Posts Tagged ‘sports’

Does Paintball fit into the extreme sport catagory?

According to the Parkes Champion-Post “Paintball is Australia’s fastest growing extreme sport. Unlike other extreme sports, paintballing is the only one which gives a high adrenaline rush without a risk of serious injury due to an error in judgement,” says Steve Lee of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia.

So what exactly is Paintball? What makes it tick?

According to Wikepedia, Paintball is a sport in which players eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with paint filled, breakable, gelatin paintballs usually shot from a carbon dioxide or compressed air powered “paintball marker”.

Paintball draws a wide array of people, and the Sporting Goods Manufacturer’s Association estimates that over 10 million people play the game in the United States annually, with 1.9 million playing at least 15 times a year. Insurance statistics show that paintball is one of the safest sports, with fewer injuries per exposure than sports like football,soccer, basketball, and baseball.

Games can be also played either indoors or outdoors and take various forms, of which some of the most popular are woodsball, scenario, X-Ball and speedball. Rules for playing paintball vary widely, with most designed to ensure that participants enjoy the sport in a safe environment. The sport requires a significant amount of equipment.

A game of paintball usually involves two opposing teams seeking to eliminate all of the other team’s players or to complete some other objective, such as retrieving a flag, eliminating a specific player, or other paintball variations. Depending on the style of paintball played, a paintball game can last from seconds to days.

“It also does not require extensive training and has no barriers for gender, strength, or age.

‘It is a challenging and exciting sport that teaches many skills and encourages young people and adults, men and women, to play together in teams.’

Paintball is generally considered to be an environmentally safe sport as the paintballs contain organic materials that will fully break down in the environment.

But is all this enough to warrant this sport being called ‘extreme’?

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So what do you think?

By Christina Savvas

“‘SUPERGRAN Barbara Rawlings won’t be settling down for a quiet birthday tea party when she turns 80.

Instead, the daredevil pensioner from Coventry will be hang-gliding from a mile above the ground.

Barbara, who lives in Middlecotes, Tile Hill South, and has two sons and a grandson, said keeping active has always been the way of life for her.

She said: “All my life I have kept active playing netball, tennis, I have travelled the world and now I play golf and do yoga.

“I have been in a helicopter but I have always wanted to try hang-gliding and never had the chance before. I don’t need any presents at my age, I have everything I need in life, so I have asked friends and family and anyone else who can to sponsor me to do the flight and the money will be donated to Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance.”

Barbara, who moved to the area 10 years ago to look after her sick mother, worked as a medical laboratory scientific officer and spent 10 years in the Middle East.

She was involved in setting up the first women’s hospital in the United Arab Emirates 20 years ago.

She needs to raise £299 to complete the flight at Sywell airfield in Northamptonshire.

On her birthday on July 26, following a lunch with family and friends Mrs Rawlings will be taken up in a microlite and then complete her tandem hang-glide.

Mrs Rawlings says she has never felt scared about trying something new.

She said: “People think I’m mad to do something like this at my age. My family were very surprised, especially my grandson who is 21-years-old this year.

“I am not scared at all. The organisers at Sywell have asked me if want to take out extra insurance but I have said no. It doesn’t bother me.”

Mrs Rawlings has set up a bank account in the charity’s name at Coventry Building Society for anyone who wishes to donate.’”

What a wonderful story. My grandfather was just like Barbara Rawlings – his zest for life could shame us. And he never saw the bad side to anything – he always looked for the good in everything and everyone. What a gift.

One individual, one boat, three oceans – this extreme challenge has never before been attempted.

I would like to introduce you to Ollie Hicks, a 26 year old Brit who is about to attempt one very extreme adventure and that is to circumnavigate the globe in a rowing boat! Crazy? Well probably but then people would have said that of anyone who tackled the ‘impossible’ – the list of names is too numerous but throughout our history there has always been a first – from the oceans, deserts, space, mountains and continents – and here we have another intrepid explorer ready to risk life and limb to achieve that accolade.

But this adventure is not just about being the first: Hicks is hoping to raise £1,000,000 for charity as well as collecting scientific and medical data and highlighting the effects of global warming on our planet as well as demonstrating what can be achieved by using renewable energy sources.

The Global Row will also be working to raise awareness of climate change and global warming and showing that it is possible to live off alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power.

It is particularly fitting that the Global Row should depart this year in the middle of International Polar Year which aims to focus attention on the Northern and Southern Polar regions.

The journey will encompass a region which has already been significantly affected by climate change.

• The Southern Ocean has warmed up by 0.17C between 1950 and 1980
• In 1995 the Larsen A ice shelf disintegrated from the Antarctic Peninsula.
• In 2002 1,250 Sq. miles of the Larsen B ice shelf collapsed in 35 days.
• Warming in Antarctica is 5 times the international average +2.5C
  since 1945.
• The melt season has increased by 2-3 weeks in the last 20 years.
• The Adelie penguin population has shrunk by 33% in 25 years due to decline in winter sea ice habitat.

The basis of the voyage is to utilise the favorable currents and winds in the Southern Ocean. The expedition will leave New Zealand later this year and head towards 50 – 55 degrees south latitude and into the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), this is also the midst of the Furious fifties where the prevailing westerly winds swirl around the planet. These winds and current will help maximize Hicks’ daily mileage and by staying above 60 degrees south the worst of the cold and ice will be avoided.

By following the 55 degrees south line across the Pacific Hicks will pass through the Drake passage and past Cape Horn aiming to make landfall on South Georgia for a resupply and to overwinter for 4 – 5 months. From South Georgia Hicks will continue eastward across the Atlantic ocean passing well to the south of the Cape of Good Hope and into the Indian Ocean before an intended return to New Zealand, some 18 to 24 months after departing.

The Southern Ocean has long been regarded by mariners as the wildest of the oceans and has been described to in much maritime literature and legend. Sea temperatures vary from about 10C to -2C. Cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and are frequently intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean. The ocean area from latitude 40 degrees south to to the Antarctic circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on earth. In winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south in the in the Atlantic sector.

At these latitudes – the roaring 40s, furious 50s and screaming 60s will be prevalent and with no landmass to slow them down they always present an extreme challenge to any mariner. Huge icebergs miles in length and width, smaller bergs and sea ice are ever present. High winds, mountainous waves, powerful storms, fog and poor visibility will all have to be negotiated. Perhaps the greatest risk to Hicks’ boat is accumulation of ice on the deck and superstructure, in certain conditions this can form thick and fast compromising the stability of the boat. And what hope of a friendly helicopter appearing overhead in the event of a disaster……..well your guess is as good as mine when you are a thousand miles from the nearest base.

We at Xtremesort4u wish Ollie the best of luck and we will keep you, our readers, informed of this remarkable voyage as and when he sets out.

Hicks’ intended journey – starting from Wellington, New Zealand, November 2008, 15,000 miles, scheduled completion 18 to 24 months later, Wellington, New Zealand

Yes its happened, this extreme business is now getting into the church in the form of a sky diving nun! Only kidding folks but this is the scene shown in ‘Mister Lonely’ which premieres at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival between April 23 and May 5. The festival which is now enjoying its seventh anniversary was co founded by Robert de Niro and aims to promote cultural and economic revitalization in the Tribeca neighbourhood after the September 11 attacks. Its not the only film showing an xtreme stunt, also check out Spotlight’s ‘Man of Wire’ which is a documentary about a Frenchman’s extreme walk across a high wire strung between New York’s twin towers back in 1974 – and without a safety net.

Xtreme, yes really extreme, just wondering whether i can combine the wingsuit product with the zorbing product – any suggestions would be most welcome, check out the this extraordinary YouTube video, for which thanks, and then see you at the bottom!!