Nearly 10,000 people packed downtown Banff this past weekend to watch a skijoring competition during the town’s SnowDays festival, underscoring the sport’s surge in popularity.The massive crowd on Banff Ave. led to traffic jams that stretched onto nearby highways as well as concerns about how many people downtown Banff can withstand.This response by officials isn't just a statement about Banff's infrastructure but a signal that skijoring is a sport that continues to grow in popularity in Western Canada and elsewhere. .The sport of skijoring involves a person on skis being pulled by a horse through a course consisting of jumps, ramps, and water obstacles. The sport has been described as a blending of "ski culture and cowboy culture," perfect for a place like Banff.The sport has its roots in Scandinavia, with the name 'skijoring' coming from the Norwegian word meaning 'ski driving.' Skijoring was initially used as a method of transportation for indigenous peoples of Norway, Finland, and Sweden, who would use reindeer instead of horses and 'skijor' their way across the frozen tundra.After skijoring was demonstrated at the 1928 Winter Olympics, its popularity began to catch on. Now it's being proposed as a demonstration sport for the 2034 Winter Games in Utah, another place the sport has seemingly taken root..The Banff skijoring event is more show than typical competition, with riders judged off tricks and style rather than speed.However, this sport, similar to Red Bull's Crashed Ice event, takes a typical winter sport, like skiing or skating, and turns it into a juiced-up, action-packed thrill fest, and looking at pictures and videos, it's no wonder the crowds were so large..In fact, crowds were so large for this year's event that the town authorities say that the influx of close to 44,000 vehicles between the two days of the festival pushed town infrastructure to its limit.Parks Canada reported a record 18,000 vehicles entered the park in just one hour, with alternative gates having to be opened to help ease the congestion.“We know that we cannot experience what we experienced on Saturday again,” said Banff Mayor Corrie DiManno, but vowed that the skijoring event will continue, albeit with modifications surrounding traffic. .Despite the issues brought up by the mayor, the numbers speak to the fact that skijoring is becoming as popular as ever, with the attendance of 10,000 in Banff representing a 20% increase from last year's figures.And with talk that it may be included in some capacity at another Winter Olympics for the first time since 1928, skijoring might finally be making the transition from a festival sideshow to a burgeoning winter sport.
