Despite numbers, Burton still bullish on boarding

(AP) Recent studies by industry groups show snowboarding is no longer growing the way it was for its first 30 years.

Sales in 2011-12 fell between 19 percent and 31 percent, depending on the region of the country studied. Participation fell 7.5 percent countrywide.

Jake Burton, the man who perfected the modern-day snowboard and brought it to the masses back in the 1980s, recently sent a letter to his employees stating his concern about the trends but downplaying the well-circulated idea that snowboarding is losing its edge.

He says part of the last year's downfall can be attributed to poor snowfall amounts in almost every part of the United States.

But, he concedes, the sport also needs to recognize the trend and get more active in bringing people into snowboarding.