This document provides an overview of several extreme sports including motocross, mountain biking, skiing, skateboarding, and surfing. It discusses the history and origins of each sport, how competitions developed over time, and the culture surrounding each sport. Brief descriptions are given of the sports and activities involved in motocross, mountain biking, skiing, skateboarding and surfing. The document also provides references to additional sources for more information on the history and development of these extreme sports.

2. Extreme sports: (also called action sports, aggro sports, and
adventure sports) 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.

3. FIVE EXTREMES
MOTOCROSS
MOUNTAIN BIKING
SKIING
SKATEBOARDING
SURFING

4. Motocross is form of timed motorcycle racing
which is held within enclosed off-road courses.
This circuit normally consisting of winding dirt
trails with sharp turns, hills, jumps and offer even
muddy terrain. It is a physically demanding sport
as it is held in all-weather conditions with
professional race normally lasts up to 30 minutes.

6. Motocross first started evolving within Europe during the early
1900s from motorcycle trial competitions. Over a number of years
in the 1920’s these trials turned into the event called (scrambles)
which would later be viewed as the birth of modern motocross. The
sport grow in popularity throughout coming years and in 1952s the
European championship series was created. 10 years later this
championship was upgraded to the world championship status
marking the true start of international competitions.

7. COMPETATIVE MOTOCROSS
Motocross competitions come in a range of levels
starting from local club events working up to the
pinnacle of the sport; international competition.
Examples of elite motocross are:
AMA Motocross Championship is the
largest motocross series that is held within the
united states
Motocross des Nations is a once a year motocross
event that has been dubbed the “Olympics of
Motocross”

8. MOUNTAIN BIKING
Mountain bike riding has emerged as a popular
hobby and competitive sport in recent times, it has
been seen as a physically demanding but also
mentally challenging sport for all riders who aim to
achieve their personal best.

9. WHAT IS MOUNTAIN BIKING
Mountain biking is the sport of riding
bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain,
using specially designed mountain bikes.
Mountain bikes share similarities with
other bikes, but incorporate features
designed to enhance durability and
performance in rough terrain.

10. HISTORY OF MOUNTAIN BIKING
One of the first examples of bicycles
modified specifically for off-road use, is
the expedition of Buffalo Soldiers from
Missoula Montana to Yellowstone in
August 1896. The Swiss military had its
first bike regiment in 1891.
US 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps, 1897

11. COMPETITIVE MOUNTAIN BIKING
Mountain biking has emerged as a competitive sport in
recent years, with many competitions being run all year
round, in many countries. With the top races being held
in Italy. It is stated that it is the one of the most
physically demanding sports of earth, with some days
lasting up to 12 hours. Competition can be in the form of
timed and untimed events.

12. MOUNTAIN BIKE CULTURE
To many people that enjoy mountain biking, it is more
than a hobby ,it is a lifestyle choice. It allows people
to push their limits, whilst enjoying the scenery
around them and meeting people with the same
ambitions in riding.

13. SKIING
Skiing is both a recreational activity that can
be enjoyed by many age groups and a
competitive winter sport. It is when a person
uses skis to glide over the snow amongst
other things. Skiing is recognised by the
International Olympic Committee and has
been part of the Winter Olympics in one form
or another since 1924
There are many forms of skiing including
Alpine, Cross Country and Ski jumping just to
name a few.

14. SKIING HISTORY
Skiing in its modern form originates from Scandinavia, but
could have been practised as early as 600BC in modern day
China.
The word Ski originates from a Norwegian word meaning
“Split Piece of wood or firewood”
It was originally purely utilitarian and developed to help
people hunt in snowy conditions but in the 1800 people took
it on as a recreational activity and a sport.
The first recorded organized skiing exercises and races
came from the Norwegian and Swedish Army’s.

15. EXTREME SKIING

16. COMPETITIVE SKIING
There are many different Skiing competitions
around the world but the ultimate is the Winter
Olympics. Skiing has been part of the Winter
Olympics for the better part of a century in one
form or another. From 1948-1980 the Olympics
served as the world championship in Olympic years
so the best skiers from around the globe get
together and fight it out for the gold. Separate
competitions were held in the even numbered non-
Olympic years and in these years the Olympic
medalist would receive an additional medal of the
same colour from the International Ski Federation.

17. SKIING CULTURE
Après-ski is French for After
Skiing and means any form of
entertainment or social events
done specifically at ski resorts. It
adds to the fun for people staying
at the resorts and gives them
something to do apart from skiing
and snowboarding. The culture
started in the Alps, where skiers
would stop off after their last run
of the day and have a drink in
their ski gear. Nowadays this
culture is a massive factor when
holidaymakers are looking for a
place to book and often the
resorts with the best Après-ski
are the most popular.

18. SKATEBOARDING
Skateboarding is an action
sport which involves riding and
performing tricks using a
skateboard. Skateboarding can
also be considered a
recreational activity, an art
form, a job, or a method of
transportation. Skateboarding
has been shaped and influenced
by many skateboarders
throughout the years. A 2009
report found that the
skateboarding market is worth
an estimated $4.8 billion in
annual revenue with 11.08
million active skateboarders in
the world.

19. HISTORY OF SKATEBOARDING
The history of skateboarding begins in the 1950’s,
when all across California surfers got the idea of
trying to surf the streets. The first skateboards
started as wooden boxes or boards with roller skate
wheels attached to the bottom. The boards evolved as
the popularity of skateboarding grew, and eventually
companies were producing decks of pressed layers of
wood. By the 1970’s, skateboarding began to take its
form as a serious sport rather than a hobby after
competitions began to show the skill needed to be a
freestyle skateboarder. By the 1990’s, skateboarding
had hit the mainstream and quickly became accepted
as a professional extreme sport.

20. COMPETITIVE SKATEBOARDING
In the 1960’s, skateboarding companies such as Jack’s, Hobie, and
Makaha started having real freestyle competitions where skaters
like Torger Johnson, Woody Woodward and Danny Berer paved the
way for future skaters. In 1975, a freestyle contest was held at the
Ocean Festival in California where the legendary Zephyr team
showed the world what skateboarding could be. The zephyr team
had a lot of influential skaters such as legends like Tony Alva, Jay
Adams, Stacy Peralta and Alan Gelfand (nicknamed “Ollie”). In 1995,
ESPN held the first ever X-Games, which brought skateboarding into
the mainstream light and sparking an interest in many young kids.
The X-Games continues to become more and more popular with
Skateboarding. One of the big factors today that makes
skateboarding so huge, is the fact that pros make real money.

21. SKATEBOARDING CULTURE
Skateboarding is a sport like no other. Skateboard
Culture has influenced fashion, music, video games
and even the way we talk. As its popularity spread
across America, it developed a culture of its own.
Skateboarding has also played a big role in fashion,
earning its place among the masses. Companies like
Diamond Supply Co, Hurley, Vans, and RVCA all
making millions off the skateboarding lifestyle.

22. SURFING
Surfing is a surface water sport in which the wave rider, referred to
as a surfer, rides on the forward or deep face of a moving wave,
which is usually carrying the surfer toward the shore. Waves
suitable for surfing are primarily found in the ocean, but can also be
found in lakes or in rivers in the form of a standing wave or tidal
bore. However, surfers can also utilize artificial waves such as those
from boat wakes and the waves created in artificial wave pools.
The term surfing refers to the act of riding a wave, regardless of
whether the wave is ridden with a board or without a board, and
regardless of the stance used (goofy or regular stance). The native
peoples of the Pacific, for instance, surfed waves on alaia, paipo,
and other such craft, and did so on their belly and knees. The
modern-day definition of surfing, however, most often refers to a
surfer riding a wave standing up on a surfboard; this is also referred
to as stand-up surfing.

23. HISTORY OF SURFING
Surfing’s roots lie in premodern Hawaii and Polynesia,
where the sport was practiced by both men and women
from all social strata from royalty to commoners. Early
European explorers and travelers praised the skills of
Hawaiian surfers, but 19th-century missionaries assigned to
the islands disapproved of the “constant intermingling,
without any restraint, of persons of both sexes” and banned
the pastime. Surfing was practiced only sporadically in
Hawaii by the end of the 19th century.
In the early 20th century, however, concomitant with the
development of Hawaii as a tourist destination, surfing
underwent a revival, and the sport quickly spread to
California and Australia.

24. COMPETITIVE SURFING
Although large wagers were often placed on ancient surf contests, it wasn’t until the 1960s
that surfing again involved prizes or cash awards. In 1965, money awards were still nominal,
but by the time the Fifth Annual Duke Kahanamoku Invitation Surfing Championship was held
in 1969, the first prize had grown to $1,000. In 1970, the Smirnoff Pro-Am meet organized by
Fred Hemmings at Makaha Beach awarded $3,000 to the first place surfer. In 1971, the most
prestigious professional surfing tournament - Pipeline Masters - held its first contest. Today
it's the apex of surfing's Triple Crown, following contests at Haleiwa and Sunset Beach, and
the winner walks away with prize money in the tens of thousands.
Surfing is a big sport and big business worldwide. The World Championship Tour includes
events all over the globe - from Biarritz, France to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico to Tavarua, Fiji -
with male and female competitors. Sponsorships and product endorsements can provide big
bucks to top athletes. As surfing has grown in international popularity, producers of surf
equipment, accessories and clothing have also enjoyed commercial success around the
world.
With the growing popularity of surf contests, individual surf champions gained visibility. Fred
Hemmings Jr. became Hawaii's first world champion when he won the 1968 World Amateur
Championship in Rincon, Puerto Rico. Among the first to envision a professional tour for
surfers, Hemmings fashioned one out of existing surf events. Competitors score points at
various contests throughout the year with the championship going to the surfer with the most
accumulated points. Hemmings also helped launch the International Professional Surfers
(now the Association of Surfing Professionals) in 1976 and served as their president during
its first three years.

25. SURFING CULTURE
Because they were lightweight,
easy to transport, and easy to
ride, malibus popularized surfing
and sparked a unique,
hedonistic subculture. This
subculture originated in
Southern California but spread
around the world, from South
Africa to Australia, by surf-film
cinematographers, surf
magazines, and the travels of
the peripatetic California
surfers. By the late 1960s a
distinctly Australian way of
surfing had emerged; based on
more aggressive maneuvers
performed on shorter boards, it
quickly dominated and
influenced the global surf
culture.

26. HARVARD REFERENCING
INTRO
 Extreme sport 2015, Wikipedia.com, last viewed 05 May
2015, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_sport.
 Extreme sports 2014, Youtube.com, last viewed 05 May
2015,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lnGYb3fLsA.

27. HARVARD REFERENCING
MOTOCROSS
 Dirt Family P/L 2013, Extreme motocross FMX & speedway, last viewed 06 May 2015,
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=extreme+motocross&spfreload=10.
 History of motocross 2014, Freestyle motocross.net, last viewed 06 May 2015,
http://www.freestyle-motocross.net/info/guide/fmx/history.
 Motocross history, Motocross Australia.org, last viewed 05 MAY 2015,
http://www.ma.org.au/index.php?id=68.
 Motocross, Wikipedia.com, last viewed 05 May 2015,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motocross.
 Youngblood, E 2014, The Birth of Motocross 1924 – 1939, Ed Youngblood, Motocross
America, Last viewed 06 May 2015,
http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/asp/museum/exhibits/mx/history.asp.

28. MOUTAIN BIKING
 Cremin, A 2015, The top ten multi-stage Mountain Bike races in
the world, Andrew Cremin, last viewed 06 May 2015,
http://outsidetimes.com/adventures/the-top-10-multi-stage-
mountain-bike-races-in-the-world-
2925/#cEbzP3WGMpYY40ZW.97.
 Brandt, J 2005, A brief history of the mountain bike, Jobst Brandt,
last viewed 06 May 2015, http://sheldonbrown.com/brandt/mtb-
history.html.
 Cycling: History of mountain bike at the Olympic games 2015,
olympic.org, last viewed 06 May 2015,
http://www.olympic.org/Assets/OSC%20Section/pdf/QR_sports_s
ummer/Sports_Olympiques_VTT_eng.pdf.

29. SKIING
 Aaron Inkajon 2014, The Hawaii surfing history, last viewed 06 May 2015,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33RsEIYC_H0.
 History of skiing 2014, wikipedia.org, viewed 06 May 2015,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skiing.
 International Ski Federation 2015, Olympic skiing competitions,
International Ski Federation, last viewed 06 May 2015,
http://www.olympic.org/fis-alpine-skiing.
 International skiing history association 2014, A short history of skis,
International skiing association, viewed 06 May 2015,
https://www.skiinghistory.org/history/short-history-skis-0.
 MSP films 2015, Most insane ski line EVER, last viewed 06 May 2015,
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=extreme+skiing.

30. Skateboarding
 History of skateboarding 2013, Street is culture.com, last viewed
06 May 2015,http://www.streetisculture.com/2013/11/07/history-
of-skateboarding/.
 The evolution of skateboarding – A history from sidewalk surfing
to superstardom 2013, Skateboarding magazine.com, last viewed
06 May 2015, http://www.skateboardingmagazine.com/the-
evolution-of-skateboarding-a-history-from-sidewalk-surfing-to-
superstardom/.

31. SURFING
 Booth, D.G 2014, Surfing, Douglas G Booth, last viewed 06 May
2015, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/575128/surfing.
 Hawaii history.org 2015, Competitive surfing, Hawaii History, last
viewed 06 May 2015,
http://hawaiihistory.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ig.page&PageID=39
5.
 Surfing 2015, Wikipedia.org, last viewed 06 May 2015,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfing.