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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