Extreme sports have grown to be very popular amongst the youth of today. Any sport that has some level of danger linked to it usually is put in the extreme sports segment. These sports mostly involve a great degree of speed, dramatic stunts, specialized gear and a considerable degree of physical exertion. Though these activities are not limited to the youth, it has been noted that the people engaged in these activities do belong to the younger demographics. ESPN also provides all the news and happenings around these events through their programs.
Almost all of the variables in extreme sports action are out of control. This can be one of the reasons why most of the extreme sports athletes begin training with no coach or considerable guidance and are also mostly solitary in nature. Challenges not only extend amongst competitors but also to nature and environmental variables like wind, snow, terrains and water. Some of the uncontrollable phenomenas attached with extreme sports is seen during events including surfing, rock and ice climbing and snowboarding. The quality of ice and rocks, the heights of the waves in the course of snowboarding or even the snow conditions during snowboarding events are outside of physical control.
One of the biggest extreme sports sporting events is known as the X Games. This commercial sporting event is organized and aired live by ESPN.. There are two such sports activities organized during the year, one during winter and the other in summer. The Winter X Games are held in the month of January and February and the Summer X Games take place mostly in the month of August. Both these events are conducted in the United States.
The participants vie for the gold, silver and bronze medals within the games and also the cash prize that’s associated with it. However, judging an extreme sport event is quite different from the traditional games. While distance, score and time form an important part of the judging considerations for traditional sports, extreme sports participants are judged mostly on the aesthetics that they bring making judgment a lot more subjective. Due to this each sport employs its respective dynamic ideals that evolve assessment with new techniques and trends set by the participants.
There’s been some controversy all around the label of extreme sports. As some people contend that extreme sports is not more than a marketing strategy giving viewers the perception on the high level of danger associated with it. These people say that a sport like rugby or Demolition derby is not considered an extreme sport even though there is a higher level of danger and adrenalin rush that’s related to it. It’s viewed similar to the youth looking to reject authority and order and establishing a place of their very own making the participating demographics of a much younger age group. Although initially adult sports such as sky diving, bungee jumping, mountain climbing scuba diving etc were connected with extreme sports, now this term is a lot more applicable to youth driven sports including skateboarding, aggressive skating, BMX etc.