Skiers returning to traditional wooden skis

(3 Mar 2012)
AP Television
Skotterud, Norway - 12 December 2012
1. Various of people doing cross country ski with wooden skis
2. Various of wooden skis manufacturers doing cross country ski
3. SOUNDBITE (Norwegian) Jonas Ronning, skis manufacturer:
"After the world championship in Oslo more people are now recognising us. Many people didn't even know that wooden skis were still manufactured. But now they want to try them when they go out in the mountains. And then they tell their friends and that is why we are selling many more skis nowadays."
4. Exterior of factory
5. Various shots of wooden skis being manufactured combining old and modern techniques
6. SOUNDBITE (Norwegian) Ulf Ronning, skis manufacturer:
"During the process the wood is treated in more than thirty different ways. Children skis are made of over 20 different pieces of wood. And adult skis more than forty or fifty depending on the model. That is for stabilising the ski to keep the spin and the touch so it remains stable for a long time. A wooden ski like my father produced it would lose its top and turn flat in a short time and then you have to reshape it. But not with the ones we make today."
7. Various of Ronning comparing old with new wooden skis
Oslo, Norway - 16 December 2012
8. Exterior of sports store ++NIGHT SHOT++
9. Various of store salesperson selling cross country skis to client
10. SOUNDBITE (Norwegian) Bjorn Gabelstad, store salesperson:
"The most important thing when choosing a wooden ski is to personalise oneself and building an image. But the main difference is the gliding and the grip to your new ski."
11. Various of man doing cross country with plastic skis
12. SOUNDBITE (English) William Nicholson, ski instructor:
"So there is definitively a feeling for traditional skiing formats here. So maybe there is a growth in people making their own skis in more of an artisan way of making skis. Some of the kids prefer the snowboarding. But there are definitively more people trying traditional skiing."
13. Various of people doing alpine ski and snowboard
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Emily Richards, voxpop:
"I think if they want to do it they can do it. I don't feel as safe. But I'm quite happy with what I've got. But if they want to do it it's lovely to follow traditions."
15. Mid of woman skiing
16. Wide of snow resort
LEADIN:
Wooden skis are coming back into vogue in Norway.
Decades have passed since they were replaced with modern, faster synthetic ones but the traditional craft is thriving in the country of snow and ice.
STORYLINE:
Throughout the years, skiing in Norway moved from being a mere means of getting from A to B, to become both a sport and a pastime.
Many Norwegians feel they were born with skis on their feet.
Skiing is a family activity as well as the number one winter sport in Norway.
Children in Scandinavia learn to ski from a very young age.
The word ski derives from the old Norse word "skith", meaning wooden stick.
In the old days skis were just that: a pair of wooden sticks that allowed people to "walk" through the wintry countryside.
Many of today's major ski brands started manufacturing wooden skis but then moved to modern materials and technologies.
Besides a few enthusiasts, a few years ago wooden skis were just nostalgic memorabilia exhibited in museums or seen in black and white old family pictures.
Here in Skotterud, a small town by the Swedish border 77 kilometres (50 miles) east of Oslo is located one of the two ski manufacturers in Norway.
And the only one still manufacturing wooden skis.
Two-layered laminated skis were first developed in the 1890's.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...