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BASE jumping is not a sport for the faint of heart. Athletes who practice this extreme sport climb to the top of tall buildings, canyons, or other structures; jump off; enjoy a period of free falling; then open a parachute and coast to the ground.

The acronym BASE stands for building, antennae, span, and earth; which make up a comprehensive list of what kinds of fixed objects BASE jumpers plummet from. Span is a term that includes all sorts of bridges, or any other structures that span over a valley or chasm. Earth means anything from cliffs to mountains to canyons.

BASE jumping is very dangerous for a variety of reasons, but the most common causes of injury and death have to do with failure to maintain a clear area around the athlete during the jump and/or the landing. If the wind is against them or if they make a mistake during the launch of their jump, athletes sometimes collide with the object that they have jumped from. Because BASE jumping areas are usually not designated for this guerilla-style sport, the makeshift landing targets that jumpers aim for are rarely large enough to allow for a safe jump. As a result many BASE enthusiasts meet with serious and sometimes fatal injuries because they haven’t been able to steer themselves to the landing area in time.

Many people compare BASE jumping to bungee jumping without a bungee cord, but it is actually much closer to skydiving without an airplane. Jumpers practice many of the same techniques that divers use to maintain stability and altitude awareness while they are in the air. Before becoming a BASE jumper, an athlete must complete a full course of skydiver training. Once they have their full skydiving certification, the next step for anyone interested in BASE is to find a mentor in the jumping community who can teach them how to take on these ambitious freefalls. Only experienced divers can even contemplate a BASE jump because this kind of unguided and somewhat unpredictable activity requires razor sharp awareness of altitude, along with stellar free fall technique.

BASE jumping is one of the most dangerous sports practiced today. Every year, BASE jumping leads to several fatalities, and most major BASE societies and clubs have seen at least one member perish in pursuit of the sport that he or she loved. Because no two jumps are alike, it is very difficult to predict what will happen once you start plummeting towards the ground. This means that to survive a BASE jump you need to have a very level head, an ability to react to surprises without panicking, and lightning speed reflexes that will allow you to make instantaneous adjustments in your position or your trajectory. However, no amount of experience can guarantee that you will complete your jump without mishap, so even very accomplished jumpers are taking serious risks every time they prepare to hurl themselves off of a building, antennae, span, or natural cliff.

Copyright (c) 2008 Wendy Tendys

Tradition, myths from ancient times and death defying leaps are all part of the ancient birthplace of extreme sport. The most spectacularly frightening religious ceremony is repeated every year. Crowds stood in silent awe as the 75′ fragile looking tower collapsed, taking everyone on it to the ground.

It is one of the world’s most spectacularly frightening religious ceremonies, on Vanuatu’s Pentecost island, the land dive. The home and ancient birthplace of extreme sport and the pre-runner of all modern bungee jumping.

Perhaps it is just secret women’s business, or just legend from the mysterious myths of ancient times, but it is whispered that the first land diver was a woman. In a desperate bid to escape her husband’s abuse she tied a vine to her ankle and dived off the top of a tree. She survived. Not to be outdone by a woman, her husband dived after her without the aid of a vine. He died.

This turned to an ancient ceremony, celebrating the yam crop showing its first green tips in early April. At least one huge wooden tower is built in each of the southern villages of the island. Towers often reach as high as 23m (75ft).

This year, each Saturday from April to June, is to be a jump day, where the men of all ages will line up to take the plunge. Unfortunately it could be their last act on earth.

The islanders believe the jump is necessary to guarantee the bounty of the yam harvest. The divers’ back or shoulders must brush the tilled earth, in order to make the ground fruitful. Hopefully all rocks have been removed from the area.

It has now also become a ceremony to show the men’s acceptance into manhood. What a potential death jump proves of manhood, however, is beyond our civilized minds’ comprehension. Bearing in mind, the jump is now taboo to women.

Each man psyches himself to dive from the precarious looking platform, held only by two vines his friends have tied to his ankles. If there is too much moisture in the vines, the vines will stretch with fatal results. However, a participant died during a filming, when the Queen of England was present in 1974, because of an extremely dry season. The vines did not have enough elasticity ‘ they tore instead of stretching.

When he is ready to jump the diver raises his hands to the people below to stop their singing, dancing and whistling. Just before he jumps he shouts out his most intimate thoughts, whatever they may be. They may be his last words on earth, so it is time to let it all hang out.

He claps his hands, crosses his arms over his chest and leans forward until he topples over the edge of the platform.

Barely conscious, the diver is hastily aided to his feet as male relatives rush up to remove the vines from his ankles. The crowd roars its approval.

This year the platform collapsed before the first dive took place. Reasons: Were the holes dug deep enough into the ground to carry the weight of the climbers. Maybe there weren’t enough supporting vines at the back to keep the tower upright.

“What was the camera man doing climbing the tower, anyway?the local islanders ask.

This is the 21st century, yet tradition still has its place, rightly or wrongly. Haven’t they heard of workplace safety? Short answer. NO! It does not exist in places like the outer islands of Vanuatu.

Neither does free education in accordance with the Rights of the Child, as ratified by the General Assembly of the United Nations, 1989.

Many of the students will never have the opportunity to go to high school without outside assistance, though the males of Pentecost will annually make a death defying jump. These children will be left behind in the 21st century, with nothing but their traditional way of life. You can make a difference in these children’s lives and the lives of their village. Ancient traditions will not be challenged, but the children of this Lesser Developed Country, have the right to be given the opportunity to fulfill their own dreams and ambitions.

In a national survey commissioned by the American Kite Surfing Association (AKSA), kite surfing, a relatively new sport in North America, is ranked as the top Extreme Sport. Among the sixteen hundred athletes participating in the study, 71% listed kite surfing as the most exciting and dynamic extreme sport. Only a third had actually attempted the sport yet nearly all indicated that intended to “give it a try” before the end the year. Participants were between the ages of 18 – 35 and all were self-identified sports enthusiast. The margin of error in this research is +/- 2%. Other extreme activities were far distance in ranking including skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, inline skating, BMX, MotoX.

This dramatic interest in the athletically demanding sport has given AKSA founders encouragement about the value of their newly founded organization. Logan Long, co-founder of the association was not surprised by the results; “It’s just simply the biggest adrenaline rush available. The combination of air, water, land, wind power, physical strength and balance the force of nature are the qualities that attract Kite Surfers.”

American Kite Surfing Association is the leading organization for kite surfers in North America. Founded in 2006 by two extreme sport enthusiasts, membership is anticipated to exceed 30,000 before the end of the year. The purpose of the enterprise is to bring heightened awareness to this fast-growing, dynamic, and fun sport. A vast array of information, products, and techniques are available to the visitors of the AKSA website, www.kite-surfingusa.com. After more than a decade of popularity through Europe and Australia, active North American extreme sport athletes are recognizing the maximum adrenaline rush through kite surfing. According to Cathi Long, co-founder of AKSA, “The exhilaration of hang time in kite surfing is unbeatable…kite surfers are simply the sexiest athletes.” AKSA will select 50 leading industry product manufacturers to highlight and profile throughout an extensive national media outreach campaign.

Among the sixteen hundred athletes participating in the study, 71% listed kite surfing as the most exciting and dynamic extreme sport. Only a third had actually attempted the sport yet nearly all indicated that intended to “give it a try” before the end the year. Participants were between the ages of 18 – 35 and all were self-identified sports enthusiast. In a national survey commissioned by the American Kite Surfing Association (AKSA), kite surfing, a relatively new sport in North America is ranked as the top Extreme Sport. The margin of error in this research is +/- 2%. Other extreme activities were far distance in ranking including skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, inline skating, BMX, MotoX.

This dramatic interest in the athletically demanding sport has given AKSA founders encouragement about the value of their newly founded organization. Logan Long, co-founder of the association was not surprised by the results; “It’s just simply the biggest adrenaline rush available. The combination of air, water, land, wind power, physical strength and balance the force of nature are the qualities that attract Kite Surfers.”

American Kite Surfing Association is the leading organization for kite surfers in North America. Founded in 2006 by two extreme sport enthusiasts, membership is anticipated to exceed 30,000 before the end of the year. The purpose of the enterprise is to bring heightened awareness to this fast-growing, dynamic, and fun sport. A vast array of information, products, and techniques are available to the visitors of the AKSA website, www.kite-surfingusa.com. After more than a decade of popularity through Europe and Australia, active North American extreme sport athletes are recognizing the maximum adrenaline rush through kite surfing. According to Cathi Long, co-founder of AKSA, “The exhilaration of hang time in kite surfing is unbeatable…kite surfers are simply the sexiest athletes.” AKSA will select 50 leading industry product manufacturers to highlight and profile throughout an extensive national media outreach campaign.

For those who like the adrenalin pumping as they push their bodies to the limit many people take up some form of extreme sport.  We know most of them from television and video games, the main ones being skateboarding, skydiving and the nauseating bungee jump!

The fun doesn’t stop there, people can do most extreme sports anywhere but like most sports they have their true home, places which are perfect for that sport.  Like Wembley is to Football and Wimbledon is to Tennis there are places all over the world that are considered the Mecca of extreme sports.

Skateboarding is a common extreme sport you will likely see people in town centres performing tricks and doing jumps but the modern skateboarding scene has descended from the skate parks of California.  The home of world class skaters like Tony Hawk, California has many dedicated skate parks with both street setups as well as vertical sets like half-pipes.

If California is too warm for your sport of choice then there are always the mountain ranges of Europe of which there are plenty.  Ski slopes are dotted all over Europe with the Alps as well as other European countries in the north like Norway.  Norway is a popular ski and snowboarding area with thousands of people learning the sports as well as seasoned pros cutting their way down the slopes.

For the more death-defying extreme sports nut New Zealand can help out with skydiving and white water rafting available in a picturesque country last seen in the Lord of The Rings films.  For those who are extra daring there is a bungee jump location in Taupo, New Zealand which hangs over a giant gorge to a river below.  It’s this river that you end up dunked in at the bottom of your fall, but don’t worry, you’re flung out of it and will surely dry out with all the bouncing around you’ll be doing!

As you can see from this brief overview that there are plenty of locations dotted all over the globe for extreme sports.  extreme sports magazine websites are your first port of call to find out where’s the best location for your extreme sports holidays.  Once you’ve decided what sport you want to try out and where is best then you should be able to begin making preparations.  So check out an extreme sports magazine today and find your extreme sports haven!