On Board

Mountainboarding champ Tom Kirkman

Not all extreme sports are a young man’s game, but flipping down mountainsides at breakneck speeds on four wheels? Pioneering that has to be one for the rubber-boned youth. That's the hybrid sport of mountainboarding for you. Described as ‘skateboarding, on a snowboard, with wheels, on BMX tracks,’ it’s no wonder this sport is seen as a mongrel among ‘pure’ extreme sports.

That doesn’t mean that it’s any less spectacular or fun. In fact, according to the 21-year old Freestyle World Champion Tom Kirkman, it’s the exact opposite.

The simplest question first, Tom: what is mountainboarding?

It’s pretty much snowboarding on dirt. Because the surface reacts differently to snow, it entails elements of mountain biking too; and due to the boards having wheels attached it’s similar to skateboarding. As you can see, it gains its influences from a whole range of different sports.� The concept of mountainboarding has been around for the past 15 years or so. It started in the US with snowboarders that were basically looking for something to do on the off-season. That thinking soon made its way over to the UK and Europe.

So if it’s a blend of other sports, what is it that sets it apart?

The great thing about the sport is that is that you can do it almost anywhere. Most other extreme sports submit to their elements. Snowboarding is a winter sport, whereas skateboarding is strictly on-road. Where mountainboarding excels is that you can ride on grass, at skateparks, on the street, on mountainbike trails, you can even go up in the mountains and ride on snowboarding courses.

What got you into mountainboarding?

Growing up in the middle of the woods in Cornwall, you have to make your own entertainment. I left school when I was in my early teens and started up a skateboarding shop where my mates and I started messing around out the back, building ramps and flying off them. From there I started going along to a couple of competitions and ended up doing pretty well. The rest is history!

What is it exactly that you love about this sport?

I guess I’ve....

To view the full article register with WorldWide today or login.