Since "extreme sports" have come to the forefront of Americanculture, young people have begun spending their summersparticipating in sports like skateboarding, paintball, canoeing andmountain biking. It is a drastic change from the summers wherebaseball was everyone's favorite past time.
Since the introduction of competitions like the X-Games, thesesports have allowed people to see the best of the best competeagainst each other on television. This often makes young peoplewant to try what they see on television.
"With the new influence of extreme sports, (i.e. surfing,wakeboarding, snowboarding, skateboarding, inline skating andmotocross)," said Matt McCormick, a University of Memphis graduatewho majored in sports and leisure, "I believe these sports havegiven people another option than the traditional team sports."
This has allowed sports like paintball, skateboarding andmountain biking to take up youthful free time. With the addition ofmany trails, especially in the Mid-South, young people, now morethan ever, have a chance to get out in the sun and participate inthese activities.
The Mid-South now has more than 10 mountain biking trials, twoskate parks and paintball parks popping up each year. The biggestsite for these sports has always been the Tour de Wolf trail, whichhosts an annual mountain bike race each year. This race brings outsome of the best mountain bikers in the country. The competitorsallow Memphians to see the best and compete against the best intheir sport.
Paintball Park is also a place where paintballers from all overthis area come to show off their skill. As long as you are able tobring your own equipment, you only have to pay $11 to get a fullday pass. This allows you to play as much paintball as you wantthroughout the day.
U of M student Ed Manoalche likes the excitement ofpaintball.
"It's the anticipation of waiting in a bunker or hole, untilsomeone passes by and you nail them," he said.
"Extreme sports" are not the only options for summer fun,however. Young people also are embracing the great outdoors inother ways. These "weekend warriors" canoe down rivers, hike alongtrails and climb the sides of cliffs. And, especially during thesummer, the State of Tennessee provides these people with some ofthe greatest resources the country has to offer. With more than 30state parks and the Great Smokey Mountains, one does not have totravel far to find forests, mountains, lakes and other beautifulscenery. In the Memphis area, there are plenty of rivers for peopleto canoe down and many trails for people to hike.
Whether you prefer "extreme sports" or traditional sports,there's no time like summer to get out of the house.
"I like being involved with sports," said U of M student BrandonSmith, "because it is a good way to work out any pinned upfrustrations, and I enjoy good competition. Playing any sport isbetter than sitting on the couch, getting fat off potatochips."
