Sporting activities that push beyond the limits!
When people mention sports, what comes to mind in most cases are people running around following a ball or athletes competing in a race; be it on land or on water.
However when the term 'extreme sports' is mentioned, the limits that exist when it comes to matters of safety and injury are removed. Although those who hear and watch extreme sports might not want to try them out, those people who participate in them are driven by the adrenaline and excitement that is associated with the activities.
These sporting activities can be dangerous and life threatening, especially if the player does not undertake them in a conducive environment where safety measures are put in place. These sports are usually a variation of much safer sports, only that those who practise them do it in a much challenging environment.
What are extreme sports?
Some people define extreme sports to be those sporting activities that have a relatively high risk of serious injury or in some cases, death. These extreme sports are not a new phenomenon since people from ancient times have practised them, whether they referred to them as sports or other things. In the years following the invention of the television, the world became aware of what others were doing when it came to sports, which also included extreme sports. When people discovered what others were doing in different parts of the world, they began attempts to develop their own variations, resulting into different and numerous extreme sports.
Some of these activities involved in extreme sports include bungee jumping, water rafting, hang gliding, sky diving, mountain biking, skateboarding, speed biking, snowboarding among others; these take place on land, in the sea and also in the air. Some of the latest sports to enter the category of extreme sports include heliboarding, wingsurfing, paintballing and parahawking. The plus point in these sporting activities at present is that for people to be trying their sports, they have to put in place many precautionary measures and therefore, eliminating most of the risks and retaining the adrenaline rush associated with them. However, it can't be denied that they are still considered dangerous and life threatening.
Who can practise extreme sports?
Just like normal sports, an extreme sportsman or woman has to have excellent physical fitness because they attempt to push their bodies beyond the limits of safety. In addition, they will most likely battle with many uncertainties, whether it is weather, terrain or a harsh environment. Therefore, they have to be in a position to control their bodies in a way that it will overcome all the challenges placed along the way, without wearing out or easily developing injuries. One of the advantages in having these sports appear on television is that those interested in taking them up get exposure to such extreme sports early enough. In addition, they get an opportunity to observe and perhaps improve the measures put in place to ensure the safety of the sports.
As sporting activities always attract audiences and players all over the world, the same applies to extreme sports, where fans gather in large numbers to watch their favorite sportsmen and women push themselves beyond the limits of body and fear.
