A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as
snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, and skating.
The structure is wood, concrete, metal, earth, or snow. It resembles a cross
section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ramps, topped by copings and
decks, facing each other across a flat transition, also known as a tranny.
Originally half-pipes were half sections of a large diameter pipe. Since the
1980s, half-pipes contain an extended flat bottom between the quarter-pipes;
the original style half-pipes are no longer built. Flat ground provides time
to regain balance after landing and more time to prepare for the next trick.
Half-pipe applications include leisure recreation, skills development,
competitive training, amateur and professional competition,
demonstrations, and as an adjunct to other types of skills training. A
skilled athlete can perform in a half-pipe for an extended period of time
by pumping to attain extreme speeds with relatively little effort. Large
half-pipes make possible many of the aerial tricks in BMX, skating and
skateboarding. For winter sports such as freestyle
skiing and snowboarding, a half-pipe can be dug out of the ground or snow perhaps
combined with snow buildup. The plane of the transition is oriented downhill at a
slight grade to allow riders to use gravity to develop speed and facilitate
drainage of melt. In the absence of snow, dug out half-pipes can be used by
dirtboarders, motorcyclists, and mountain bikers.
Performance in a half-pipe has been rapidly increasing over recent years.
The current limit performed by a top-level athlete for a rotational trick
in a half-pipe is 1440 degrees. In top level competitions, rotation is
generally limited to emphasize style and flow.
Origin In the early 1970s, swimming pools were
used by skateboarders in a manner similar to surfing ocean waves. In 1975,
some teenagers from Encinitas, California, and other northern San Diego
County communities began using 24 ft diameter water pipes in the central
Arizona desert associated with the Central Arizona Project, a federal
public works project to divert water from the Colorado River to the city of
Phoenix. Tom Stewart, one of these young California skateboarders, looked for a
more convenient location. Stewart consulted with his brother Mike, an
architect, how to build a ramp that resembled the Arizona pipes. With his
brother's plans in hand, Stewart built a wood frame half-pipe in the front yard
of his house in Encinitas. In a few days, the press had gotten word
about Stewart's creation and contacted him directly. Tom quickly formed
Rampage, Inc. and began selling blueprints for his half-pipe design.
About five months later, Skateboarder magazine featured Stewart and Rampage.
Design The character of a half-pipe depends on
the relationship between four attributes: most importantly, the
transition radius and the height, and less so, the degree of flat bottom and
width. Extra width allows for longer slides and grinds. The flat bottom,
while valued for recovery time, serves no purpose if it is longer than it needs
to be. Thus, it is the ratio between height and transition radius that
determines the personality of a given ramp, because the ratio determines the
angle of the lip. On half-pipes which are less than
vertical, the height, typically between 50% and 75% of the radius, profoundly
affects the ride up to and from the lip, and the speed at which tricks must be
executed. Ramps near or below 3 ft of height sometimes fall below 50% of the
height of their radius. Technical skaters use them for advanced flip
tricks and spin maneuvers. Smaller transitions that maintain the steepness
of their larger counterparts are commonly found in pools made for skating
and in custom mini ramps. The difficulty of technical tricks is increased with
the steepness, but the feeling of dropping in from the coping is
preserved. Common mistake in the construction of
ramps is constant radius in transitions: Most of the ramps are built with a
quarter circle of constant radius for easy construction, but the best ramps
are not constant radius but a parabola with little final vert. The parabola
allows for easy big air with return still on the curve and not on the flat.
= Skateboarding, freestyle BMX, and aggressive inline skating =
Frame and support for skateboard, BMX, and inline skating half-pipes frequently
consist of a 2x4 lumber framework sheathed in plywood finished with sheets
of masonite or Skatelite. Also, a metal frame finished in wood or metal is
sometimes used. Most commercial and contest ramps are
surfaced by attaching sheets of some form of masonite to a frame. Many
private ramps are surfaced in the same manner but may use plywood instead of
masonite as surface material. Some ramps are constructed by spot-welding sheet
metal to the frame, resulting in a fastener-free surface. Recent
developments in technology have produced various versions of improved masonite
substances such as Skatelite, RampArmor, and HARD-Nox. These ramp surfaces are
far more expensive than traditional materials.
Channels, extensions, and roll-ins are the basic ways to customize a ramp.
Sometimes a section of the platform is cut away to form a roll-in and a channel
to allow skaters to commence a ride without dropping in and perform tricks
over the gap. Extensions are permanent or temporary additions to the height of
one section of the ramp that can make riding more challenging.
Creating a spine ramp is another variation of the half-pipe. A spine ramp
is basically two quarter pipes adjoined at the vertical edge.
Snow sports Half-pipes in snow were originally done
in large part by hand or with heavy machinery. Pipes were cut into snow
using an apparatus similar to a grain elevator. The inventor was Colorado
farmer Doug Waugh who created the Pipe Dragon used in both the 1998 and 2002
Winter Olympics. The current method of half-pipe cutting is by use of a Zaugg
Pipe Monster. Zaugg is based in Eggiwil, Switzerland. Zaugg Pipe Monsters have
been used to build the Winter Olympic half-pipes, Winter X-Games, US Open
Snowboarding Championship, the World Cup, and many, many more events around
the world. The Pipe Monster uses five cutting edges called haspels to cut the
snow, rather than a chain. Also Zaugg pipe groomers create an elliptical shape
that is safer and allows the rider to gain more speed. Zaugg has created a
22-foot Pipe Monster that for some years made the world's largest elliptical
half-pipe. In winter sports, a 22 ft halfpipe is called a superpipe.
There are two major companies training snowcat operators and building
half-pipes for events such as the X Games. Planet Snow Design and Snow Park
Technologies were founded on this growing snowboard market.
The current world record for highest jump in a half-pipe is held by freestyle
skier, Peter Olenick. At Winter X Games XIV in Aspen, Colorado, Olenick achieved
a height of 24 feet 11 inches References