0
aguila

Is Skydiving an extreme sport?

Recommended Posts

Quote

Some people say skydiving is not an extreme sports. Some say it is. What do you think?



I dislike the mainstream qualification of what an "extreme" sport is. Skydiving is very fringe and alternative. Most people can't even fathom participating in it at the level most skydivers do. It goes way beyond what society considers extreme.
~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
To me it depends. If a team is working on things/ competing against others, it an extreme sport.

On the weekends when I'm doing fun jumps and stuff I consider it a hobby maybe extreme hobby or activity.

"You start off your skydiving career with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience up before your bag of luck runs out."

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Some people say skydiving is not an extreme sports. Some say it is. What do you think?

Thank you!



well hell.. if people call skateboarding an extreme sport...

but the idea of "extreme" sports (anything) doesn't do it for me, either. too much young testosterone wanting to use that label to brag about something, imho :P But skydiving is a sport that many people wouldn't even consider because of the attendant risks, so if "extreme" is the general categorisation used for that I would have to say yes it is.
Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I think the wikipedia opening line for the topic is fitting.

Quote

An extreme sport (also called action sport, adventure sport, and adventurous sport) is any sport featuring speed, height, danger, a high level of physical exertion, highly specialized gear



But of course... this all depends on whether or not you like the person who posted the article.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
What dose extreme really mean any more? Dose it mean dangerous? If so what level of danger do you need to be extreme. "Extreme Jello" Maybe dangerous if you are diabetic.

Dose extreme mean, outside mainstream views of normal? If so what is a mainstream view?

It seems to me that the media and advertisers are using extreme to mean cool, hip, radical, awesome and things like this. If so then skydiving is without doubt extreme:)
“Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, th

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

What dose extreme really mean any more? Dose it mean dangerous? If so what level of danger do you need to be extreme. "Extreme Jello" Maybe dangerous if you are diabetic.

Dose extreme mean, outside mainstream views of normal? If so what is a mainstream view?

It seems to me that the media and advertisers are using extreme to mean cool, hip, radical, awesome and things like this. If so then skydiving is without doubt extreme:)

Take it for it's literal connotation. Dictionary.com defines extreme as

–adjective
Quote

1. of a character or kind farthest removed from the ordinary or average: extreme measures.


The average person is not a skydiver.
That is to say, an exceedingly high amount of people DON'T skydive in comparison to the amount who do. As someone mentioned above... it is definitely a "fringe" sport.
Quote

2. utmost or exceedingly great in degree: extreme joy.

Skydivers fall from exceedingly great heights. Jumping off a roof is child's play (quite literally sometimes). Skydivers go faster (relatively unassisted by mechanical means) than any other non-skydiving human being will.
Quote

3. farthest from the center or middle; outermost; endmost: the extreme limits of a town.
4. farthest, utmost, or very far in any direction: an object at the extreme point of vision.

This goes back to the nature of the skydiving community as "on the fringe." It's not to say that skydivers are "fringe" members of society, but they take part in an activity that is definitely... quite removed from the day to day lives of most people. If people didn't die doing it and no one could see people under parachutes etc, given that skydiving has a relatively low impact on the bulk of society, no one would really care if it existed or not.
Quote

5. exceeding the bounds of moderation: extreme fashions.

I definitely don't think it's "conservative" to jump out of planes.
Quote

6. going to the utmost or very great lengths in action, habit, opinion, etc.: an extreme conservative.

Skydivers pay exhorbitant amounts of money to be able to do what they do consistently and legally. Skydiving is also a net-drain on societal resources. Skydiving functions in it's own sort of closed economy that takes resources from the whole of society, and gives no tangible resources back whatsoever.
Quote

7. last or final: extreme hopes.

Each jump could be your last :)
Quote

8. Chiefly Sports. extremely dangerous or difficult: extreme skiing.

It's definitely not safe to jump out of planes.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Also it's important to mention that as active participators in an activity such as skydiving... one is inclined to not consider it "extreme" as an outsider would.

Outsiders don't always understand why a group of people does something that, at a foundational level, seems completely stupid and dangerous. Skydivers aren't focused on the stupidity/danger (careful now), they're focused on the results and experiences that come from a successful skydive.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
All I can think of is those kids from Harold and Kumar go to White Castle...


EXTREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMEEEEEEEEE!!!!


Who cares? I don't seem extreme compared to my fellow jumper. My jumping might be considered extreme by whuffos, but I wasn't trying to impress them. Well unless they are blond, young, and hot. :)
"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I have a couple of really fast, really extreme canopies you could try. I could take you on a real extreme 4-way with a couple of friends. I could get you on a real extreme CReW load that would blow your mind.

Rock climbing is in the same boat as skydiving. if you remain on a manta (or similar type canopy) and only do very safe very easy things the amount of danger is similar to the drive out to the DZ or the trip to the mountains or bluffs. On the other hand you can easily make these sports more extreme then dating two female astronauts.

It all comes down to how YOU treat the sport. If you are extreme, the sport is extreme, if you are tame and sedate, the sport can be made so also.

For me the sport is mind bendingly EXTREME. Of coarse for me,the drive to the end of the street is extreme.
HPDBs, I hate those guys.
AFB, charter member.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Impressing the chicks is the only way I can get one. I live at the DZ and they don't let me out much. I lure them in with the cool swoops then fool them in to thinking I am a great guy. It all starts with the hot swoop.

My current GF is blonde. and I got her that way. I still have her fooled.
HPDBs, I hate those guys.
AFB, charter member.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
If anyone didn't understand what I was saying, it was a joke about the rockclimbing.com argument of whether skydiving is even a sport or not. I don't like to get into the pointless discussion of what is "extreme" or not extreme, because it always just turns into a ridiculous "my sport is more extreme/badass/hardcore/etc. than your's" argument, as we saw on rockclimbing.com.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Skydivers pay exhorbitant amounts of money to be able to do what they do consistently and legally. Skydiving is also a net-drain on societal resources. Skydiving functions in it's own sort of closed economy that takes resources from the whole of society, and gives no tangible resources back whatsoever.



? That could be said for any recreational industry.

BTW, tell that to the people of Twin Falls, Idaho.

---
Skydiving has an active participant rate of 1 in 10000 in the US, so that qualifies as very unusual. Course, I once read that that's about the rate of people running 10k races, so take it for what its worth.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Quote

Skydivers pay exhorbitant amounts of money to be able to do what they do consistently and legally. Skydiving is also a net-drain on societal resources. Skydiving functions in it's own sort of closed economy that takes resources from the whole of society, and gives no tangible resources back whatsoever.



? That could be said for any recreational industry.

BTW, tell that to the people of Twin Falls, Idaho.

---
Skydiving has an active participant rate of 1 in 10000 in the US, so that qualifies as very unusual. Course, I once read that that's about the rate of people running 10k races, so take it for what its worth.

I wasn't implying that skydiving doesn't have an affect on the outside economy. As a matter of fact I explicitly gave a statement that says the opposite. I was primarily thinking of the cliche phrase related to using fossil fuels for the sake of 5 minutes of fun.

And yes it could be said for just about any recreational industry, but NOT every recreational activity is as direct of a drain on the societal economy.

I'm not sure what you mean by the Twin Falls thing, but if it's what I'm thinking, then just because skydiving activities are a primary source/reason that a city stays in business to the level it is at, doesn't mean that the actual skydiving activities don't result in a drain.

Guess I wasn't as thorough as I thought B|

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

0