Extreme sports have grown to be quite popular within the youth these days. Any sport with a higher level of danger attached with it can be put in the extreme sports segment. These sports mostly involve a great amount of speed, dramatic stunts, specialized gear as well as a considerable level of physical exertion. Though these activities are usually 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 beyond control. This could be one of the reasons why most of the extreme sports athletes begin training without a coach or considerable guidance and are also mostly solitary in nature. Challenges not simply extend amongst competitors but also to nature and environmental variables such as wind, snow, terrains and water. A few of the uncontrollable phenomenas linked to extreme sports can be 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 the snow conditions during snowboarding events are beyond physical control.
One of the largest extreme sports sporting events is called 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 happen mostly in the month of August. Both these events are conducted in the United States.
The participants compete for the gold, silver and bronze medals within the games along with the cash prize that’s associated with it. However, judging an extreme sport event is quite different from the conventional 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 can bring making judgment far 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 all around the tag of extreme sports. As a number of people contend that extreme sports is nothing more than a marketing plan giving viewers the perception of the higher level of danger related to it. These people point out that a game like rugby or Demolition derby is not considered an extreme sport although there is a higher level of danger and adrenalin rush that is related to it. It’s viewed more like the youth looking to reject authority and order and setting up a place of their very own making the participating demographics of a much younger age bracket. Although initially adult sports like sky diving, bungee jumping, mountaineering scuba diving etc were connected with extreme sports, this term is more applicable to youth driven sports such as skateboarding, aggressive skating, BMX etc.