Questars: The Adventure Race Series

Telegraph lists their Top 10 Adventure Race Series (of which Questars is No 2). The pictures from March 2009 look amazing – look out for the next event 27/28 this month!

“Due to the way questars are planned they attract people of all levels from beginners through to some of Britain’s best adventure racers. Both the one-day and the two-day races accommodate all-comers. … Questars Trio races have three stages – trail running, mountain biking and kayaking. Within each stage there are a range of checkpoints to visit. Each checkpoint has a value and the winners are those that have accumulated the most points within the time limit. The race is continuous. Transition between stages is all part of the race. Teams choose in which order to do each stage.“  See more on the website.

Bournemouth Artificial Reef

Above is a model indicating what was expected from Bournemouth’s artificial surf reef, which has now been open 3 months. Feedback on the reef is not good, with few surfers using it, indicating that “the wave produced is more of a “slab” than a “peeler”, meaning it is too steep and breaks too quickly. As a result most surfers are unable to stand up on their board and ride it for any length of time before they wipe out. Safety fears have also been expressed as the top of reef breaks the surface of the water at low tide, which has resulted in fins being ripped off boards.” However, “Danny Chilcott, a keen surfer and proprietor of Ocean Breeze B&B in Boscombe, said the reef could be fixed by a few “tweaks” but it should be done soon.” Read full article in the Telegraph. Let’s hope they can get it fixed, and we can enjoy good surf waves in the UK!

Bustin’ Down the Door

“During the winter of 1975 in Hawaii, surfing was shaken to its core. A group of young surfers from Australia and South Africa sacrificed everything and put it all on the line to create a sport, a culture, and an industry that is today worth billions of dollars and has captured the imagination of the world. With a radical new approach and a brash colonial attitude, these surfers crashed headlong into a culture that was not ready for revolution. Surfing was never to be the same again…”

Interested? Watch the trailer:

Find surf options in the UK.

Kite Buggying

What’s even more fun that kite-boarding – how to do you take it to the next level?

In trading the traditional kite board for a kind of go-cart, Furman is able to soar across the Wrightsville Beach sand like a dune buggy would only without the engine.

You can get lifted 10-15 feet in the air if youre strapped in,” Furman says. And with speeds ranging anywhere from 40-70 miles per hour, this sport is almost as much fun for spectators as it is for participants.”

Read more on Wrightsville Beach Magazine.

Can Jenny Jones win another Gold for Britain at the Euro X Games?

Next week sees Winter X Games, the legendary U.S. winter action sports event, come to Europe for the first time. Competing for Britain will be top snowboarder Jenny Jones, hoping to win another gold medal following her win at the recent U.S. event. Can she do it again? Find out by watching all the action LIVE online from 10th March, only at www.extreme.com powered by Freecaster.tv.

Following Amy Williams’ ground-breaking gold medal win in the skeleton at last month’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Britain’s winter sports competition hopes are once again pinned on a talented female athlete. 29-year-old Jenny Jones, from Bristol, is Britain’s only rider ever to win gold at the U.S. Winter X Games, which is held each year in Aspen, Colorado.

Read full story at SnowboardClub.co.uk

No Dribbling the Squid: Octopush, Shin Kicking, Elephant Polo, and Other Oddball Sports

With a title like that, who wouldn’t want to read this book?!

“If you’re in the mood to explore what’s new and different in the daredevil human sport world, check out No Dribbling the Squid (Andrews McMeel) by Michael J. Rosen. You’ll get a front-row seat to such thrilling sports as octopush, elephant polo, swamp soccer, toe wrestling and professional shin kicking.

There’s the Wife-Carrying World Championships, held annually in Sonkajarvi, Finland; the Mudslinging Festival in Chiba, Japan; and, in a small Spanish town, something called the Devil’s Jump, where babies are lined on mattresses for contestants to long-jump over – a tradition that justifies itself by the belief that it takes the devil out of the infants.”

“The author admits most of the sports covered in his book involve inebriation, anesthesia, unusual equipment and choking hazards – often all at the same time. He also warns these are not things people who have certain phobias – fear of heights, depths, speed, fire, tight places, and a few we’ve never heard of, like emetophobia (fear of vomiting) and myxophobia (fear of slime) – should try at home.”

Read full story.

Climbing: Not an Extreme Sport?

Trevor Harris, taking up rock climbing about five years ago, knew he was trying something with a pop culture reputation for being “extreme.”

Harris, who spoke with The Telegram Wednesday, said he was surprised to find climbing a less dangerous, more satisfying sport than he had imagined.

Enamoured with his experiences, over the last three years, he has taken on the task of completing a documentary on the climbing community in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Harris said “Breach: A Newfoundland Climbing Film” is meant to put on display the real story of rock climbing, something other than the dangerous and death-defying images popularized by scenes in movies like the Chris O’Donnell vehicle “Vertical Limit” and “Cliffhanger” with Sly Stallone.

“There is a lot of misinformed speculation about rock climbing,” said Harris, who pointed to the movies “farcical” and dangerous action scenes.

He said it is a myth that climbing is not a safe sport.
“It’s scary, but it’s not dangerous,” he said, adding his film “Breach” devotes part of its time to encouraging non-climbers to consider trying the activity.

Read full story.

Ultimate X: Cape Town

Ultimate X is Cape Town’s largest extreme sports lifestyle event bringing the adrenalin and excitement of extreme sports to over 3,000 consumers in an urban environment. On Sat February 20 2010, the V&A Granger Bay site will be transformed into an extreme sporting paradise. Burning rubber, searing adrenalin, high jumps & sunshine will create an unrivalled vibe.

Info/Photo from CapeTownAlive.

Visit hosts Old School Productions

Join the Facebook Group

Weight Lifting… or the Right Cheese?

It’s not even real cheese, but what you can do with a bit of imagination… and plenty of time!

Keep Up with Olympic Tweets

The official Olympic site is making great use of Twitter to demonstrate what is going on at the Winter Olympics: the above is effectively a series of Tweet Clouds demonstrating the big topics on Twitter at the moment, and Olympic Tweets pulling the Tweets of those involved in the action. Plenty of videos to catch up with too!