Kraus' Recreation and Leisure in Modern Society 10th Edition by Daniel McLean, Linda Dayer-Berenson, Brian Luke Seaward, Amy Hurd

تمرين 9

Extreme Sports
Extreme sports is one of the fastest growing groups of sports worldwide. An extreme sport is defined as a sport with a high level of inherent risk. Extreme sports have rapidly gained international followings and become commercial successes, ranging from ESPN's X-Games to local tourism attractions and attracting growing numbers of manufacturers and suppliers. The risk inherent in extreme sports is one of its primary attractions for both participants and spectators. One freestyle skier said there is no fun if there is no risk.
Like many sports, however, extreme sport is experiencing the growth of formal regulation bodies. One example of a governing body is AIDA (Association Internationale pour le Développement de I'Apnée or the International Association of Freedivers), the governing body for freediving. a Freediving involves deep diving without assistive air devices, such as a scuba diver or deep sea diver might utilize. Freedivers depend upon their physical and mental training to carry them to great depths without the aid of eternal air tanks.
There are eight categories of freediving and not all of them require diving to depth, but instead may measure lateral distance (with and without fins) and how long one can hold their breath (static apnea) under water. Five categories measure depth and may or may not involve the use of fins and weights. Free immersion dives occur without the use of external support devices and divers rely on pulls on a rope to go down and up. Freedivers have dived to depths of over 400 feet, held their breath in excess of 11 minutes, and swam 240 yards without breathing.
Freediving reportedly has about 5000 adherents and reportedly an average of 100 die annually, making it one of the most dangerous extreme sports. Most of the deaths occur as a result of blackouts while diving.
Freediving is but one example of an extreme sport. The list of extreme sports is growing and ranges from high risk to moderate risk. The commonality among participants is risk and resultant euphoric feelings experienced from participation. Other examples of extreme sports include all-terrain windsurfing, surfing, snowboarding, paragliding, parkour, ice climbing, mountain biking, cave diving, and auto racing, to name just a few. Extreme sports have also been adapted for individuals with disabilities, such as the snowboarding, skateboarding, wakeboarding, and Moto X Camps. What was once seen as a fringe has become mainstream and is present in the Olympic Games and Paralympics. b The range of extreme sports pushes the edge of human endurance and capability, is often costly, and is frequently tied to natural resources; however, these sports are increasingly becoming more recognized. One of the problems is that some versions of extreme sports are performed in nonsanctioned settings, such as base jumping from El Capitan in Yosemite National Park or from tall buildings and bridges in metropolitan areas.
Have you ever participated in an extreme sport, or thought about participating