Express Action Sports

People have been playing games and participating in sport, probably since the beginning of time. It is true perhaps that early sport may have been very primitive and a far cry from events we now see but the concept of competing, either as individuals or in teams has been around forever!

The first recorded history of the Olympic Games dates back to 776 BC. In those days there was only one event, the 192 metre dash. I don’t know why they didn’t keep that one in!

There is much debate as to what exactly is the crucial factor when deciding what is sport and what isn’t and this debate rumbles ever more furiously on when it comes to what are now considered to be extreme sports.

For example why is snowboarding considered to be “extreme” and skiing generally not? I mean, they both involve hurtling down near vertical slopes of ice on bits of manufactured plastic or carbon fibre!

Despite these quandaries, extreme sport has literally taken off in the last couple of decades and there are no signs that this trend is slowing down. The growth of the sports is almost as extreme as the events themselves!

Video game culture has raised the profile too, with hosts of snowboarding, skateboarding and even surfing and wakeboard games. Snowboarding also made its debut in the 2008 Olympics in China, further evidence of its increasing popularity.

Of course, with new “things” come new marketing opportunities and it is becoming more and more common to see specialist extreme sports shops and stores on your local high street; smaller stores and large emporiums too are springing up, supplying all your wakeboarding equipment and climbing gear amongst lots of other exciting stuff!

The internet has surely helped to increase the exposure of a lot of the extreme sports, some of which are now practically household names, such as snowboarding, skateboarding and climbing, while others still have a bit of work to do. A quick search in one of the internet search engines for the sport you are looking for, is very likely to throw up thousands, if not, millions of results for your desired search!

Along with all the news and gossip from these sporting worlds, there are also a host of online stores, where, here too, you can order your new snowboarding equipment and extreme clothing.

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However you approach this discussion, the obvious similarities are unavoidable. Perhaps all the wake boarders and water skiers out there can fight it out amongst themselves?

Obvious similarities include:

• Water – I don’t think either side can dispute this one! The only slight advantage water skiers have here is that the word is used in the title of their sport. Other than that, the water is generally considered a prerequisite for both sports.

• Boats – This may be another tie. Waterskiing and wakeboarding generally require a boat with a motor, going quickly to be effective. The horse drawn wakeboarding championships, down the canal are yet to take off. Although that might be fun to see.

• Equipment – Wakeboards and Water Skis are likely to share some main ingredients such as carbon fibre, although whether you could make a pair of water skis by cutting a wakeboard in half is debateable! The days of wooden water-skis are long gone.

Oh here’s a good one! Which is easier to perform, wakeboarding or waterskiing? Some will say waterskiing is easier to grasp especially at beginner level, straight arms; knees bent and up as opposed to the slightly more complicated wakeboarding method. Is waterskiing based less on tricks and so not as cool? Many would argue, yes! Is wakeboarding a more technical sport?

I can hear the debates raging already!

What is an extreme sport and why is wakeboarding considered extreme and waterskiing not? After all, both involve clinging to a rope tied to a speeding boat, hurtling across the water!

I read an article recently that tried to define what the extreme in “extreme sports” is. I wasn’t entirely convinced with the answers provided, such as it’s related to demographics etc. Surely an extreme sport needs to be, well, extreme, regardless of demographic and era?

What do you call a fan of extreme sports anyway, an extremity perhaps, an extremist or maybe an extreme-ite? 

Are people still learning to water ski? Or is wakeboarding (known to be currently one of the fastest growing sports) going to make waterskiing redundant? Which sport is more televised? I know during my growing up days there used to be plenty of waterskiing on television. Does wakeboarding have the same pulling power to be a mass spectator sport?

Over to you sports fans, the ball is in your court, and the board is in your wake. One plank of wood or two? Let’s have an extreme argument!

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