Page 60 - PowerE-L05-F

Lesson 15

Extreme Sports

Extreme sports are sometimes referred to as ac-
tion sports or adventure sports, a media term ac-
tivities perceived as having a high level of inher-

ent danger and often involving speed, height, high
level of physical exertion, highly specialized gear
or spectacular stunts. The use of the word “ex-
treme sport’ has spread far and wide to describe a
multitude of different activities. However, there are

several characteristics common to most extreme
sports. The demographic target of such sports would be individuals belonging to the
younger-than-average age group. It tends to be more solitary than traditional sports.

Athletes do not get to compete only with fellow athletes but also against environ-
mental obstacles, which are usually weather and terrain including snow, water and
mountains. Since these are phenomena, which cannot be controlled, these greatly
affect the performance of the athletes. Extreme Sports can be classified into groups
depending on the equipments or crafts used. These are board sports (skateboarding,

snowboarding, windsurf and surfing) which use equipments like surf board, skate-
boards and snow boards. Motor sports (motocross, snowcross and motorcycle rally)
use motor bikes. In mountaineering, the mountain is usually the terrain. This includes

ice climbing, rock climbing and bouldering. Under free fall, the activities are paraglid-
ing, parachute and bungee jumping. Mountain biking, BMX, inline skating, paint ball
and free diving are also considered extreme sports.

Comprehension

1. What would be other terms for extreme sports?
2. Name some of the characteristics of this kind of sports.

Questions

1. What is the age group of extreme sports athletes?
2. Why is extreme sport different from traditional sports?

Vocabulary & Expressions

stunt - something dangerous done to entertain people
demographic - part of a population identified as a group, targeted for a certain reason
multitude - a large number of people
snowcross - a racing sport using high performance snowmobiles with riders racing at the
speed of 60 miles/ hour
bouldering - rock climbing that involves undertaking short and steep slopes

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