News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

By Ryan Brink

As extreme sports finally get main stream media coverage more people are getting involved in the exciting activities they see on the TV or internet. 10 years ago if you wanted to find any extreme sports media coverage you had to dig deep to find any sources. Now when you type in X Games into YouTube you can spend days watching your favorite athletes defy gravity and push the boundaries of their sport.

When talking about extreme sports I would define “extreme” as anything that gets adrenaline pumping through your body. The definition of “sport” would be anything that requires a person to push the limits of their body and mind. Some people think that “extreme sports” are pointless and just a good way to hurt yourself. I would have to agree that the potential for injury is sometimes very high, but extreme sports athletes have a talent for minimizing those risks.

Adrenaline can come from many different things. Some find adrenaline in pure speed. Some find adrenaline by doing technical “tricks” or stunts where accuracy is the deciding factor on a pass or fail. Some find adrenaline in the unexplainable freedom you get by doing things like gliding down a mountain on skis or a board. If none of those work, try poking at the human instinct part of your brain called survival. When you are getting ready to do something that forces you to fight with the fact that you could get seriously hurt, (ei. jumping out of an airplane) your adrenaline meter is sure to be in the red.

The secret has always been to find a way to make it as safe as possible. This is where pushing the limits of your body AND mind becomes a requirement. Extreme athletes quickly make decisions on whether or not something is safe. Their bodies are then pushed as far as safety allows with the ultimate goal of keeping the level of adrenaline as high as possible.

I have always had a passion for adrenaline and for testing the limits (just ask my mother). Through out my youth I tried every possible “extreme sport” I could think of. My friends and I even created a few. 
One called “tramp board”, we bounced on a trampoline with a foam skim board to do tricks. Williams Lake was the perfect place to grow up for  me. The natural beauty of this area and endless space for recreation make it paradise for many extreme sports athletes.

These days my recreation activities of choice include many extreme sports. The places I have seen while trail riding on my dirt bike or snowboarding in the back country mountains have been unforgettable. 

Sure I have paid the price a few times with injuries, but the people I have met and the stories I’ve heard make the bumps, bruises, broken bones, and road rash  worth it 110%.

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