A skwal is the main piece of equipment used for skwalling, a hybrid sport combining the carving of

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

and riding feel of

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

. It is similar to a

snowboard Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Mar ...

monoski A monoski is a single wide ski used for skiing on snow. The same boots, bindings, and poles are used as in alpine skiing. Unlike in snowboarding, both feet face forward, rather than sideways to the direction of travel. Similar equipment incl ...

in that both feet are attached to the same board. On a skwal the feet are one in front of the other, in line with the direction the skwal is pointing in. This differs from snowboards (in which the feet are side-on to the direction of the board) and monoskis (in which the feet point in the direction of the board, but are side-by-side). Skwal

History

The skwal was invented by two French ski-school instructors Patrick "Thias" Balmain and Manuel Jammes, with the first prototypes (3) appearing in 1992, made by J.B. at Skis Lacroix for the November show in Les 2 Alpes. They envisaged it as a way to offer different sensations to what skiing and

could offer, at a time when 'carving' skis were only just starting to take off. A French company called Lacroix took an interest, recruited Patrick Balmain, and started producing skwals. A few years later,

Patrick Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint * Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

left Lacroix and started his own skwal-making company. There are now several other makers of skwals, though the sport has never gained the widespread popularity its creators predicted - possibly due to the perceived difficulty of the sport.

Bindings

Skwal bindings are specific. They were so specific that on the first public show in November 1992 in Les 2 Alpes, only the model made by Francois Seabright were useable. They were the only bindings adjustable in the 3 axis, enabling to find the perfect feet position for the rider. It moved on since then. They resemble those alpine snowboarding, but are usually thinner to fit the board which is very thin. The rear binding has a heel that creates a natural inclination for the rear foot. The front binding has a canting making an opposite inclination for the front foot.

Boots

Alpine snowboarding hard boots are typically used for skwal. Feet must be held firmly but ankles need the flexibility to bend front and back. For comfort, the rear foot should be less tight than the front foot.

External links

Ace SkwalSkwalzoneSkwalattackMonoski-Skwal
{{Authority control Snow sports

History

Bindings

Boots

See also

External links