Timeline history of the Ski Club

  The Ski Club Of Great Britain Events

2500 BC - The Rodoy Carvings above the arctic circle in Norway show a man on long runners with a hunting implement.

1000AD - First written account of skiing ‘The Viking Sagas’

1206 - Norwegian civil war – 2 scouts carried the infant heir to the throne 35 miles on skis. The ‘Birchleg Race’ commemorates this.

1523 - Gustav Vasa made a trip on skis in Sweden to raise an army against the Danes. The Vasaloppet Cross Country race honours this.

C18 and C19 - the Norwegian and Swedish armies used skis for winter warfare. They had 2 skis one long ski for gliding, the shorter one (ardour) to brake and climb which skins could be applied to.

Late 1830s - skis introduced to USA by Scandinavian immigrants in the upper Midwest.

1840 - The Norwegian army began to hold cross-country ski races.

1868 - Sondre Norheim ‘Father of Modern Skiing’ broke all the jumping and cross-country records at a tournament in Christiana ( Oslo). He added a willow strap around the heel and contoured his skis to have a slight waist in the middle. The new techniques were called ‘Christiana’ and ‘Telemark’.

1874 - Tommy Todd first unofficial speed record of 85 miles per hour

1882 - First Hickory Ski – thinner more flexible ski.

1893 - H. M Christiansen built first 2-layered laminated ski

1903 - Ski Club of Great Britain was formed

1905 – French Army produced first Telemark Ski at Briancon.

1905 - The Ski Club Year Book was started

1912 - notice sent from the Ski Club to hotels in the alps about the danger of avalanches

1920s – early snowboards were reported

1920 - post WWI the Ski Club became active once more

1921 - Arnold Lunn organised the British National Ski Championships at Wengen
and
The Ski Club persuaded Zermatt, Wengen and Murren to use their railways in winter - the first ski lifts

1922 - Arnold Lunn set up the first modern slalom in Murren

1923 – The Ladies Ski Club was founded
and
the oldest ski museum Skimuseet i Holmenkollen opened in Holmenkollen

1924 – The Kandahar Ski Club was founded
and
the International Ski Federation (FIS) set up, first Winter Olympics were held.

1925 - Development of services for members, introduction of snow/weather reports in the National Newspapers

1926 - Ski Club sent an appeal for downhill and slalom racing to be recognised.

1928 – British rules for downhill and slalom provisionally approved by FIS
and
Rudolph Lettner of Salzburg introduced segmented steel edge for skis
and
Aluminium ski prototyped in France.

1928 - First Ski Club Reps sent out to the Alps.

1929 - The Pery Medal was announced for the most notable contribution to skiing.

1930 - FIS accepted the Ski Club rules for slalom and downhill.

1931 - Ski Club organised first World Downhill and Slalom Championships at Murren

1932 - Bjørn Ullevoldsaeter invented the first successful 3 layer ski

1936 - Arnold Lunn persuaded the International Olympic Committee to include downhill and slalom.

1939 – film showing Vern Wickland riding a primitive snowboard down a Chicago hill.

WW2 - the yearbook continued to be published

1944 - Cellulix, the first cellulose plastic bottom, for Dynamic skis in France

1945 - Ski Club moved from Hobart Place to 118 Eaton Square

1948 - Donale Gomme a member produced the Gomme - it had 3 different material layers

1949 - Howard Head's plywood-core, pressure-bonded aluminum Head Standard with continuous integral steel edge the most commercially successful early metal ski.

1955 - Kofler introduced the first polyethylene base.

1959 - Fred Langendorf and Art Molnar, in Montreal invented first successful plastic fiberglass ski.

1963 - 1 st Reps Course held in Sauze d’Oulx

1964 – Sherman Poppen built the first snowboard, ‘Snurfer’ 1.20m long plastic plank: two kids' skis bolted together, a present for his daughter Wendy - went into production in 1965

1964 - The Ski Club helped found the National Ski Federation of Great Britain.

1970 – Dimitrije Milovich formed ‘Winterstick’ the first snowboard company, the first models had steel edges

1972 - The Yearbook became Ski Survey

1976 – Winterstick made the first swallow tail board

Mid 1970s - Family Holidays were called Skiing Parties with a Purpose.

1977 – Jake Burton founded his own company ‘Burton Boards’ in Vermont. The ‘Snowboards’ were flexible wooden planks with waterski bindings and cost $38.

Late 1970s - introduced adult and over 50s holidays.

1977 – Tom Sims a former skateboard champion started to produce snowboards.

1977 – Bob Webber developed the famous Yellow Banana’ board made of polyethylene.

1979 – Paul Graves at the annual Snurfer contest in Michigan produced 4 sliding 360s and a front flip

1979 – First Half Pipe was found at Tahoe City

1980s - improved ski holidays for the British and formed the Information Department

1984 – James Bond rode an early snowboard in ‘A View to a Kill’ Tom Sims was the stuntman.

1985 – Jose Fernandes (Switz) first European snowboarder to compete in the USA
and
‘Absolutely Radical’ the first published snowboard magazine
and
Return of the steel edge to snowboards

1987 – European manufacturers designed asymmetrical boards
and
1st Snowboard World Championships in Europe at Livigno and St Moritz.

1988 – Peter Bauer won the 1 st International Snowboard World Cup.

1990 - Elan and Kneissl built prototypes of deep-sidecut "shaped" skis – the start of the carving revolution
and
The ISF was founded.

1995/6 - launched the first wintersports website skiclub.co.uk

1996 – Incorporated Freshtracks into the holidays programme.

1997 - Ski Club moved from Eaton Square to Wimbledon Village
and
Ski Survey became Ski and Board

1999 – World Snowboard Speed Record of 201.907km/h set by Darren Powell in Les Arcs

1999 - Ski and Board was redesigned

2000 - skiclub.co.uk became an interactive site

2004/5 -skiclub.co.uk was redesigned
and
Ski Club Holidays was re-branded as Ski Freshtracks

2005 - New green and grey jackets for Ski Club Reps after 12 years of blue and yellow.

2006 - The Ski Club launched SkiTV.co.uk, the first dedicated snowsports online TV channel.