snowboarding

In a message dated 7/13/2005 2:28:53 AM Pacific Daylight Time, gbrotherton@____.com writes:

Dr. Vicars,

What is the sign for snowboarding?

-Gene Brotherton
Port Orange, FL

Gene,

Two popular versions:

First version: Sign "SNOW" and then (if you are right handed) hold your left "flat-hand" (like a B-Hand) in front of you, palm down. Put your right-upside-down-V-hand on top of the B-Hand (as if standing on a snowboard). Then quickly move both hands forward-down a couple inches, then back up and forward-down again as if showing a person going down hill on a board.

The other sign for snowboarding is to hold two flat-hands out in front of you, one in front of the other, both hands palms-down. (Actually the palms are pointing down and back a bit at an angle as if representing feet on an imaginary board on a hill. The fingertips are pointing down the hill as if they were your toes.) Move both hands down-forward in a short-quick movement and repeat.

Let's go through that step by step. First of all the sign for SNOW:
The fingers flutter as you move the hands down and side to side.

SNOWBOARDING
You can add the sign "surf" to the sign for SNOW to mean "snowboarding"

SNOWBOARD (variation)
This sign is done similar to the sign for "ski" but you use "flat hands" instead of "x" handshapes.
Hold your right and left hands out in front of you. One hand in front of the other. Point them forward and slightly downward. Move them forward and down a bit, then bring them back up part way then forward and down again.