Extreme sports have grown to be very popular within the youth these days. Any sport that has some higher level of danger linked to it can be put in the extreme sports bracket. These sports mostly involve an incredible amount of speed, dramatic stunts, specialized gear as well as a considerable degree of physical exercise. Though these activities are not limited to the youth, it is often noted that the people participating in these activities do belong to the younger demographics. ESPN also provides all the news and happenings around these events through their programs.
Most of the variables in extreme sports action are beyond control. This could be one of the reasons why the majority of the extreme sports athletes begin training without a coach or considerable guidance and are also mostly solitary in nature. Challenges not only extend between competitors but also to nature and environmental variables such as wind, snow, terrains and water. Some of the uncontrollable phenomenas linked to extreme sports is seen during events including surfing, rock and ice climbing and snowboarding. The quality of ice and rocks, the heights on the waves during snowboarding or the snow conditions during snowboarding events are outside of physical control.
One of the largest extreme sports sporting events is known as the X Games. This commercial sporting event is organized and aired live by ESPN.. There are 2 such sporting events organized during the year, one during wintertime and the other in summer. The Winter X Games are held in the month of January and February and the Summer X Games happen mostly within the month of August. These two events are conducted in the United States.
The participants vie for the gold, silver and bronze medals within the games along with the cash prize that is associated with it. However, judging an extreme sport event is rather distinctive from the conventional games. While distance, score and time form an important part of the judging criteria for traditional sports, extreme sports players are judged mostly on the aesthetics that they can 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 way of the participants.
There has been some controversy surrounding the label of extreme sports. As some people contend that extreme sports is not more than a marketing plan giving viewers the perception of the higher level of danger associated with it. These folks point out that a sport like rugby or Demolition derby isn’t considered an extreme sport even though there exists a higher level of danger and adrenalin rush that is associated with it. It’s viewed similar to the youth trying to reject authority and order and establishing a place of their own making the participating demographics of a much younger age group. Although at first adult sports like sky diving, bungee jumping, mountaineering 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.
