FREE ESSAY ON EXTREME SPORTS

EXTREME SPORTS

Extreme Sports
Have you ever done something so extreme, that you've actually risked your life for it
maybe? If so, why did you do it? Maybe to prove a point, but to who? Many people actually
feel like they must make that impact in the world and prove a point to everyone else
about being able to accomplish something maybe no one else could. It seems like a way to
get attention possibly. Or maybe this just proves what people will actually do for money
if it in fact was involved. It's actually said some people with personal experience to be
more of a mental and spiritual thing to do, as opposed to a physical challenge, but
there's no denying that you do work your legs, lung and ligaments. Everyday, daring
people all over the world are participating in extreme sports like adventure racing,
bull-fighting, in-line skating, bungee jumping, snow boarding and skateboarding. All of
these sports involve a serious risk, and that's why they are called Extreme Sports.
Starting with one of the most vigorous and growing sport in North America, adventure
racing in 1999 will see up to 80 competitions for the sport alone. This means that tens
of thousands of people will be participating, while many millions will be watching it on
their very own televisions at home. Adventure racing includes completing extreme
activities before other teams including mountain climbing, bike riding, and even
canoeing. A type of adventure racing that is fueling up is the solo competitions. This
type of racing is safe, but it simply means that you do not have teammates to look out
for you anymore. You must also push it to your best, and be a quick and fast. To keep the
racing environment safe as possible, an association was formed called the Adventure
Racing Association. The first meeting was in Australia on August 22nd, 1997. About 50
people of different nations gathered to discuss the highly important topics of safety in
the racing environment. It is also a place for these people to learn more about the
events, and discuss the sport. A man named Dugard wrote during his initial experience in
the Raid in 1992:
What I really wanted to do was quit. I've had enough of this foolishness - this
suffering. The temperature is 120 degrees. I've hiked, rafted, canoed and climbed over
350 miles. I have definitely lived the promise that race organizer and founder Gerard
Fusil made when I implored him to let me compete. 'You will suffer.
Rock climbing is an International sport that many people do for fun. They chose a site to
basically "climb", and that's exactly what they do! Climbing is a very dangerous and
risking sport, and is very similar to something you'd do in Adventure Racing. Only,
usually rock climbers and mountain climbers do it mainly for fun, and it's usually not a
race when it's on its own. It can even be for a family vacation to go rock climbing! For
people who rock climb often, it is essential that you buy your own equipment for your
journeys. "What equipment would that be?" you ask? Well, you need climbing shoes. "Can
these be regular tennis shoes?" is a popular asked question. The answer is, No, they must
be special tightly fitting around your foot with a sticky rubber sole that provides the
friction that you need for climbing. The laces of the shoes usually extend all of the way
to the toe, and all the way to the top of the shoe making them very adjustable. The lace
shoe also has a sole that wraps around the heel and up the sides of the shoe. Another
type of shoe that is used is the slipper. Experienced climbers only use the slipper
however though, because it doesn't provide as much grip as the laced up ones. Another
important thing that you'll need is chalk. Surprising enough, the chalk is needed to put
on your hands when they get very sweaty. This makes them, so that they aren't as sweaty,
and you have a better grip. Obviously the last most important thing you'll need is a
rope. How would you plan on climbing that huge rock without a rope?!
Yet another extreme sport that is enjoyed by many people worldwide is Bungee jumping.
Bungee jumping was started in England by Oxford Dangerous Sports club. They were the ones
who named it Bungee. There are two different types of bungee jumping. Those two types are
spelled a little differently. This first type is Bungy jumping. Bungy jumping has a lower
velocity, smoother ride, and higher rebounds. It is commonly something that can be found
as a priced ride at the fair or amusement parks all around the world. Then, there is
another type of bungee jumping, which is spelled Bungee jumping. Bungee jumping is the
official, real bungee experience. It has way more freefall than the generic Bungy jumping
experience, and is not intended for people who are timid or undurable for the ride.
Bungee jumping is another dangerous sport that does include a huge self risk for the
jumper. Many accidents have been reported about Bungee jumping, and sadly enough, the
individuals themselves aren't always the ones who have control over their safety.
Sometimes the people who work at the clubs of Bungee jumping may accidentally do
something wrong to cause an accident. This is why you must go to a club that you trust.
One of the many incidents include the most recent, this year, when a 16-year-old girl
jumped from a 15 m high platform on a very chilly cold evening in Korea. A support wire
which was used to allow the cord to drop was frozen, so the girl ended up getting stuck
10 m from the ground in freezing weather until a fire rescue team came to get her, which
ended up being a chilly 4 hours! An accident that happened in Greece was caused by the
jumper instead of a club worker this time. The jumper was quite nervous and was waiting
to jump off of the platform. After hearing the jumpmaster (which is the person who goes
up with the jumper to insure correct jumping procedures) count down to one, the jumper
leaned forward to do the jump. After looking at the distance from him to the ground, he
decided maybe it wasn't such a cool idea, and turned around to grab the jumpmaster to
return to the platform. As a mistake on the jumpmaster's part, he himself was not secured
and strapped in, so when the jumper grabbed a hold of him, he ended up flying off the
platform along with the jumper. The jumpmaster died, but the jumper didn't since he was
the one strapped on to the Bungee cord. As you can see, bungee jumping is an added
extreme to life that many people are surprisingly willing to go through with.
All of these sports involve a serious risk in your everyday human functions. Even though
most of these sporty activities that people engage in are meant to be fun, there are
chances that something may go wrong if procedures aren't followed correctly. That's why
it is important to always make sure you are going through with your sports under safe
hands. Sometimes clubs and sites that offer such amusement may not be completely
trustworthy as far as following the correct directions of how they should properly go
about such extreme sports. You must also be responsible for making sure if you are in
good health and are able to withstand such events like coarse mountain climbing, quick
pace vigorous racing, and jumping free-fall off of a 15 m high off the ground platform.
You should definitely not engage in such sports if you have certain health problems such
as back pains, or shoulder pains. You certainly should not do them if you are pregnant.
So, play it safe, and make the right decisions and you can be off to have an experience
of a lifetime! Now you know why they call it Extreme, don't you?