SECOND REPORT (Second Part)

Colombia: Adventure and Extreme Sport

Colombia’s rugged topography encloses an infinite number of environments that are ideal for exploring. Colombia adventure features varied landscapes and regions, rich in flora and fauna, which are an invitation to experience unforgettable thrills.

To explore our natural parks, valleys, mountains, savannas, deserts, seas, lakes, and rivers is to discover an exuberant nature where the practice of extreme sports is a permanent temptation. In Colombia, adventure is waiting for you.

Diving in Colombia

Colombia is not only a tropical land. It possesses a gigantic aquatic garden in the Pacific Ocean and a virtually unlimited pool in the Caribbean Sea.

Indeed, our house is enormous and the only one in South America with such attractions. Located at the geographical center of the American continent, it occupies a small portion of the tropical zone, and is a country graced by abundant water, bathed by the two biggest oceans on the planet, and dotted with islands, cays, and coral reefs. Over 2,900 km of coastline, with cliffs and rocky and sandy beaches, constitute a large tourist attraction due to their expanse and color.

River Rafting in Colombia

With so much water running down the slopes of the mountains of Colombia, it is only natural that there be so many stages for engaging in the thrilling sport of river rafting, a discipline with remote origins in southern Africa, yet relatively new in Colombia.

What is rafting about?

It is about challenging the force of rivers from aboard inflatable boats. A group of people maneuver paddles and struggle to stay afloat to avoid bowing down to the rapids formed in the river. The rapids are classified in six classes - 1 to 6 - according to their level of difficulty.

Class 1 is the gentlest, perfect for beginners, although they can easily advance to Class 3 rapids in a short time. Classes 4 to 6 are very demanding, with challenges only for experts; here the margin of error and the rescue possibilities are minimal.

Paragliding

A French poet once wrote that “flying is like looking at birds and smiling without envy, knowing that when one wishes, one can open one’s wings to accompany them.” As an action, flying is a dream common to all men, a dream of being carried away by a sense of freedom and surrendering to the will of the wind. In the context of expression, flying is about going beyond, about giving in to imagination to the point of abandoning logic.

Surely, these were the motives of the creators of paragliding - undoubtedly the sport that comes closer to man’s old illusion. Flying on a paraglider is safe, does not pollute, allows contact with the wind and, if as this were not enough, it is a delight to the senses when flying above spectacular and exotic landscapes.

Paragliding Sites in Colombia

Due to their geographical conditions and climate, the best sites are in Santander, Valle del Cauca, the Bogotá region (department of Cundinamarca), and Medellín (department of Antioquia). Paragliding may be practiced year round, with the exception of rainy days. The absence of electric power lines, poles, and facilities ensures the safety of these sites.

SECOND REPORT

SECOND REPORT:

·         DEFINITION:  

An extreme sport (also called freesport, action sport, and adventure sport) is a popular term for certain activities perceived as having a high level of inherent danger. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion, and highly specialized gear or spectacular stunts.

The definition of an extreme sport is not exact — for example, although studies show that road cycling ranks as the sport with the highest number of injuries; it is not considered an extreme sport because it is not counter-cultural. The term's origin is also unclear, but it gained popularity in the 1990s when it was picked up by marketing companies to promote the X Games.

In a traditional sporting event, athletes compete against each other under controlled circumstances. While it is possible to create a controlled sporting event such as X Games, there are environmental variables that cannot be held constant for all athletes. Examples include changing snow conditions for snowboarders, rock and ice quality for climbers, and wave height and shape for surfers.

·         HISTORY:

The origin of the divergence of the term "extreme sports" from "sports" may date to the 1950’s in the appearance of a phrase usually, but wrongly, attributed to Ernest Hemingway. The phrase is

"There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games."

The implication of the phrase was that the word "sport" defined an activity in which one might be killed. The other activities being termed "games". The phrase may have been invented by either writer Barnaby Conrad or automotive author Ken Purdy.

In recent decades the term extreme sport was further promoted by X Games, a multi-sport event created and developed by ESPN. The first X Games (known as 1995 Extreme Games) were held in Newport, Providence, Mount Snow, and Vermont in the United States.

·         MOTIVATION:

A feature of such activities in the view of some is their alleged capacity to induce an adrenaline rush in participants. However, the medical view is that the rush or high associated with the activity is not due to adrenaline being released as a response to fear, but due to increased levels of dopamine, endorphins and serotonin because of the high level of physical exertion. Furthermore, a recent study suggests that the link to adrenaline and 'true' extreme sports is tentative. The study defined 'true' extreme sports as a leisure or recreation activity where the most likely outcome of a mismanaged accident or mistake was death. This definition was designed to separate the marketing hype from the activity.

Snowboarding

The Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider´s feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A. in the 1960s and the 1970s and became a Winter Olympic Sport in 1998.
The most popular snowboarders at this moment are:




Shaun Roger White,professional snowboarder,skateboarder. Born 
on  September 3, 1986 in San Diego, California. White has competed in the Winter X-Games since 2002, amassing eigth medals including the first four-peat by a male athlete in one  discipline, the slopestyle. In 2006, he won the gold medal in the men´s halfpipe at the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. Known for his shock of red hair ,he is often called "The Flying Tomato".White is also a professional skateboarder, gaining inspiration from legend Tony Hawk, whom White met at age nine. In 2006, he won first place at the Dew Action Sports Tour´s Right Guard Open in skateboard vert. He is the only skater to land the bodyvarial fronside 540.

Antti-Matias Antero Autti;Born on March 15, 1985 in rovaniemi, Finland,is a Finnish snowboarding star who shot to fame when he defeated big-name talents Danny kass,Andy Finch, and Shaun White in the Men´s Superpipe at the 2005 Winter X-Games to claim the gold. H is one of two snowboarders,along with Steve Fisher ,ever to beat Shaun White in the X Games Superpipe.Autti is the first non-American to win the event. He kicked off his final run with back-to-back 1080s, one of the hardest snowboardng tricks,and is only the third snowboarder to land the sequence in competition, behind Michael McBee and Ross Powers. His clutch and technical performance sparked the "1080 Revolution" and set a new standard in men´s halfpipe competition, where men must throw at least one 1080, if not two back-to-back, in order to do well in contests. Just two weeks earlier, he was crowned double World Champion in Big Air and the halfpipeat the 2005 Snowboarding World Championships in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.

Steve Fisher,also know as "The Fish";Born on September 21, 1982 in Olathe, Kansas. Is an American professional snowboarder. He began competing in local competitions at age eight and qualified for USASA nationals by age nine. Fisher went pro in 2002 when he was asked by the US Snowboarding Team to forerun the 2002 Olympic halfpipe event and become a part of US Snowboarding. He won the 2004 an 2007 Winter X-Games Champion. He is currently ranked the #1 halpipe rider in the United States by the USSA ranking system.

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Skateboarding

 Skateboarding is the act of riding on and performing tricks with a skateboard.So much people find it very interesting because it´s so impresive what the skaters can do,there are a lot of tricks that you can do with a skateboard,but this isn´t is as easy as it looks like,you have to practice so much to become a great skater.
The most popular skaters at the moment are:






Tony Hawk,Raised in San Diego, CA, Hawk was described as being "hyperactive" as a  child. His parents supported his skateboarding because it served as an outlet for his excessive energy, and as Hawk´s skills development, he became a professional skateboarder at age fourteen.One of the mos successful vertical pro skateboarders in the world,who landed "The 900" at the 1999 X-Games.
                                                   

Ryan sheckler;At age 13, he was the youngest skater to win a pro contest when  he competed in the Vancouver Slam City Jam. He was is also the world champion skater. Took the gold metal at the 2003 X-Games for the street course,beating out Eric Koston. Placed 2nd in the 2005 Globe World Cup. Sponsored by Plan B, Volvom, Etnies, Red Bull,Silver Trucks, Bones, Ninja, Mob Grip, Oakley, Nixon, Kicker, CCS, and Panasonic.

Rodney Mullen;Is a professional freestyle and street skateboarder. He is considered by many to be the best and most influential skater in the history of skateboarding. Mullen is credited with inventing the flatground ollie, the kickflip(originally called the "magic flip")in 1983, the heelflip, the impossible, and a long listo of other original tricks. Mullen is credited in numerous skateboarding videos, and has authored an autobiography entitled The Mutt: How to Skateboard and not Kill Yourself.

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