tobogganing

tobogganing
Sport of sliding down a snow-covered hill on a toboggan, a long, flat-bottomed sled made of thin boards curved up at the front end.

The word is of Algonquian origin and probably refers to a towing sled. Tobogganing as a sport appears to have originated on the slopes of Mount Royal in Montreal in the late 19th century. In the early 20th century many tobogganing chutes (3-ft-wide wood-or ice-sided channels) were built.

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 the sport of sliding down snow-covered slopes and artificial-ice-covered chutes on a runnerless sled called a toboggan. In Europe, small sleds with runners are also called toboggans (see lugeing; skeleton sledding).

      The runnerless toboggan was originally an American Indian sled made of poles tied together with thongs. The modern version is usually built of thin, straight-grained boards of hickory, birch, or oak fastened together by light crosspieces. Some are made of metal or laminated wood. The front end is bent up and back to form the hood and is braced by rope or leather thongs. The flat sliding surface is generally about 18 inches (45 cm) wide and from 4 to 9 feet (1.2 to 2.7 m) long. The toboggan is light in weight and will support a heavy load on soft snow. It is well adapted to sliding down open slopes, where its large surface rides easily on loose, fluffy snow. Several persons can ride at one time, either lying prone or in a sitting position. The toboggan can be steered by lifting and twisting the front or by dragging a foot in the snow. It is also useful for hauling loads over wilderness trails or cross-country as well as for sport.

      Tobogganing as a sport probably originated on the slopes of Mount Royal in Montreal. During the late 1880s it spread to the United States, where it had considerable popularity until the early 1930s, when widespread enthusiasm for skiing brought about its popular decline. During the heyday of tobogganing, many artificial chutes were constructed. They were about 3 feet (about 1 m) wide with sides of ice or wood and frequently were built with several parallel tracks to accommodate more than one toboggan at a time. The chutes were quite steep at the top in order to accelerate the toboggan quickly. Speeds of up to 60 miles (96.6 km) per hour were attained. From the bottom of the chute, the toboggans coasted to a stop along a relatively flat, open track. Many of the chutes are still in use.

      World competition sledding is frequently described as toboganning, but it actually involves bobsledding, lugeing, and skeleton (Cresta) sledding as well.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Tobogganing — Toboggan To*bog gan, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Tobogganed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Tobogganing}.] To slide down hill over the snow or ice on a toboggan. Barilett. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tobogganing — rogučių sportas statusas T sritis Kūno kultūra ir sportas apibrėžtis Žiemos sporto šaka – greitasis leidimasis sportinėmis rogutėmis natūralia arba specialiai įrengta ledo trasa, turinčia vidutiniškai 15 viražų. Atsirado XIX a. pradžioje… …   Sporto terminų žodynas

  • tobogganing — noun Date: 1849 the act, art, or sport of riding a toboggan …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • tobogganing — noun the use of toboggans, historically for transport, but now usually for pleasure or for organised sport. As elsewhere in Canada, winter is the festive season, given up to sledging, skating, tobogganning, and other outdoor exhilarating… …   Wiktionary

  • tobogganing — to·bog·gan || tÉ™ bÉ‘gÉ™n / bÉ’g v. sled on snow in a toboggan (type of large sled) n. sled …   English contemporary dictionary

  • tobogganing — See: toboggan …   English dictionary

  • tobogganing —  n.m. Ensemble des sports de glisse tels que le bobsleigh, la luge et le skeleton …   Le dictionnaire des mots absents des autres dictionnaires

  • tobogganing — noun riding on a long light sled with low handrails • Derivationally related forms: ↑toboggan • Hypernyms: ↑sledding • Hyponyms: ↑luging …   Useful english dictionary

  • Federation internationale de bobsleigh et de tobogganing — Fédération internationale de bobsleigh et de tobogganing Fédération internationale de bobsleigh et de tobogganing Sigle …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Fédération Internationale De Bobsleigh Et De Tobogganing — Sigle …   Wikipédia en Français

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