A Case Study on Fitting to New Sports

By Means of Selecting the '88 All Japanese Snow-Board Champion

Abstract

This study examines the hypothesis that “Snow-boarding”, a new sport, is greatly influenced by skiing or surfing, by means of selecting a typical individual Snow-boarder's case and verifying it in Japan. By verification of this case it was expected to elucidate concrete data related to today's general theory of “lifetime sports” and “environmental theory” on outdoor sports. As a result of verifying Skiing and Surfing in the process of their relationships to Snow-boarding, the following were made clear:
1) It may be said that Skiing, practiced at school from elementary school to high school, has played a rather important role in the process of adapting to Snow-boarding. This fact can be taken as one aspect of the theory of lifetime sports, along with a proof of close relations with Skiing and Snow-boarding.
2) Surfing is considerd to be significant in the introduction of Snow-boarding, which also makes it clear that Surfing is conceptually connected with Snow-boarding.
3) It was made clear that Skiing and Surfing have developed in local and environmental areas, and they are concrete examples of the environmental theory on outdoor sports.