snowboarding for a year and a half. There's nothing like smoothly carving down a hill with the wind in your face or landing a nice air without falling flat on your butt. It gives you a wicked floating feeling, at least until you hit the ground. I, like so many others, have hurt myself. This winter I was out with my friends and hit a ramp then wiped out. I had broken my wrist and had to wear a cast for a month but, six days after it was off, I was snowboarding again. I knew that I could hurt myself but didn't think about it because I just wanted to be back on the hill.

I only broke my wrist, but I have read stories of people who have fallen into crevices, been buried in avalanches and broken their backs. Yet, all these people still continued to ride.

When I was getting my cast put on, the doctor told me that every day there is snow, about five kids come in with broken bones.

What is the attraction to dangerous sports like snowboarding when you know you could be, or already have been, hurt? Is it love for the sport, stupidity, or are our brains out to kill us? I think the answer is plain love for the sport, and anyone who actually rides for the fun and not the image, would keep it up.

I talked to some people I know who have broken their bones snowboarding and all of them have kept riding. One guy I met was out snowboarding and before doing a jump said "Imagine if I broke my arm now". Then, when he landed, he fell and broke his arm. He still has the cast on and this happened about two months ago.

All these people obviously continue to snowboard and skateboard because they love the sports and not because they have serious mental problems or are plainly and simply stupid.