Basejumper.com - archive

 Hey There

Gerald

like rcin cars

mother fuckers

it's a sport that can be compared with bowling. you can be a fat, lazy, illiterate jackass and still be an "athlete".

sport... ha!

Is this a poll?

I jump cliff...make me feel gooooood

 
sport (spôrt, spōrt):

An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.:

BASE as it is defined involves minimal physical exertion, arguably no skill, has no rules, and rarely if ever done competitively.


BASE jumping is a hobby or technique for rapid descent.

Flying and BASE jumping is an experimental science in aerodynamics, a voyage of deep human emotion, a test of character and endurance, an exploration of the beauty in Earth and in the fleeting enlightenment of relative motion, NOT a sport.

so curling is a sport?

much more so than BASE jumping, I would say.


why do you want it to be a sport?

Hiking 5 times in 3 days for racing and with rules?

Where have you been the last two years? This is more sport than many other

I predict in 2 years it is the hottest sport on this planet, with athletes who will shine as true heroes.

Do not think you will have any more reasons to deny it by then

The World BASE Race or Pro BASE Race?

They are competing, there are rules, they are physically exerting themselves to climb the mountain as part of the competition rules.

Or are you considering those events into the "rarely if ever done competitively" category?

434 might argue they are "annual sporting events".

I forfeit.

How about "can be a sport?"

The existence of competitions doesn't make something a sport.

Otherwise eating contests are.

I'd say i depends on how and why you're jumping, personally. Because I would call kicking a soccer ball around a field with a few friends playing a sport.

Not all games are sports, but because of the competivie aspect, almost all sports are games.

Curling, bowling, darts, croquet, golf and even baseball are games.

Football, basketball, hockey, running, and cycling are sports.

I agree with Calvin, BASE jumping is a hobby. Almost all hobbies eventually have a participant that figures out how to make a competition. Take a look at rock climbing, BASE jumping, fishing, and even chefery.

Motorsport is confusing. It's a highly competitive activity by nature that requires skill and is governed by a set of rules and at the highest levels requires physical exertion, but I have a hard time agreeing that it is a sport when the motion is caused by opening the butterfly valves on the throttle body of a combustion engine.

?

it's what you make of it. it can be the most mentally and physically demanding sport known to man or it can be a fat man's activity.

I'll see you in Kitchen Stadium.

"The only true sports are car racing, bull figthing and mountain climbing, all others are mere games" -Ernest Hemningway :-)

If you're hiking to the exit it's a sport??

I dunno if I agree with the term "sport". Not really a game either, more than just a hobby but I hate the term "lifestyle". You hear that shit in the climbing world a bunch.
Fact is, it absolutely does require a certain amount of physical awareness (maybe not exhertion) to base jump. Yeah sure,anyone can walk up and just 'fall' off the object but that usually won't get you a good result.
Look how long it takes for some people to dial in their exits. It's a sport in the way that you have to have that awareness AND the ability to make split second decisions, at critical moments. ESPECIALLY when you start getting into the ariel realm. . .

I'll have to agree with 460, It's what you make of it. . .
What's important is that it's what we love to do!! You can call it whatever the fuck you want and I'll still be out there huckin and chuckin with a big ol' grin on my face!!!!

SirVato

I shall note that the US TV program "Dancing with the Stars" fulfills all those requirements as well. Ballroom Dancing, Synchronized swimming, Rhythmic gymnastics, etc. all are difficult to do well, physically demanding, and competitive. Two are considered Olympic Sports.

It makes me wonder why people argue so much if BASE is a sport, hobby, activity, game, stunt, etc. Does it change how a jumper addresses BASE? Does it really change how others view BASE?

Then again, does everyone who runs/jogs for exercise call themselves "athletes?"

It seems to matter to many here. I'm just not sure why...

stay safe.
avoid arrest.
enjoy.

I have my GoFast Games "athlete" badge hanging on a cabinet in my office to (jokingly) prove to my co-workers that I'm an athlete.

But when I'm gasping for air while hiking up the side of a mountain I know its not true.

Ever wonder how the pro's on the soccer field must feel when they score a goal and the whole stadium cheers? ...Or rugby, baseball and any other spectator sport for that matter.

I got a taste of it once on a BASE jump.

A friend and I were enrolled to shoot a commercial for which they needed a BASE jump.

The production company had hired this big telescopic crane and installed it in a rugby field in a small residential area outside Cape Town. The sole purpose of this installation was for my buddy and I to jump off of until they were satisfied they got the shot they wanted.

There was a school a little further away that I only noticed because as I exited for my second or third jump, I heard all the school children screaming their heads off. They must have been on a break or something and were all in the yard.

It is a difficult thing to describe what I felt afterwards knowing I had brought that much excitement to that many people. I was on top of the world for a few days afterwards and nothing could bring me down.

That one particular jump and the way I felt afterwards are something that I will always remember.

I usually call it a sport although these days it is more of a hobby when I wouldn't mind it being a lifestyle. Whatever it is, it has brought me a lot, from the solo jumps to those crane jumps. From the surreal to the very real, BASE jumping rocks!

I said something that is quoted on climber websites occasionally, "I wouldn't say danger is my life, I prefer to think of it as more of a hobby."

I won't use any of your nuggets again.
There are people who will not employ me because of that last one:

Man, that sounds like it really back fired on you!

Ye last time I called that production designer for a job he gave me the "don't call me I'll call you treatment"...

No sense of humor really!

Not so much backfiring as just a temporary setback though

SPORT a duck farting in water...sport

I once heard someone say, "it's not a sport if you can't die doing it".
In that context base is very much a sport. Also heard this once, "it's all fun and games until you lie smashed up on the talus..."

1184

I realized when reading this thread that I refer to my BASE jumping as a hobby, but I refer to BASE jumping in general as a sport. There are a lot of activities that get referred to as one or the other such as: climbing, running, skydiving, skiing, and kayaking. I think the main two things that separate sport from hobby in these examples is whether it is competitive and how seriously the participants take the activity.