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Extreme sport (also called action sport and adventure sport) is a media term for certain activities perceived as having a high level of inherent danger or difficulty and often involving speed, height, a high level of physical exertion, and highly specialized gear or spectacular stunts.
Extreme sports are arguably no more "extreme" than traditional activities played at a high level. The few generalizations that can be made about extreme sports is that they are almost always individual instead of team activities and that they often focus on performing tricks or stunts.

Are you an Extreme Sports enthusiast? The high profile of extreme sports and the culture surrounding them has also led people to invent parodies, such as Extreme ironing, urban housework, extreme croquet, and house gymnastics.

The difference between the serious extreme sports and imitation or parody is not always obvious.

 

 

Thats where I go every winter.

(*Snoqualmie Pass)

The History Of Extreme Sports.

Extreme Sports are nontraditional sports and activities that require participants to combine athletic skill with pronounced risk.

Extreme sports may have gained popularity in the late 20th century as a reaction to the increased safety of modern life. Lacking a feeling of danger in their everyday activities, people may have felt compelled to seek out danger or risk

Another reason for increased participation in extreme sports is enhanced sports technology. For example, the invention of sticky rubber-soled climbing shoes and artificial climbing walls broadened the appeal of rock climbing. And advances in ski design allowed more skiers to attempt extreme feats previously thought impossible.

Some observers credit television and movies and cult heros like Bam Margera and Tony Hawk for defining what extreme sports are as well as popularizing them. Television coverage of competitions and events has brought extreme sports and their participants more attention. The televised "X Games" and the Olympics are just two examples. As more people become aware of extreme sports, the activities gain more enthusiasts. One result of the growing interest is that those who pride themselves on participating in challenging, cutting-edge activities are constantly searching for new ways to test themselves. This ensures the continuing development of newer extreme sports.

Extreme sports allows and encourages individual creativity in the innovation of new maneuvers and in the stylish execution of existing techniques. Before enthusiasts attempt risky stunts, they must know their own physical abilities and understand how well they can block the natural instinct of fear. Extreme sports enthusiasts also must recognize the physical limitation of their equipment. Participants should have experience in whatever activity they are taking to an extreme level, and must know what to do in the event of an emergency.

The history of extreme sports is still evolving. Some extreme sports combine the techniques and physical skills of two or more sports, often mainstream sports that were once considered extreme. One of the best examples of this sort of transition is found with sky surfing, which first became popular in the 1990s. The sport combines skydiving and snowboarding. Experienced parachutists perform acrobatic stunts on boards similar to snowboards. Individually, skydiving and snowboarding were once considered extreme. And snowboarding's own development owed much to the sports of skateboarding and surfing, which were considered nontraditional when they were first popularized in the 1960s.

 

There is no doubt that as new techniques are tried and experimented with, the history of extreme sports will include many new and daring innovations.

The History of The X-Games.

 

The X Games were created to provide an Olympic-like forum for a new generation of athletes. The 2006 X Games are only months away. Here is a quick look at the X Games

In the 1990's extreme sports exploded into public awareness. People were jumping, skating and riding in ways we hadn't previously imagined. Conventional society wasn't quick to embrace these risk takers as true athletes though. They were considered daredevils and, as noted by Shelly Youngblut, were "defying both gravity and society's standards for reasonable risk." At the same time, the youth of the world were not only embracing these sports, they were breaking new barriers.

The X Games has led to a greater awareness and recognition for many of its athletes. There have been video games, commercials and movies to help propel extreme sports and its athletes into public view. In 2001 ESPN hosted the first Action Sports and Music Awards which brought together extreme athletes and entertainment personalities.
The X Games has led to a greater awareness and recognition for many of its athletes. There have been video games, commercials and movies to help propel extreme sports and its athletes into public view. In 2001 ESPN hosted the first Action Sports and Music Awards which brought together extreme athletes and entertainment personalities. The X Games has legitimized extreme sports in the eyes of many "non-believers". In 2002 the entire US Olympic Snowboard Freestyle team competed in the Winter X Games weeks before the Salt Lake City Olympics. Suddenly sports traditionalists everywhere became more receptive. The X Games provides an arena for competition and recognition and has spawned its own culture. X Games are not just sporting events, they are community gatherings. X Fest is an interactive festival that offers autograph sessions, live music, demos and mini skate and BMX parks.
The programming department of ESPN in 1993 came up with the idea of holding a meet for athletes from the alternative, or extreme, sports. After nearly two years of preparation, the first Extreme Games were held in Rhode Island and at Mount Snow, Vermont, from June 24 through July 1, 1995.Competition in nine sports attracted 198,000 spectators. Based on that success, ESPN decided to do it again in 1996, when the name was changed to the X Games.

Rhode Island again hosted the event, which drew about 200,000 spectators. Meanwhile, the network had announced that the first Winter X games would be staged at the Snow Summit Mountain Resort in Big Bear Lake, California, from January 30 through February 2, 1997, featuring competition in ice climbing, shovel racing, snowboarding, snow mountain bike racing, and a multi-sport crossover.

The 1997 and 1998 Summer X games were staged in San Diego. The second Winter X Games, in 1998, were held at Crested Butte, Colorado. Crested Butte also hosted the Winter Games in 1999, when the Summer Games moved to San Francisco for two years.Summer attendance climbed continuously over a three-year period, to 221,000 in 1997, 233,000 in 1998, and 275,000 in 1999. ESPN hasn't released attendance figures since then, so the supposition is that they've reached a plateau or declined somewhat.

Attendance at the Winter X Games hasn't been nearly as high. Big Bear Lake drew 38,000 spectators in 1997, but that dropped to 25,000 in 1998 and was estimated at "more than 30,000" in 1999.The Winter Games then moved to Mount Snow, Vermont, which drew 83,500 spectators in 2000. However, that dropped to about 50,000 in 2001. Again, ESPN hasn't released attendance figures since then.

The Summer Games were staged in Philadelphia in 2001 and 2002, while the Winter Games moved to Aspen, Colorado, for two years, beginning in 2003.

ESPN has developed several other events related to the X Games. The X Trials are qualifying events; the X Games Road Show is a two-day interactive expo that travels around the country; and the Xperience is a promotional tour for the X Games themselves.