Jul
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Keeping Extreme Sports Safe

Author Ian K    Category Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts     Tags , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It’s not been a good month for skateboarding. There have been a number of accidents that have made the press, and inevitably questions are being asked about the safety of extreme sports.

So, it seems only right we set the record straight, and make four points on safety and risk:

1. Extreme sports involve risk.

They are not commonly reckless or inherently dangerous pursuits, when practiced within reasonable limits. It’s about taking the correct safety precautions and pushing only as far as you can go, not mindlessly trying tricks or courting danger.

2. Life involves risk.

Accidents happen to people everyday, even crossing the road is dangerous. So sitting in a safety bubble, thinking nothing will happen to you is misguided. We were made to be active; to walk, run, climb, swim or transit through nature is what we do. Adventure sports and extreme sports commonly harness the power of nature, and with this comes risk.

3. We accept risk.

If you like adventures, challenges and outdoor life, or just find yourself drawn to extreme sports, then you have to accept risk. Still, you don’t automatically become a Red Bull snorting adrenaline junkie! If anything, the opposite is true: You learn to calmly evaluate and decide for yourself which jumps to take and which routes to traverse; you decide your fate, you have the control, and with this comes responsibility.

So, take lessons if you need them, and get advice from people in the know. Always wear protective clothing and learn how to fit it properly. Join networks and online forums, so you can pick up safety tips as well as tricks.

4. Fear not.

There are always people looking for the next scare story – and they rarely have any first hand knowledge to work from. We do take safety seriously, but we don’t fear the world.

Life doesn’t just happen to us: we move to it, we live it and we love it…

Bring it on!

About the author

Ian Kinnear wrote 22 articles on this blog.

Related posts:

  1. Extreme Sports and The Evolution of Skate
  2. Holiday in a war zone: extreme enough for you?
  3. Buying your Extreme Sports Gear

13 Comments to “Keeping Extreme Sports Safe”

  • Mark July 21, 2010 at 8:06 am

    These are not sports in which you get anywhere by backing off, so expect risk and take precautions.

    Still, there is no place for stupidity, especially not when you really are pushing things as high and as far as they go.

    Once it gets to the limit, you find people are very calm and calculated in their actions – as they have to be, at 20,000ft!

    Keep on it!

  • Tim B
    Tim B July 21, 2010 at 8:13 am

    Quite right Mark. Did anyone think about the risks to this Donkey? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10695037 for example.

  • Lianne July 21, 2010 at 8:29 am

    Great points Mark, especially number two. I think that is why people push themselves further or take more risks otherwise life isn’t much if you stay in the bubble-wrapped world..

    Is this saying relevant in the extreme sports : No pain, no gain?

  • Luke
    Luke July 21, 2010 at 11:08 am

    The clue is in the name really ‘Extreme Sports’ are not called extreme without reason and the fact they are extreme and there is perceived danger is part of the allure.

    In any sport you could get an injury but you prepare your body and take precautions to limit the risk. With extreme sports the risk is potentially bigger but the hours and hours of practice and conditioning significantly reduce the risk – if you tried to do a 720 in the black park your first day snowboarding you are likely to seriously injure yourself and the guys doing these tricks will have had years of practice. You could still get it wrong and hurt yourself but then despite years of practice you might get crossing the road wrong and get hit by a bus if you don’t follow the green cross code!

    i think the key thing it so be aware of the danger and take the relevant precautions but to remember it is the buzz you get from skirting on the edge of danger that makes extreme sports so enjoyable.

  • Lucy Grewcock
    Lucy July 22, 2010 at 9:55 am

    I completely agree, no activity is without danger and it’s often the risk involved that gives sports the ‘extreme’ edge. In my experience, most of the more seemingly reckless sports enthusiasts have huge respect for safety and are seeking to live their life to the max, rather than terminate it prematurely! Simple things like looking after your equipment and doing regular safety checks every time you head out on the water, under the water, up the hill or down the hill are considered mandatory in most sports and are well respected routines by pupils and pros alike.

  • Mark July 22, 2010 at 1:44 pm

    Thanks everyone.

    I asked the Tony Hawk team yesterday about risk in extreme sports.

    Neal Hendrix, X_Games silver medalist; Sandro Dias, five-times World champion and Jesse Fritsch, pro skater, all agreed: “Risk is just part of it”.

    Neal also mentioned that injuries happen often when you are doing the simplest of tricks, not the extreme stuff.

    interesting…

  • Ian K July 23, 2010 at 11:48 am

    That’s an interesting point there Mark about injuries being more common on the more simple tricks!

    I have been skiing / snowboarding since I was a kid and have never been too extreme or much of a safety freak on the slopes…but the last time I went I decided to get myself a helmet, as I wanted to try pushing on and trying some bigger jumps, rails etc… and found it was a good buy as I hit my head a fair few times during the trip! But I found it really fun to push on a bit from the level I had been at before.

  • Tim B
    Tim B July 23, 2010 at 10:19 pm

    Its OK! The parasailing donkey has been saved by the Sun! http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrinder/2010/jul/23/the-sun-parasailing-donkey

  • Mark July 26, 2010 at 8:43 am

    You just know they will have it in a wetsuit, on page three, in full scuba gear, ready for the next extreme donkey challenge : “Mule love this” etc!

  • Tim B
    Tim B July 26, 2010 at 12:35 pm

    Maybe we should get in touch, we can send the Donkey to do some more extreme sports / experiences, see how he gets on?!

  • Mark July 26, 2010 at 1:59 pm

    I think its unnecessarily cruel, we should take a ‘straw poll’ – ‘Ee-awe some’

  • Tim B
    Tim B July 26, 2010 at 2:31 pm

    Stop being an Ass Mark..

  • Mick August 6, 2010 at 9:00 pm

    At my age trying ‘front crawl’ after a life time of ‘breast stroking’ (you know what i mean) is as extreme as it gets.

    The Risk and Reward calculation applies whether you are investing your last penny in ‘coffee futures’ or pondering the step off the sheer cliff while attached to some thin metal, a few bungees and even thinner nylon sheets.

    I suppose that the real difference is that the failure of the first activity means you probably lose your house and you know that; while the consequences of the latter activity are, well, who knows? And is that the buzz? Will i feel fulfilled, excited, bored or just simply terrified?

    Because the first time that you take that jump of the cliff, that dive into the water or the first footstep on a Himalayan trek, it is only then that you will find out if this is what you are seeking.

    Enough waffle, great article, and if anyone is out there, whatever you are looking for, no matter the age, keep looking. (It’s just important that as you get older you really do need to wear the right glasses to see the way ahead)

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