By Sofia Argiropoulou, Athanasia Kouli & Angela Mastrogiannopoulou (A Class)
Practising various sports is a way for many people to escape from their daily routine. But how many sports do we really know to exist? Below there are some unusual and breathtaking sports that will definitely blow up your mind!!!
- Tandem surfing
Tandem surfing is the act of holding up various gymnastic poses while riding the waves on a surfboard. It requires two opposite-sex partners and it combines the balance needed to even stand up on a board with the strength to strike gymnastic stances. Extreme sports lovers should go crazy with the sense of freedom and the adrenaline rush tandem surfing offers.
2. Wing Walking
A wing walking experience definitely counts as one of life’s greatest aerial adventures.
Normally you fly inside a plane rather than actually on it. For this unique departure you will be physically standing on the wings of a biplane. Waving enthusiastically at your friends and family watching from below and reveling in the complete triumph of your feat (and probably pulling some priceless facial expressions too) is all part of the experience.
You will need to keep your wits about you for this thrilling experience and, of course, all safety precautions are taken, but it still takes some serious guts to climb up onto the struts of the plane to the harness.
3. Highlining
Highlining is an extreme sport in which athletes traverse a narrow, springy band of rope suspended high above the ground.
The sport involves fixing a 1-inch thick rope between two mountains and walking over the gap in between. If that already sounds frightening enough, highlining also involves no safety net or balancing bar like you’d see a circus performer use. The high altitude also means that highliners have to contend with sudden gusts of wind that threaten to throw them off balance at any second. While most highliners attach themselves to the rope with a safety harness, a few brave (or crazy) soles insist on highlining with absolutely no safety equipment whatsoever. One slip and they would plummet to their death, now that’s definitely extreme!
All in all, it is true that these sports are completely out of the ordinary and the ideal option for adventure-seekers. More and more people should start practising them especially if they love feeling the adrenaline rush while being able to harmonise with air and water to an extreme level.
Bibliography:
- http://www.earthtripper.com/worlds-most-dangerous-extreme-sports/page/3
- http://www.aerosuperbatics.com/beawingwalker
- http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/magazine/ngm-yosemite-falls-highline
- https://www.google.gr/search?q=wing+walking&rlz=1C1AOHY_elGR708GR708&espv=2&biw=1024&bih=610&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi3ooKzoIjRAhVIXhQKHTY0ClgQsAQIKA&dpr=1#imgrc=nc-RNLITaNLXOM%3A
- http://encyclopediaofsurfing.com/entries/tandem-surfing
- http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/highlining.htm
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezVTw8bstlQ
