Snowskates
Snowskates are a type of snow sport equipment intended to allow the user to emulate the actions of ice skating or rollerblading on snow. They were first produced commercially in Germany in the 1930s.
Snowskates consist of a pair of flexible ski boots with integrated bases resembling sled runners that are approximately the same length as the boot itself, incorporating a steel edge. They can be used on pavement, in parking lots, on streets or even down stairs, as long as the surface is covered by snow.
Sled Dogs is a comfortable, light boot, with an integrated unique base/ski with steel edges for a maximum control. The base/ski is fixed to the boot. Snowskates combine the freedom and aggressive movements from inline skates and ice skates, with the freedom and challenge of slalom and snowboarding.
Snowskates are easy and fast to learn, and extremely compact. All you need is a pair of snowskates, no skis or poles (or ski lifts for that matter), just some snow. You can skate on pavements, in parking lots, streets, and even down stairs. Not to mention in the garden, down hills, in the woods, and of course on the slopes.
The similar term snowskating more usually applies to a skateboard for use on snow (which is a shortened term of "snowskateboarding").
History
Snowskates were invented in The Netherlands, and originally consisted of a simple wood runner that was tied to the users boots around 1865.[1]
The earliest versions came in many varieties and they mostly were custom products, not commercially produced.
The more known commercially produced models came from Germany in the 1950s.
The modern version of snowskates was invented by Swiss inventor Hanes Jacob in the 1970s.
As of June 2016, the only producer of snowskates is the Norwegian brand Sled Dogs snowskates.
Types and distributors of SledDogs snowskates
Multiple types of snowskates and accessories are available at the official webite and at the official distributors in more than 30 countries around the World.
In 2016 there are distributors in Europe, Russia, Australia and New Zealand, China, South Korea, Canada, USA and in South America.
The available types are the FF01 female model, the F3.02 basic model, the F5.03 Limited model and the K9.01 Rabid extreme model for gaining higher speed and jumps.
Social media links
SledDogs snowskates has multiple official social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Google+, website and blog.
TV appearances
The skates was featured in British Channel 4 TVs show "The Jump" where celebrities (Steve-O, Dean Cain, Heather Mills, Brian McFadden, Stacey Solomon etc.) were competing with SledDogs snowskates in series 2 in 2015 and in series 3 in 2016. Both series were watched over 2,5 million wievers.
SledDogs Bonefight race series
The first ever cross downhill competition using snowskates, called SledDogs Bonefight was held in Wagrain, Austria on the 20th of December, 2015.
| Date | Location | Women's 1St place | Men's 1st Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 December 2015 | Wagrain, Austria | Alice Zenz (AUT) | Philip Auerswald (GER) |
It was followed by 2 more races during the winter season of 2015-2016.
The next race was held in the bigest indoor skislope of the World in Snowworld, Landgraaf, The Netherlands followed by the third race in Red Deer, Canada.
The first ever SledDogs Bonefight World Champion is Luca Dallago who is also a top 10 athlete in RedBull Crashed Ice series.
The Bonefight race series has its own Facebook community page.
The most famous snowskater
Ingi Freyr Sveinbjörnsson from Iceland is the most famous skater on SledDogs snowskates.
Top freestyle snowskater in 2015
He also developed the following tricks on SledDogs snowskates:
360, 540, 720, Frontflip, Play dead, The twisted donut.
As of June 2016 he holds the fastest measured downhill speed record on SledDogs snowskates of 113 Kph / 70,2 Mph
References
- ↑ "Snow skates". The virtual ice skates museum. Retrieved 14 December 2015.