When freestyle snowboarding for the first time it is recommended that the basic freestyle snowboard be used. These boards have similar tips, which means that the nose and tail are almost identical in width. This style of board makes it easy for the rider to lead downhill with either the nose or the tail, a skill that is essential in learning to steer.

If you haven’t yet gotten used to working out which end of the board is the tip and which is the tail, the easiest way to work it out is to look at the bindings. The back binding is going to be pointing straight toward the toe edge of the board while the front binding will point slightly towards the nose.

One of the aspects of a snowboard that you should become familiar with is the sidecut. The sidecut of a snowboard refers to the curve along the edges of the board. A snowboard will narrow from the tip into the waist before flaring back out towards the tail. The rate at which that narrowing happens is the sidecut of the board. A snowboard with more sidecut produces wider turns and less sidecut produces narrower turns.

Once you have figured out which way your snowboard is facing and whether you are using a board that is suitable in terms of maneuverability you will be ready to hit the snow and attempt your first turns.