The International Mountainboard Association (IMA) is the highest authority and worldwide governing body for the sport of mountainboarding. The federation was established in 2009, seven years after what most riders would regard as the first international mountainboarding competition. The 2002 Morzine Mountainboard Fest took place in the French Alps, bringing together top riders from across Europe. The competition also became the catalyst for the first international efforts to promote the sport to nations all over the world. This is primarily also done through World Championships IMA manages and sets the rules for.  

Competitions have categories for juniors, women, masters, and professionals. The focus for IMA is to put the interest of riders first, promote safety, sanction events, provide training, and source funding to help make mountainboarding a truly global sport. The action sport is also known as dirtboarding, offroad boarding, and all-terrain boarding. What makes mountainboarding so different from other board sports is how diverse the terrain can be for a rider to enjoy. In many respects, much more so than for snowboarding, the snow sport that gave rise to mountainboarding. The components of a mountainboard include a deck and bindings that ensure a rider is secured to the deck.  

Two steering mechanisms known as trucks, are attached to the underside of the deck. Trucks allow the board to turn and are made up of a hanger, damping and/or spring system, and axles which attach the wheels to the deck. The wheels are made of plastic or metal hubs and pneumatic tires that can be anything up the 13 inches in size. A range of tire options are available to riders that can vary in thickness and tread. The safety of riders is paramount. There are various types of guards for wrists, elbows and knees. A rider can also wear body armour and padded shorts. The two options for helmets give riders either additional facial cover or without.