hill known as Seven Bumps in Malden Massachusetts on a bet, using a standard Franklin skateboard. Australia John Milne developed a three-wheeled version of a mountainboard in 1992 in his spare time during periods of very poor surf. It used a unique steering system to emulate surfing on land. It had three wheels and a skate-style deck with no bindings. Mid-to-late nineties From the early days of invention there has always been a competitive element in mountainboarding. Encompassing racing, freestyle and downhill, competitions have been organised in the USA since 1993 and in the UK since 1997. In the same year the ATBA-UK (All Terrain Boarding Association), the national governing body for mountainboarding in the UK was born. As a non-profit making organisation it represented and promoted the sport by putting riders interests first, promoting safety, sanctioning events, providing training, and sourcing funding to put on the ATBA-UK National Series, an annual series of competitions. The competitions did much to promote the sport and in 1998 mountainboarding had an estimated participation of over 1 million athletes worldwide. The components evolved, and the sport continued to grow. MBS developed the open heel binding, the channel truck, the "eggshock" and the reverse V Brake system and sold boards in around 30 countries worldwide. In 1998 Maxtrack started distributing MBS mountainboards in the UK and Europe. Future As of recent there have been some powered mountain boards gaining traction in the board enthusiast world. Small gas or electric motors attached to allow for mountainboarding to be done on flat ground or to climb hills rather than just going downhill. Many DIY electric mountainboard builders are constantly developing new drivetrains for their boards with electric motors, rivaling the power of small motorcycles, becoming the norm. Equipment Board components Deck Mountainboard decks are the part that most of the components are attached to, and provide the base for the rider to stand on. They are generally from 90–110 cm in length, and can be made from a range of construction methods and materials. For example, high specification boards may be made from composite carbon and glass reinforced plastics, possibly with a wooden core, similarly made to a snowboard deck. Basic decks are generally made using laminated wood pressed into shape, comparable to a longboard deck with larger dimensions and a different shape. There are variable characteristics such as flex, weight, shape, length and tip angle