The Snow ski an artefact in which today we take for granted. This essay will be focussed on comparing two eras, the medieval ages and today. These two time periods are selected to help depict the skis relevance towards material in culture. Material culture is best defined as objects which contribute towards our cultural and social wellbeing whether it’s a family emblem or a product consumed by the masses. It is artefacts from historical periods their designs and how they impact our lives. There will be a review on the functionality and the cultural importance of the ski and a reflection of concerns of consumerism and social wellbeing. Personal and contextual information will clarify the defining moment of the skis transition from its origin. This essay will not be a historical timeline, instead it will indicate how the snow ski, as an artefact, has been stripped from its original purpose of transportation, and transformed into one of the world’s most extreme and luxurious Sports.
Extreme sport: a sport involving great danger, an activity which pushes the boundaries of human’s physicality (Oxford University Press, 2015). Today skiing is considered as one of the world’s most extreme sports as the skier exhausts their body, challenging the execution of turns at an average speed of 46.7kmh (Johnson, 2005). The latest technology and engineering in ski development, is focussed on improving the design for speed and control. We use the ski as an instrument of entertainment and
Skiing has been found to be easier for many people. One of the main reasons is it is very similar to other sports like; ice skating, rollerblading and running. The ability to balance on a
This quality assurance was best displayed through Howard Head’s statement that attention to detail is what separates Head Ski from their competitors and that even during tough financial times, any defects or quality deviants were recalled without hesitation. Furthermore, the design of the ski is crucial to the performance of the skier and needs to take into consideration the 3 core functions of: Tracking, Traversing and Turning. Although in the early years as per Mr. Head, the main concentration was to make the best ski for the general public, by 1966, Head Ski was the top choice for performance for both, unskilled beginners and the top professional racers. This advantage in performance was prominent in a major international competition where one-third of all top 10 finishers were using Head products. Additionally, Head Ski truly believed in functionality before style. While competitors often introduced 6-8 different colours yearly for their skis, Head stuck to the basic colour of black and rarely made any model changes unless performance was lacking. The simplicity of using one colour really made Head distinctive and unique on the slopes and ultimately creating a status symbol for the brand. The emphasis on selective dealer relationships was a very strategic and distinctive strategy by Head. Many large stores were declined the opportunity to
The ski industry comprises of ten operational ski resorts (Figure 1) (NIER, 2006) worth over A$906 million. Yet, only “0.15% of the total continent” (Pickering, 2009) regularly receives snow as a result of low attitude mountains. Consequently, the limited area of snow is not the only limiting agent to skiing seasons with growing concerns of climate change.
On weekends, groups of Italian boys piled out of Milan-licensed Range Rovers. They unloaded skis, pulled on Dolomite ski pants and down jackets and trudged up to the slopes. There were a few Australians from the local youth hostel skiing in jeans.
For future designs, there are a number of things that should be considered. The apparatus should have a means to turn effectively. This was something that a design using flippers and a stomping motion could do well, because the rotation was controlled by the foot that was chosen to move in the boat. It is possible to turn the skis by lifting them partially out of the water and rotating the leg, however this is a slow turn, and requires the user to stop moving forward for the turn. If a third rope were attached between the poles, then there would be a maximum outward roll, and the ropes on the inside, in combination with the limitations of the human body create a limit on the maximum inward roll of the shoes. This would allow the user to release
Nordic skiing, also known as cross country skiing, has popularized over the previous decades. This sport involves several muscles working together to achieve the fastest speed while maintaining the speed for the entire race. This sport is very difficult and requires full commitment to be successful.
the skis hook together to form a board. The bindings then slide into a different
The 2018 Winter Olympics are here, which means that snowboarders, skiers, sledders, and many other people get to show off their skills in the most prolific sports events of all time. Winning gold is every athletes’ goal and dream, but just making it into the Olympics is a great achievement itself, and shows how skilled you are. The events, competitors, and history of the Olympics are all huge topics that can be explored and elaborated on endlessly. A single event can be used for many essays and reports, which this essay is an example of.
Alpine skiing is one type of sport in the Olympic. Specifically, racers who ski down slopes the fastest win. However, the competitors must go through events before ending at the finish line. Examples of the events consist of the salmon, a course that requires short tight turns, the giant slalom, widely spaced turns, and the SUPER-giant slalom, which has no turns and runs downhill. All slamons occur above sea level. Turning tight corners is challenging in the alpine skiing. The salmons get easier. Bobsleighing is another sport in the Olympics that relates to skiing. Additionally, athletes race down an icy track on a sled. The tracks ranges from 1,260 feet or above sloping down to 1,000 feet or below. Bobsledding requires control over the sleigh. In addition, ice makes bobsledding slippery. Snowboarding on slopes also consist in the Olympics. Furthermore, snowboarders ride down a course begins at an altitude of 760 meters and ends at 650 meter. The style of snowboarding depends a lot. Snowboarding takes a lot of hand-eye coordination. Therefore, many types of sports need high elevation and snow or
Bombardier decides to sell off their iconic product because the company is suffering a huge debt problem and needs to get rid of
Over the years as sports in the Olympics have progressed and changed, Snowboarding Halfpipe for Men and Women has become one of many people’s favorite events to watch. Snowboarding is a valued experience that many people enjoy. Although not all may agree, snowboarding has worked its way into numerous lives as a passion and a profession. Furthermore, here are many interesting facts to learn about snowboarding, but most people enjoy reading about snowboarding came to be, statistics, and the risk. Like most items, the snowboard was made for a purpose.
In mid March much of the northeast was hit with a large snow storm named stella. fortunate enough for me being an avid snowmobile rider i was almost right in the middle of the storm receiving the greatest amount of snow. It started off like any other snow day, my brother and I got up early in the morning and shoveled snow and plowed it all day making sure we kept the amount of snow on our driveway less than eight inches. Once the storm finally ended my brother and I got out our snowmobiles and road with a couple of our friends all over. We rode all the way from Mount Pocono to Stroudsburg since we were under a state of emergency. My family friends and I all had our share of fun with this but we realized that we wanted to go to the snowmobile
Easton Bell Sports, Inc. is a leading designer, developer in sporting good products and accessories. Easton provides products from youth levels to professional athletes, who want innovative and top of the line products. Easton’s design and technology of Composite, Aerospace Grade Fibers, Scandium and Aluminum Alloy’s has led them to be one of the best in cutting edge performance equipment. Easton’s dedication to research and development has brought many new and innovative products, which have set new standards of performance in many different sports. Easton Also believes in expanding and consistently improving existing products is also a
These experiences led Klaus to introduce a variety of skiwear products. He is credited in making the first goose down vest out of an old down comforter. Klaus also introduced turtlenecks, wind shirts in the U.S. and in 1980 he popularized the "ski brake." Klaus products are targeted for serious skiers. Eighty five percent of the Sport Obermeyer's market is a serious skier that utilizes the products for winter activities. Sport Obermeyer's produces manufactures for five different genders: men, women, boys, girls, and preschoolers. Each gender market offers an excellent price/value relationship, where value was defined as both functionality and style. Sport Obermeyer's focuses on the middle to high-end ski-market. Functionality was critical to the serious skier-products, which had to be warm and waterproof, yet not constrain the skier's ability to move his or her arms and legs freely. Management believed that the effective implementation of its product strategy relied on several logistics-related activities, including delivering matching collections of products to retailers at the same time (to allow consumers to view and purchase coordinated items at the same time), and delivering products to retail stores early in the selling season (to maximize the number of "square-footage days" products were available at retail). Since the beginning Klaus has been actively involved in the company's management.
Their products were offered in five different genders: men’s, women’s, boys’, girls’, and preschoolers’. The company segments each “gender” market according to price, type of skier, and how “fashion-forward” the market was. Within each “gender”, numerous styles are offered, each in several colors and a range of sizes (See Exhibit 3 for examples).