Eastside Rap vs Westside Rap, Oasis vs Blur, Real Madrid vs Barcelona, Sean Connery vs Roger Moore, Gryffindors vs Slytherins, Tom Jones vs Jom Tones; the history of our world is filled with globe-shaping rivalries. In the world of action sports, perhaps no rivalry is as intense as that between the snowboarders and the skiers.
When this rivalry is being discussed, one subject matter that often gets brought to the foreground is the Alta Ski Area in Utah, USA. The Alta Ski Area, if you weren’t aware, doesn’t permit the riding of snowboards anywhere on its slopes. Needless to say, this has been a focus of anger for many die-hard snowboarders.
On Friday, attorneys for the ski-only region went to the federal appeals court to defend their right to keep Alta a snowboard-free zone. The case, which was brought forward by Wasatch Equality, claims that ski-only areas are operating on public land and that they must allow access for snowboarders.
In defence against this legal action, attorneys for Alta had this to say:
“Quite simply, the (American) Constitution neither recognises nor protects a right to snowboard.” In recent years, the resort has stated that snowboarders are susceptible to additional blind spots as a result of riding sideways. This, the resort feels, would put its skiing clientele at risk of injury from snowboard collisions.
Wasatch Equality have countered these suggestions by stating that the defence is based on antiquated prejudices. They believe that safety concerns have nothing to do with the ban. In a written statement, Wasatch Equality said, “Defendants have transformed public land into a private country club controlled by those exclusive, elitist, and discriminatory views.”
Oral arguments are upcoming, but a big day in court has yet to be set. It’s certainly a story that’s worth keeping an eye-on, and we’ll be sure to bring you developments as they happen.
