Extreme Sports: A simple adrenaline rush, or something deeper?
Expository Writing
Extreme Sports: A simple adrenaline rush, or something deeper?
Extreme sports are a phenomenon that are taking the world by storm, increasing in popularity and daring every year. One such sport is ‘wingsuit flying’, where a pilot wears a suit with material between the legs, arms and torso, which allows the pilot to glide at unimaginable speeds through the air; the speed record in a wingsuit is a colossal 363 kilometres per hour. One wingsuit flyer says that the most intense feeling you get is when you first step off the edge of the cliff, and that feeling combined with the chance to enjoy a flight over the countryside is why he and his fellow flyers love what they do. But is there more to these sports than meets the eye? Is there something deeper than getting an adrenaline rush?
There are certainly many people who would say that extreme sports such as wingsuit flying are dangerous, reckless, and are just for people seeking a thrill. They may be able to make a case for it. Last year in October, Victor Kovats, a three-time national champion of his sport who had made over 700 flights, died in a tragic accident after his parachute failed to deploy at the Red Bull championships in China. There were 63 deaths from 2011 to 2013 in wingsuit flying alone, with many more casualties in other extreme sports. This would lead many people, understandably, to view these sports as something stupid and dangerous, with nothing more to it than a basic adrenaline rush. These critics would argue that extreme sports do not require courage; they simply require a madman.
The other side of the spectrum is that extreme sports are more than just a base sensation. Those who partake in extreme sports would argue that it allows them to push the boundaries of what they, and others, think they can do. They would argue that it takes courage, not a lack of a sense of self-preservation to do what they do, and they would have a strong case for it. There are very few who
Extreme Sports: A simple adrenaline rush, or something deeper?
Extreme sports are a phenomenon that are taking the world by storm, increasing in popularity and daring every year. One such sport is ‘wingsuit flying’, where a pilot wears a suit with material between the legs, arms and torso, which allows the pilot to glide at unimaginable speeds through the air; the speed record in a wingsuit is a colossal 363 kilometres per hour. One wingsuit flyer says that the most intense feeling you get is when you first step off the edge of the cliff, and that feeling combined with the chance to enjoy a flight over the countryside is why he and his fellow flyers love what they do. But is there more to these sports than meets the eye? Is there something deeper than getting an adrenaline rush?
There are certainly many people who would say that extreme sports such as wingsuit flying are dangerous, reckless, and are just for people seeking a thrill. They may be able to make a case for it. Last year in October, Victor Kovats, a three-time national champion of his sport who had made over 700 flights, died in a tragic accident after his parachute failed to deploy at the Red Bull championships in China. There were 63 deaths from 2011 to 2013 in wingsuit flying alone, with many more casualties in other extreme sports. This would lead many people, understandably, to view these sports as something stupid and dangerous, with nothing more to it than a basic adrenaline rush. These critics would argue that extreme sports do not require courage; they simply require a madman.
The other side of the spectrum is that extreme sports are more than just a base sensation. Those who partake in extreme sports would argue that it allows them to push the boundaries of what they, and others, think they can do. They would argue that it takes courage, not a lack of a sense of self-preservation to do what they do, and they would have a strong case for it. There are very few who