Extreme sports have grown to be very popular within the youth these days. 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 level of physical exertion. Though these activities are usually not exclusive to the youth, it is often noted that the people participating in these activities do are members of younger demographics. ESPN also provides all of the news and happenings around these events through their programs.
Most of the variables in extreme sports action are out of control. This could be one of the reasons why the majority of the extreme sports athletes begin training with no coach or considerable guidance and are also mostly solitary in nature. Challenges not only extend between competitors but in addition to nature and environmental variables such as wind, snow, terrains and water. Some of the uncontrollable phenomenas attached with extreme sports is seen during events such as 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 beyond 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 2 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 within the month of August. Both these events are conducted in America.
The participants compete for the gold, silver and bronze medals in the games along with the cash prize that is connected with it. However, judging an extreme sport event is quite distinctive from the conventional games. While distance, score and time form a major part of the judging criteria 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 the participants.
There’s been some controversy surrounding the tag of extreme sports. As a number of people contend that extreme sports is not more than a marketing strategy giving viewers the perception of the higher level of danger associated with it. These folks point out that a game like rugby or Demolition derby is not considered an extreme sport although there exists a higher level of danger and adrenalin rush that’s related to it. It’s viewed more like 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 associated with extreme sports, this term is more relevant to youth driven sports such as skateboarding, aggressive skating, BMX etc.