Extreme sports have yet to unveil their completeness, but for the meantime, all the games are savoring their popularity from the support of athletes throughout the world. Below are focal points of the origin and advancement of extreme sports.
18th Century
The Enlightenment era was also the period of skateboarding. Considered as a risky sport in this time, people were thrilled to see skaters perform tricks, dances and glides in the arena. However, the lack of technological advancement halted the improvement.
20th Century
1950s
Just recovering from the World War II, citizens found new activities to bring out the adrenaline in them. As people clamoured for sports besides basketball, volleyball and football; they discovered the new form of sport – the extreme sport. Plus, due to a media statement of Ernest Hemingway, athletes became challenged to seek dangerous yet enjoyable sports activities; may it be in water, land, or air.
1970s
The earliest forms of extreme sports were rock climbing and marathon running. During this time, individuals, especially the men, showed their strength and agility in these manners. More people desired for more thrilling athletic games that test their physical willpower leading to the launch of more activities. In fact, motocross and mountain biking were simultaneously introduced in this decade.
Business conglomerates, realizing the trend of sports, designed and manufactured equipments, devices and tools necessary for risky endeavors. The inventions in this period were rubber shoes and artificial climbing walls which prompted more participants for such radical pursuits.
Moreover, thanks to programs and movies, this sport earned recognition. Truly, media played a great role in honing the popularity, particularly what extreme sports have become nowadays.
1980s
In England, the foundation of Dangerous Sports Club in Oxford University heightened people’s awareness in such activities. The founders, David Kirke and his company, became famous after modernizing bungee jumping. This was another development of such revolutionary athletic interest.
In the Olympic Games, windsurfing grew popular to many sports enthusiasts leading to the inclusion of such activity to the list. Though Olympic Games existed way back 776 BC, it started accepting extreme sports as legitimate games in the Olympics in this period.
1990s
The evolution of extreme sports continued. In this decade, sky surfing was another sport launched, which was a combination of skydiving and snowboarding. Professional parachutists delight themselves in exploring this new found love in this game.
Another highlight of this decade was the X Games. An American program broadcasted by ESPN, X Games turned out a sensation as it featured different International game competitions. This sports program profoundly introduced skiing, ice climbing, snowmobile, surfing, and others worldwide. Bam Margera and Tony Hawk, famous skateboarders, brought recognition to such game that more people were enthralled to try skateboarding.
2000s
Many extreme games heralded in this period including BASE jumping, bungee jumping, hang gliding and street luge. Most extreme sports games are developed due to the new inventions in technologies related to such activities. Truly, the growth of such sports will not cease in the near future; its popularity will increase as years go forth.