The invention describes a binding mechanism (1) for providing a pivotably moving connection of a sports shoe (2) to a board-type gliding device (3), in particular to a ski (4). The binding mechanism (1) comprises a first or front retaining element (5) for retaining the front toe-end portion of a sports shoe (2), a second or rear retaining element (6) for retaining the rear heel-end portion of a sports shoe (2) and an elongate connecting element (9) of variable shape between the first and the second retaining element (5, 6). This connecting element (9) extends underneath the sole (10) of a sports shoe (2) inserted in the binding mechanism (1). The connecting element (9) is provided in the form of a link chain (12) with a plurality of connected link parts (13) and the individual link parts (13) are articulatingly connecting to one another by means of several link joints (14) with several articulation axes(16) oriented parallel with one another, and the articulation axes (16) of the link joints (14) are oriented essentially horizontally and extend transversely to the longitudinal extension of the connecting element (9) and transversely to the binding longitudinal axis (15).