Question:

After a detailed analysis – mainly of soft-drink can MTV commercials – I’ve concluded that ‘extreme’ constitutes pretty much anything done while screaming. Brad  www.paddlefl.com – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My name is Adam Boyd and I am currently working on a project looking into why people participate in extreme sports at Emory University.  I want to make sense of having fun when such risks invovlved. If you consider yourself an extreme boater, I’d say a solid class V paddler constitutes extreme for my purposes, I could use your help! I’m simply looking for Why.  Why do you choose to paddle rivers with serious consequences, including death? What is your personal extreme experience like?  What would be your answer to people who ask "you why don’t you just golf, or play soccer, it’s much safer."? Your responses can be as short or long as you like.  Very informal here. If you could mail responses directly that would be great: My plan is to compile some information straight from the source.  I’ll be writing a good size paper on this and a presentation.  If the paper turns out all right and you have request a copy I could email you one. All this would be a great help to a student and fellow paddler in need. Thanks for any help. Adam Boyd US Canoe and Kayak Team Member

Response:

What the hell do I know? I paddle in a Drunken Stupor.

Response:

The "best" part of Trip’s thesis?  Remember your geography – the east coast is divided into 3 regions, right?  Northeast, Southeast and Mid- Atlantic, right? How does Trip the anthropologist/boater divide them up? Northeast. Yup. Southeast. Yup. And WEST-by-God-VIRGINIA!!!!!! Trip Kinney’s masters thesis on the anthropology of class V paddlers dealt in large part with this subject.  You can download it from Leland Davis’ paddling page: http://www.ioa.com/~leland/paddle/ .

- Mothra  (aka Kathy Streletzky) "Life on the newsgroup is a strange gestalt of folks who are brethern at heart the long distance trippers, and rads throwing ends, and those who ask how to start" – CubicDog

Response:

Must be the latest boat from Riot? I paddle in a Drunken Stupor.

I paddle in an X. From, Mick "Better to be paddlin’ hard than hardly paddlin’ " (remove Mickyak from address to e-mail) *Life is a waste of time, time is a waste of life, so get wasted all of the time and have the time of your life. (Tom Waits)

Response:

Sorry Shane, I really, really abhor water! I just enjoy being in a boat on it…

Sorry Wilko, (geez aren’t I getting good with these emoticons? :]) I think you abhor being in water but you gotta love white water, its hydrographic and aesthetic qualities!!! I mean don’t you just love a glassy wave, a squirty eddy line, a playful hole, not to mention the challenge created by the hydrography?  And well I at least enjoy simply looking at rivers – in pristine surroundings always bring a smile to my face! Anyway heck if you enjoyed just being on water, then you could just as easily be a flat water kinda guy. Right! Enjoy Mickie

Response:

<snip a whole bunch of stuff I didn’t write Just wanted to clarify that my quotes weren’t there! Enjoy! Mickie

Response:

Oppps! there was one comment there from me – sorry!

Response:

Oh heck! MANY comments from me there…don’t know how I missed em! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Oppps! there was one comment there from me – sorry!

Response:

The "best" part of Trip’s thesis?  Remember your geography – the east coast is divided into 3 regions, right?  Northeast, Southeast and Mid- Atlantic, right? How does Trip the anthropologist/boater divide them up? Northeast. Yup. Southeast. Yup. And WEST-by-God-VIRGINIA!!!!!!

Let’s get this things in the proper order here, VIRGINIA is NOT west-by-God by Oregon standards… Now if we’re talkin’ west, ya can’t get too much farther west than OR… Later, Rootin’Tootin’Robb Trip Kinney’s masters thesis on the anthropology of class V paddlers dealt in large part with this subject.  You can download it from Leland Davis’ paddling page: http://www.ioa.com/~leland/paddle/ . – Mothra  (aka Kathy Streletzky) "Life on the newsgroup is a strange gestalt of folks who are brethern at heart the long distance trippers, and rads throwing ends, and those who ask how to start" – CubicDog

– Public Access UNIX and Internet at (503) 219-1390

Response:

I’m not sure that I am a T personality type, probably.  Here’s a question for you. Do you think that paddlers have common personality traits and if so what are they? Debra

Response:

I’m not sure that I am a T personality type, probably.  Here’s a question for you. Do you think that paddlers have common personality traits and if so what are they? Debra

As best I can tell there’s only one. We all really, really, like water.         -shane moses "Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try." -Yoda Shane J. Moses 420 Laurel Springs Rd. Newport, VA 24128 (540)544-7298 http://www.vt.edu:10021/S/shmoses

Response:

Here’s a question for you. Do you think that paddlers have common personality traits and if so what are they? As best I can tell there’s only one. We all really, really, like water.

Sorry Shane, I really, really abhor water! I just enjoy being in a boat on it… But besides that, I really will do everything to get out of it a.s.a.p. (like rolling up, stepping out of it back on solid ground etc.). — Wilko van den Bergh quibus(at)worldonline(dot)nl AOL-users please use Wilko(at)dse(dot)nl Sociology Student at the Tilburg University, The Netherlands, Europe         Whitewater Kayaker                                AD&D Dungeon Master No man is wise enough, nor good enough                                   to be trusted with unlimited power.             Charles Colton

Response:

We had a long thread on this in uk.rec.boats.paddle about 5 months ago. I think the title was ‘Attitude to Risk’. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m not sure that I am a T personality type, probably.  Here’s a question for you. Do you think that paddlers have common personality traits and if so what are they? Debra

Response:

If you consider yourself an extreme boater, I’d say a solid class V paddler constitutes extreme for my purposes, I could use your help! I’m simply looking for Why.  Why do you choose to paddle rivers with serious consequences, including death? What is your personal extreme experience like?  What would be your answer to people who ask "you why don’t you just golf, or play soccer, it’s much safer."? Oh no! It’s Extreme again!  Extreme is a highly marketable commodity these days isn’t it?

See the movie.  Buy the t-shirt.  Get the bumper sticker.  Drink the drink.  Accessorize, accessorize — just don’t get close to the main event. Remarkable that some greedy for the green, can actually create this thing Extreme, package and sell it.  AND the masses will actually believe what they see, hear, read is this thing Extreme – the 100s in the movie theaters, staring up at the IMAX screen thinking "so THAT is extreme! How can they ever do *that*! I would never do *that*" They grab hold of the idea "That is Extreme," like it is tangible, like it is the same for you and for me.  I would say the masses have a pretty extreme perception of Extreme!

I will admit that I am starting to take on an almost anthropological fascination with activities that are labeled "extreme".  Well, actually, that’s not true — what fascinates me is the process of labeling, and what’s going on in the heads of the labelers.  When I see an ad or a movie or a TV show that labels its subject "extreme", I am really captivated by what is being focused on and how it’s being seen.  Shows about "extreme" subjects that include interviews are the best, as far as I’m concerned, because there you usually get a graphic example of the gap between the interviewer’s perception and the interviewee’s reality.  So, okay, that’s one of my weird kinks… I just don’t think that there are that many self-labeled "extreme" people out there.  It is just my guess, but I think that while there are plenty of people (including myself) doing things that _others_ label extreme, most people who would label themselves "extreme" are either wannabees or on the short track to a long course of orthopedic care.  If they’re lucky and have competent rescuers, that is. — ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::         "They write books that contradict the rocks…"

Response:

If you consider yourself an extreme boater, I’d say a solid class V paddler constitutes extreme for my purposes, I could use your help!

Extreme or mainstream?

Response:

If you consider yourself an extreme boater, I’d say a solid class V paddler constitutes extreme for my purposes, I could use your help! I’m simply looking for Why.  Why do you choose to paddle rivers with serious consequences, including death? What is your personal extreme experience like?  What would be your answer to people who ask "you why don’t you just golf, or play soccer, it’s much safer."?

Oh no! It’s Extreme again!  Extreme is a highly marketable commodity these days isn’t it? Remarkable that some greedy for the green, can actually create this thing Extreme, package and sell it.  AND the masses will actually believe what they see, hear, read is this thing Extreme – the 100s in the movie theaters, staring up at the IMAX screen thinking "so THAT is extreme! How can they ever do *that*! I would never do *that*" They grab hold of the idea "That is Extreme," like it is tangible, like it is the same for you and for me.  I would say the masses have a pretty extreme perception of Extreme! Really remarkable because really Extreme isn’t this definite, static state of mind or condition.  What’s Extreme for one isn’t necessarily Extreme for another.  You said it yourself: "If you consider yourself an extreme boater, I’d say a solid class V paddler constitutes extreme for my purposes."  For some class 2, class 3 is extreme; for others maybe, class 6. Have to say though I have one part of the mass perception – I don’t do this thing Extreme.  Stated a bit different – if it’s extreme I don’t do it (and if I am doing it, it can’t be Extreme) … Example – solo climbing The Nose in Yosemite or some such thing: Extreme. Unlike the masses though, I don’t think others do Extreme, go to Extremes (and I don’t pass judgment on that either). Maybe. I don’t think so though, because extreme implies (to me) that it is beyond my capabilities. For someone else though Extreme may only mean the possibility of injury – but I think regardless of the infinite varying degrees and meanings of Extreme, that consistently you will find people don’t do Extreme. That’s not very marketable though is it? Good luck with your project but think you need to re-phrase the question Mickie

Response:

Almost 200 people are killed in the U.S. each year by lightning. I’d bet most of those are on golf courses or open fields (soccer). How many paddlers are killed each year? What’s your definition of extreme sports? This link has some lightening info: http://www.stormguy.com/safety.htm I kayak mostly Class III and IV. I’ll do some Class V stuff if I’m in shape for it (rare the past couple of years). I have paddled in lightening storms but have never seen any close lightening strikes down in the valleys. That’s when it’s nice to have open boaters along