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Jumat, 20 Juni 2008

favorite sport

Free diving: Loïc Leferme, the “Grand Bleu” generation
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The achievement was the talk of the town. It was Sunday 20 October 2002. That day, Frenchman Loïc Leferme established a new world record for no limit free diving, off the harbour of Villefranche-sur-Mer (Alpes-Maritimes), by descending to a depth of 162 metres beneath the sea! Three times world record holder, in 1999, 2000 and 2001, this Frenchman had seen his record snatched away at the end of 2001 by American diver Tania Streeter, who took it to a depth of 160 metres. Thirty-three year old Loïc Leferme was keen to get back his record. And that is just what he did. This lanky diver, 1.77 m tall and weighing 67 kilos, with long blond hair and a gentle look in his eyes - he looks rather like the tennis player Björn Borg - loves the emptiness of the sea depths. His speciality? No limit free diving: a breath-holding free dive entailing a descent with a metal sled and returning to the surface with an airbag. Each of his dives lasts about three minutes - an eternity. "You need to be flexible both physically and mentally," he explained recently. "You have to come to terms with the environment. Like an anthropologist." To those who criticise him for being foolhardy, Loïc Leferme responds without raising his voice that free diving is not synonymous with risk, but with control of oneself and of one’s environment.

Kamis, 19 Juni 2008

Marketing

Marketing
Some contend[citation needed] that the distinction between an extreme sport and a conventional one is as much to do with marketing as it is to do with perceptions about levels of danger involved or the amount of adrenaline generated. Furthermore a sport like rugby union, though dangerous and adrenaline-inducing, would not fall into the category of extreme sports due to its traditional image, and it does not have certain things that other extreme sports do, such as very high level of speed and an intention to perform stunts. Scuba diving is not seen as an extreme sport these days, despite the level of danger and physical exertion, because of its primarily adult demographic. Also the fact that it is not classed as a sport, as there is no objective to the activity. Another example: compare the perception of demolition derby, not usually thought of as an extreme sport, to that of BMX racing, which is. Demolition derby has an adult demographic, BMX is a youth sport.


Snowboarder drops off a cornice.


Hang glider launching from Mount Tamalpais
The definition of extreme sports may have shifted over the years due to marketing trends. When the term first surfaced circa the late 1980s/early 1990s, it was used for adult sports such as skydiving, scuba diving, surfing, rock climbing, snow skiing, water skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, mountaineering, storm chasing, hang gliding, and bungee jumping, many of which were undergoing an unprecedented growth in popularity at the time. Outside magazine, not the X Games, epitomized the meaning of the term, and if there was a clothing style associated with extreme sports it was an "outdoorsy" look favoring brand names associated with mountaineering or backpacking such as The North Face and Patagonia, Teva sandals or hiking boots for footwear, etc. The term nowadays applies more to youth sports like skateboarding, snowboarding, and BMX and is closely associated with marketing efforts aimed at the younger generation (e.g. the ad campaigns of Mountain Dew), and with their favored styles of clothing and music, especially the kind of urban baggy look associated with skateboarders, and loud, fast alternative rock. This shift in styles may also be partly a generational shift, as Baby Boomers and Generation X have aged and marketing efforts associated with extreme sports shifted toward the younger Generation Y demographic sometime in the mid to late 1990s.



Wingsuit flying is a relatively new extreme sport.
The term gained popularity with the advent of the X Games, a made-for-television collection of events. Advertisers were quick to recognize the appeal of the event to the public, as a consequence competitors and organizers are not wanting for sponsorship these days. 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.

Rabu, 18 Juni 2008

Adrenaline rush

Adrenaline rush
A feature of such activities in the view of some is their alleged capacity to induce an adrenaline rush in participants. However, the medical view is that the rush or high associated with the activity is not due to adrenaline being released as a response to fear, but due to increased levels of dopamine, endorphins and serotonin because of the high level of physical exertion.[citation needed] Furthermore, a recent study suggests that the link to adrenaline and 'true' extreme sports is tentative.[3] The study defined 'true' extreme sports as a leisure or recreation activity where the most likely outcome of a mismanaged accident or mistake was death. This definition was designed to separate the marketing hype from the activity. Another characteristic of activities so labeled is they tend to be individual rather than team sports. Extreme sports can include both competitive and non-competitive activities.

Selasa, 17 Juni 2008

Abstract Extreme sports


Abstract Extreme sports (including in-line skating, snowboarding, mountain bicycling, extreme skiing, rock climbing, indoor tackle football, kickboxing, skateboarding, and ultra-endurance racing) are growing in popularity. Often these sports are designed to expose athletes to greater thrills and risks than are found in traditional sporting activities. Despite this increased risk of injury, athletes competing in these sports often have little or no formal medical coverage. This article reviews what is known about this emerging area of sports medicine to assist physicians in preparing for medical coverage of these athletes and their competitions.

Senin, 16 Juni 2008

windsurfs

Windsurfing: Raphaëla Le Gouvello windsurfs for the planet
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In Papeete, the Tahitians gave her a triumphant welcome. After nearly three months of sailing, on Monday 3 November 2003, Raphaëla Le Gouvello achieved her ambition, and completed a voyage of nearly 8,200 kilometres across the Pacific Ocean, alone on her windsurfer. This slightly built forty-three year old Breton, who had already crossed the Atlantic and the Mediterranean by the same means, was keen to conquer the Pacific. So she set out from Lima (Peru), on 5 August, with no back-up, out of care for the environment. "I windsurf for the planet," she declared. A vet specialising in aquaculture, Raphaëla Le Gouvello did indeed kill two birds with one stone, for her sporting challenge is part and parcel of a scientific and educational initiative. She had signed a contract with the French Ministry of National Education to record her experience for French schools. Even the President of the Republic, Jacques Chirac, who presented his "warmest and most admiring congratulations" to the windsurfer, was bowled over by her achievement. "I have to salute," the Head of State said in an official statement, "the responsibility of your message, through which you wish to alert the public to the need to respect and preserve our environment."
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