Pull The Cord!

"Extreme (or alternate) sports are a hot commodity for a huge number of people throughout the world. Crowds rush to watch and participate in the latest incarnation of these daredevil acts, and the entertainment industry has not delayed in keeping up with this phenomenon. From participants to spectators, every day more of us give in to the lure of these new forms of expression. Sure enough, the numbers tend to back up our impressions: traditional sports (such as basketball and baseball) are seeing fewer participants, while more young people are starting to flock to activities like skateboarding and mountain biking.
It's not just the adrenaline rush and cheap thrill of the extreme that are the biggest assets of these new extreme sports - although they surely play a large part for some. For the athletes who participate in them, the major draw is the way extreme sports serve as a means of expression and as a way of constantly challenging and improving ourselves. Through the focus and discipline required, these athletes continue to surprise us with feats ever more daring and creative than regular sports can supply, and which inspire ever higher levels of camaraderie between those on the inside.
John Lewis is a journalist that fell in love with flying at an early age. From the minute he could afford one, he's owned his own helicopter and flies the machine every weekend. After coming home from his work at a fashion magazine he loves writing articles about flying, as well as journals on his helicopter flights; and enjoys pretty much any activity that ends up with him flying or floating above the ground.
Going Into Freefall
As a race, we have been trying to fly for a long time. For the most part (flying unaided being rather obvious exception) we have succeeded in building a host of contraptions that allow us to enjoy both the convenience and the phenomenal exhilaration of flying. Skydiving is, perhaps, a strange combination of the mystery of flying with the odd thrill of dropping to your doom from a really high place. In this, one might compare skydiving with bungee jumping; the two share some commonal ground but are certainly different in scope. While bungee jumping is more straightforward and shocking (you are playing with very strong forces in very quick succession), skydiving combines the adrenaline of engaging in a freefall with the pleasant descent as you float through the air. The view is most definitely better as well.
So, what if you want to try some skydiving yourself? Don't worry, you don't need your own plane - I asked the question myself a long time ago and found out that there were an ample variety of places where you could enjoy such an activity with relative ease. Skydiving is one of the most popular extreme attractions so there are no lack of planes and professionals willing to take you high up in the air and then give you the chance to throw yourself off the plane. If the trip is all you are looking for, you can get an excellent experience by doing a tandem skydive: you will jump attached to an instructor and will have to do nothing but enjoy the ride - or should I say, fall. If you are feeling more daring or want to try a more hands-on approach, you will need to take a few lessons; starting with a few afternoons of indoor skydiving seems to be the best idea for you to get some experience under your belt. Have fun!
Some Interesting Figures
In the United States, the participation in baseball has dropped 28 percent since the numbers taken in 1987; basketball, another hugely popular sport in the USA, has declined by 17% since its most recent peak in 1997; softball (a less popular alternative to baseball) has dropped an amazing 37% and, finally, the popularity of volleyball has declined by a similar figure, 36 percent.
At the same time, enthusiasts and advocates of a different sort of sports are on a steady rise: skateboarding has become the new ""rock star"", with a surge of 49 percent (a whopping 14 million participants in the United States) and we see more and more skate parks being built as time goes by; snowboarding houses a respectable following of 7.2 million participants (a 50% increase from 10 years ago); and mountain biking has taken a rightful place as the second-most popular extreme sport, with a hefty 8.6 million participants."