Colorado looks to adopt skiing and snowboarding as state sport

SUMMIT COUNTY — Hawaii has surfing, Maryland has lacrosse, and Alaska has dog mushing, so it only seems appropriate that Colorado name skiing and snowboarding as the official state winter sport.

The idea seemed like a no-brainer for nine year old Lakewood resident William Kane, who later proposed the resolution to State Representative Gwyn Green (D-Golden) last summer.

It was during an elementary school history class that Kane got the idea that Colorado needed an official winter sport and he decided to take his demands straight to the capitol.

“I told him to gather some petition signatures to make sure there was support for the idea,” said Rep. Green. “A few weeks later he reported back to me that he had 70 signatures. I thought, wow, that is pretty good.”

“I asked my fellow representatives, ‘How many of you have ever been contacted by a nine year old constituent before?’ I thought it was pretty neat that he felt comfortable contacting me. That is exactly what we hope for as elected officials; that the community feels comfortable calling us,” Rep. Green said.

If passed, House Joint Resolution 1008 would make skiing and snowboarding the official winter sport of Colorado, joiing the list of other state symbols which include the White and Lavender Columbine, the Colorado Blue Spruce, and the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep.

The idea of skiing and snowboarding as an official winter sport comes as no surprise to local State Representative Christine Scanlan, who is also co-sponoring the resolution.

“Of course skiing and snowboarding are the official winter sports. There is no other winter sport that appeals to Coloradans of all ages and is so much a part of our rich outdoor history,” said Rep. Scanlan.

To see his efforts carried out, Kane and his entire fourth grade class from Dennison Elementary School in Lakewood, visited the capitol to watch the initial vote on the resolution.

The resolution will be voted on in the Senate in the near future, where it is sponsored by Senator Moe Keller (D-Golden). Unlike a bill, resolutions do not require a signature of the Governor before being officially recognized.

Ashley Dickson can be reached at (970) 668-4629, or at adickson@summitdaily.com.