| A-F |
| Word |
Sport |
Definition |
| Abadaca |
BMX |
Where a rider goes straight up the ramp, touches the back tire to the coping, then goes down the ramp fakie. |
| Abec |
SKT |
The tolerance rating system for bearing that designates the level for stress resistance of the bushing. The lower the rating the looser the bearing, the higher the rating the tighter the bearing. |
| Abec 1 |
SKT |
The standard rating for Chinese and Russian bearings. |
| Abec 3 |
SKT |
The standard rating for German and Swiss bearing, with Swiss considered the best. This is due to the fact that a skater has the options to rebuild these bearings, because they have a C-ring that allows the bearing to be taken apart. |
| Abs (acrylonitrile butadien) |
SNB |
A hard tough lightweight plastic that remains flexible and maintains a shape memory when heated. Used in contraction for a tip-tail sidewalls and any area which needs reinforcement. |
| Acid |
INL |
Street term, when a skater has his front foot outside of grindplate, with his back foot on soul. |
| Acid drop |
SKT |
To ride straight off of something and freefall to the ground. |
| Aerials |
ETC |
With specialized big air ramps and landings, original moves were upright moves; spread eagles and back scratches and helicopters. Later complicated inverted maneuvers began to dominate, quadruple flips and multiple front and back flips with twists. |
| Air to fakie |
SNB |
Any trick where the wall is approached riding forwards, no rotation is made, and the snowboarder lands riding backwards. |
| Alley-oop (2) |
SNB |
A term used to describe any maneuver in the halfpipe where one rotates 180 or more degrees in the uphill direction; that is, rotating backside on the frontside wall or rotating frontside on the backside wall. |
| Alley-oop |
SKT |
When a trick is performed in the opposite direction of which the skater is moving. |
| Alley-oop soul |
INL |
A backwards soul grind in which the skater turns his body in the air hopping on the rail. |
| Andrecht |
SNB |
A rear handed backside handplant with a front-handed grab. |
| Axle |
SKT |
The metal rod running through the hanger, with the ends being where the wheels are screwed on. |
| Back Flip |
BMX |
Done in the air with the rider still on the bike. In vert, and occasionally in street, the rider will land in fakie position on the same ramp. In dirt and street, the rider will do a back flip from jump to jump. |
| Backside |
MULTI |
When a turn or trick is executed in a direction that the back of the body is facing the arc of the trick. |
| Backside air |
SNB |
Any air performed on the backside wall of halfpipe. |
| Backside rodeo |
SNB |
Coming off a jump and turning your back down the hill, flipping 540 and landing fakie or rotating a total of 720 and landing regular. |
| Backside rotation |
MULTI |
Rotating clockwise for a regular-footer and rotating counter-clockwise for a goofy-footer. When riding switchstance the exact reverse applies and a regular footer will rotate counter-clockwise and a goofy footer will rotate clockwise. |
| Backside wall |
SNB |
When standing at the top of the halfpipe and looking down towards the bottom, the backside wall is the left wall for regular footers and the right wall for goofy footers. If you ride straight down the center of the halfpipe, your backside wall is behind |
| Backslide |
INL |
A soul grind variation in which the skater has front foot grabbed, back foot on outside plate. |
| Bar Spin |
BMX |
While a rider is in the air, he spins the handlebars a full rotaion or more, grabbing them again before landing. Bar spins are thrown in combination with other tricks, such as back flips, to make them more difficult and earn more points with the judges. |
| Base plate |
SKT |
The flat part of the truck that fixes to the board via four drilled holes for truck bolts. |
| Bearings |
SKT |
Bearings have an inner and outer part, which the balls ride on, allowing the wheel to turn. |
| Bevel |
SNB |
The degree of angle to which the edges of a board can be tuned. Snowboards used for racing and carving should have a greater bevel than say a board used in the halfpipe. |
| Bi-axial fiberglass |
SNB |
A reinforcing cloth used in the production of snowboards. It provides excellent torsional stiffness compared to regular fiberglass weaves. |
| Bio grab |
INL |
To grab the outside of the skate with the hand of the same side. |
| Blindside |
MULTI |
A term given to any rotation where the rider has oriented him/herself "blind" to his/her takeoff or landing and must stretch to look over their shoulder. Such a technique usually increases the difficulty. |
| Blunt |
SKT |
When a trick is performed, the contact spot of the board with the obstacle is the area of the tail behind the back trucks. The wheels are also on top of the object. |
| Board |
SKT |
Also called a deck. The platform that the hardware is mounted to, usually maple laminate. |
| Board length |
SNB |
The measurement from the tip to the tail. |
| Boardslide/railslide |
SKT |
To slide on an obstacle or lip with the contact point being the underside of the board. |
| Boned out |
MULTI |
A term used to explain the emphasis of style in a trick. In other words, if someone "boned out a indy" they would grab hard and create an emphasis of the maneuver such that his/her legs may appear extended or stretched to a maximum degree. |
| Bonk |
SNB |
The act of hitting an object with the snowboard. |
| Box Jump |
BMX |
Jump used in street competitions consisting of two ramps on either side of an approximately 10-foot deck. |
| Brainless |
INL |
A backflip with 540 degree turn on a ramp. |
| Budget variation |
INL |
A variation where on only the position of one skate is changes during the trick. |
| Bushing |
SKT |
Urethane spacers found in between the base plate and truck that cushions the sleeve of the truck when it's turning. |
| Butter slide |
MULTI |
Rider approaches wake or snow, then hops the board and lands on the edge of the wake or on the snow with the board sideways (perpendicular to the direction of travel) and slides the board on top. |
| Cab |
INL |
Short for Caballerial. |
| Camber |
SNB |
The arched shape that is designed into the boards construction, creating a high point that lies on or near the midpoint of the boards running surface. To create spring or rebound in the flex of a board. |
| Camber |
ETC |
The arch built into a ski so that the ski can distribute the skier's weight over the entire length of the ski. |
| Camel |
INL |
A toe-tap upon re-entry onto a ramp or obstacle. |
| Can-Can |
BMX |
When a rider takes one foot off a pedal and stretches their leg over the frame between his legs so both legs are on the same side of the bike, then returns the foot to the pedal before landing. |
| Canting |
ETC |
Wedges placed underneath ski boots to properly position skier's knees over the ski at the proper angle. |
| Canyon |
BMX |
The sunken area between ramps in dirt and the empty space between two ramps in street. The big danger in dirt and street is when a rider may not go far enough or may have trouble with a maneuver and doesn't make the second ramp, landing in the canyon. |
| Cap construction |
SNB |
A form of integrated structural design that used the outermost material or skin to bear the load of strength of an object. Much like the shell of crab. To reduce weight and enhance torsional rigidity and edge responsiveness and eliminate the need for sepa |
| Carbon fiber material |
SNB |
A fiber woven material produced from the mineral carbon. To stiffen and strengthen a board with a minimum of added weighted. |
| Carve |
SKT |
To make a long, curving arc while skating. |
| Carved turn |
ETC |
A turned arc by a skier with little or no slipping or skidding. |
| Cased |
MULTI |
To land short or miss a landing. |
| Chatter |
SKI |
The tendency of skis not to grip on snow or ice when pout on edge, caused either by the inability of the ski to dampen vibration or by the skier not weighting the ski properly and sufficiently. |
| Chicken salad air |
SNB |
The rear hand reaches behind the front leg, grabs the heel side between the bindings while the front leg is boned. Also, the wrist is rotated inwards to complete the grab. |
| Cliffhanger |
MTX |
Rider hooks his feet under the bars and riases his hands in the air |
| Closed mold |
SNB |
A mold that holds all the pre-shaped components of a board in a sealed chamber which eliminates additional shaping after pressing. To mass producer snowboards more rapidly by containing the board shape and minimizing finishing and shaping steps. |
| Concave |
SKT |
The contour given to decks. The concave will dip down from the left to right and should be asymmetrical. Provides strength to the board and aids the skater when performing tricks. |
| Construct flex |
SNB |
Q uniform flex pattern from nose to center to tail. To balance the overall flex patter of the board from the tip and tail to the center. |
| Continuous edge |
SKT |
Edges designed without small "cracks" in the outmost contact area. To add strength and at times, stiffness to the edges. |
| Coping |
MULTI |
A rounded lip at the top of a ramp or obstacle, usually made of metal, cement, or PVC pipe. |
| Corkscrew 540 |
SNB |
Sideways backside 540, also called a barrel roll. |
| Cowboy |
INL |
Skater has front foot on outside plate, back foot on outside plate. Trick is also known as the Cab Driver and it resembles a mix of a Torque and a Backside. The Cowboy comes from the bowed shape of the legs when doing this trick. |
| Crail air |
SNB |
The rear hand grabs the toe edge in the front of the front foot while the rear leg is behind. |
| Crippler |
SNB |
An inverted aerial where the rider performs a 180 degree flip. The athlete approaches the wall riding forward, becomes airborne, rotates 90 degrees, flips over in the air, rotates another 90 degrees, and lands riding forward. |
| Crooked cop air |
SNB |
Tuck kneed backside grab |
| Crooked grind |
SKT |
Nosegrind with nose sliding at the same time. |
| Crossed |
INL |
A grab with the opposite hand of the skate. |
| Crossed up |
INL |
When the skater's legs are crossed while performing a trick. |
| Curb grind |
INL |
A grind performed on a sidewalk curb. |
| Dampening |
ETC |
The quality in a ski which absorbs vibration. |
| Dampening |
SKT |
To control and minimize the amount of resonance of vibration created by the energy separated by board flex and surface of the snow. Any material like rubber sheer, built into the edges, or core that keep the board quiet and more responsive. |
| Directional board and flex |
SNB |
A board designed to provide excellent characteristics when being ridden forward as opposed to backwards. Bindings are usually mounted farther back and the flex and sidecuts are altered accordingly, with the tail being a little stiffer. |
| Directional twin |
SNB |
A board that features designs of directions and twin tips to allow for a wider range of use, for example freeriding and halfpipe. |
| Disaster |
SNB |
A lip trick where one gets "hung up " on the coping, most often with the board perpendicular to the coping. |
| Double Can Can |
MTX |
Rider moves one leg to other side of bike, then brings other leg up to meet it, elevating his butt off the seat. |
| Double grab |
SNB |
Basically, doing two separate tricks while in the air. One goes off of a jump, grabs the board one way, then grabs it in another way, then lands. |
| Downhill ski |
SKI |
The lower ski or the one that will become the lower ski in any ski turn. |
| Drop in |
MULTI |
To enter the ramp or obstacle from the top. |
| Duck Foot |
SNB |
A term used to describe stance angles with toes pointing outward. |
| Durometer |
MULTI |
A measurement of the resiliency, or hardness, of a urethane wheel. |
| Edges |
MULTI |
The strips of metal usually made hard steel, on the outer edges of the running surface of skis or snowboards. |
| Effective edge |
SNB |
The length of metal edge on the snowboards which touches the ground; it is the effective part which is used to make a turn. It does not include the edge of the tip and tail. |
| Effective edge |
SKT |
The difference between the two contact areas beneath the tip and tail when the camber is depressed. A measurement used to define the actual length of the surface area that comes into contact on a perfectly flat surface. |
| Eggflip |
SNB |
An eggplant where the rider chooses to flip over in order to re-enter the pipe instead or rotating 180 degrees. This trick is performed forward to fakie or switchstance (fakie to forward). |
| Eggplant |
SNB |
A one-handed 180 degree invert in which the front hand is planted on the lip of the wall and the rotation is backside. |
| Electra base |
SNB |
An extremely hard sintered base material contracted with graphite to reduce friction. Generally black in color. Used on high-speed boards on colder snow/ice conditions. |
| Elgeurial (bfm) |
SNB |
An invert where the halfpipe wall is approached fakie, the rear hand is planted, a 360 degree backside rotation is made, and the rider lands going forward. Named after Eddie Elguera. |
| Elliptical flex |
SNB |
A flex pattern which is softer towards tip and tail. To create a smoother flex pattern than the mid-section of the board. |
| Enduro |
MTX |
Long distance, cross-country motocross race. Example: Baja 1,000. |
| Eurocarve |
SNB |
A term used to describe a certain mode of riding in which the rider makes large and hard cutting turns; usually getting way up on the edge and leaning the body parallel to the ground. |
| Extruded base |
SNB |
Particles of base materials are compressed and pushed out through a flat form to create a sheet of base material. This quality of base material is used for average temperature snow conditions and for easy base repair. |
| Fall line |
MULTI |
The path of least resistance down and given slope. |
| Farfernugan |
INL |
See Torque. |
| Farside |
INL |
When a trick is performed on the outside or away edge of a ramp or obstacle. |
| Fast slide |
INL |
A grind on one skate on which the skater rides the front foot on the inside of the grindplate and the back foot is grabbed. |
| Feeble grind |
SKT |
The back truck is grinding, front of body facing edge with toe-side rail grinding edge also. |
| Fiberglass |
SKT |
A fabric of woven glass fibers which is available in different weave patterns and weights for a variety of applications. To strengthen board construction and control the flex attributes in a board. |
| Fifty fifty |
SKT |
A double axle grind (on both trucks). |
| Flat bottom |
MULTI |
The area in a halfpipe between the two opposing transitional walls. |
| Flat spin |
INL |
The trick that turned heads in 1997/98. A skater gets air, turns the axis of his body nearly horizontal to the ground or ramp, spins, rights himself and lands. |
| Flatland |
SNB |
Term used to describe tricks performed on the flat slope with obstacles ( e.g. nose slide, blunt slide, tail wheelie). |
| Flex pattern |
SNB |
The relative softness and stiffness of a board along its length. To allow for the proper distribution of energy to be transfer to the board in the proper location also its running length for more effective edge control. |
| Floating edge |
SKT |
When a board is constructed with a rubber strip separating the edge material and core material. To act as a shock absorber to smooth out the ride and a board to enhance its responsiveness. |
| Foam |
SKT |
Polyurethane (PU) A synthetic resin material which is comprised of a base and a catalyst. When combined, expand to fill the cavity of a closed mold and bond. Used as a core and sometimes a bonding material in the construction of a snowboard. |
| Frame |
INL |
The component that attaches to the base of the skate and holds the wheels. |
| Free skiing |
ETC |
Skiing for fun, not competing or training. |
| Freeriding |
SNB |
Snowboarding on all types of terrain for fun, no contest, no halfpipe, no gates, no rules. |
| Freestyle |
SNB |
The kind of snowboarding which is mostly associated with riding the halfpipe, but may also be used to describe any type of snowboarding which includes tricks and maneuvers. |
| Freestyle |
MTX |
Expression contest in which riders are given a time allotment to hit a variety of jumps, performing aerial maneuvers for a judged score. Have also been called Freeride Competitions. |
| Fresh fish air |
SNB |
The backside version of the Stale Fish. |
| Front foot |
SNB |
The foot mounted closet to the nose. A regular footers left foot and a goofy footers right foot. |
| Front hand |
SNB |
The hand closet to the nose of the snowboards. The left hand for regular footers and the right hand for goofy footers. |
| Frontside |
MULTI |
When a turn or trick is executed in a direction that the front of the body is facing toward the outside of the arc of the trick. |
| Frontside air |
SNB |
The trick is best described for its grab. The frontside grab is with the rear hand between the bindings on the toe edge; in this particular maneuver the front leg is boned. It can also be any air performed on the frontside wall of the halfpipe. |
| Frontside turn |
SNB |
A turn where the toe edge faces to the outside of the turn while the snowboard is riding on the heel edge. A left for a regular footer and right turn for a goofy footer. |
| Fun Box |
BMX |
A four-sided box jump (ramp on every side) that is included in street courses. |
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