Leisure Kicks - The essencial sport and leisure guide

Snowsport is a popular activity made up of skiing (alpine), snowboarding, freestyle, cross country and telemark disciplines that take place on snow, artificial surfaces and, more recently, on indoor artificial snow slopes. Snowsport can be undertaken as a leisure activity or competitive sport and is suitable for most ages.

First up is snowboarding. Like its surfing and skateboarding ancestry, is as much a lifestyle and culture as it is a popular sport. Its popularity is attributed to a freedom of expression rarely enjoyed by many mainstream sports.

Freestyle applied to skiing covers the events of moguls, aerials, big air, half pipe, slope style and ski cross. Aerials, slope style and half pipe feature in the Olympics.

While it is still used in some countries as a means of getting around, cross country skiing is now a worldwide competitive sport and a recreational pastime. It is also one of the most challenging endurance sports, using every muscle group and combining the strength of a sprinter and the stamina of a distance runner. It is said that cross country skiing uses a greater number of muscles than any other sport! 

If you haven't seen anyone telemarking, it looks something like a series of curtsies whilst stepping down the slope. Try walking downstairs in a zig-zag, changing direction on each step, and you'll get the idea. For anyone new to skiing, this stepping forwards can feel very natural and stable.

Choose your sport

An intro to snowsports from Ski Scotland