I am going to talk about my favourite sport which is skiing because, during winter break, a lot of people will go to the mountains.

Origins of skiing

4000 (before J.C) : first wood skis used by humans to move on snow and ice in the Nordic countries.

1539 : some wars were carried out by Finnish soldiers equipped with ski.

1867 : first skiing competition in the region of Telemark, in Norway.

1888 : it’s one of the famous date in the history of skiing : Nansen crossed the Greenland on skis. This exploit aroused curiosity around the world about this sport.

1930 : explosion of activity of skiing for tourists.

1933 : first skiing school in France and creation of the “Féderation Française du ski”.

1934 : first cable car created specifically for skiers.

Since 1935 : the competitions became numerous.

At the end of XXth century : France has 30% of ski areas in the world and the largest ski lift equipment.

The ski today in the world

First, today, there are about 8 million skiers per season in France.

Then, there are different types of skis :
•    The telemark (it is the ancestor of ski. The heels aren’t attached to the ski).
•    The monoski (both feet are on the same ski).
•    The snowblades (they’re small skis).
•    The parabolic ski (now it is the most commonly used ski) .

After that, skiing is a competitive sport because every year, there are a lot of races (for example slaloms, super giants, ...)

Some famous skiers

Finally, you certainly know some champions like the French Jean-Claude Killy, Jean-Baptiste Grange, Luc Alphand, the American Bode Miller, the Italian Alberto Tomba or also the German Fritz Dopfer.

As the ski is a mixed sport, there are also women who are champions like the Austrian Kathrin Zettel and the French Marion Rolland.

Photo Credits

  1- SkiStory – http://www.skistory.com/F/histoire/A12.html
  2- LifeInMegapixels – Creative Commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/27649557@N07/6296306076/
  3- 20 Minutes – http://www.20minutes.fr

Sources

•    http://www.skistory.com/F/histoire/A11.html
•    http://www.crdp3-poitiers.org/soft/c-m-parthenay/soft2003-4/histoire/aujourd.htm

Sophie