Extreme sports have become quite popular within the youth of today. Any sport with a 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 and a considerable level of physical exercise. Though these activities are not limited to the youth, it is often noted that the people participating in these activities do are members of the 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 beyond control. This can 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 only extend amongst competitors but also to nature and environmental variables like wind, snow, terrains and water. Some 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 during snowboarding or 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 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 in the month of August. These two events are conducted in the United States.
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 traditional 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. As a result of this each sport employs its respective dynamic ideals that evolve assessment with new techniques and trends set by the participants.
There has been some controversy surrounding the tag of extreme sports. As some people contend that extreme sports is nothing more than a marketing strategy giving viewers the perception of the high level of danger associated with it. These folks point out that a sport like rugby or Demolition derby is not considered an extreme sport although there exists a level of danger and adrenalin rush that’s associated with it. It is 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 at first adult sports such as sky diving, bungee jumping, mountain climbing scuba diving etc were associated with extreme sports, this term is a lot more relevant to youth driven sports such as skateboarding, aggressive skating, BMX etc.