Adventure Sports

Written and reviewed by Rohit Singh, Computer Science & Commerce faculty at UniDrill (MCA, Osmania University · 6 years teaching). Based on NCERT Health and Physical Education Class XI, Chapter 11.

Why do people fly with no engine and ride waves for fun?

Picture a pilot standing on a hill, running a few steps into the wind, and rising into the air under a fabric wing with no engine at all. Picture another person standing on a board, riding the forward face of a moving ocean wave. Neither is chasing a medal or a score. They are chasing excitement and a closeness to nature. That is the idea behind adventure sports, and this chapter focuses on two classic examples: paragliding in the air and surfing on water.

Adventure sports are extraordinary activities done by people in search of excitement and extra enthusiasm, with a desire to explore nature. They began out of curiosity about nature, and during exploration activities such as rafting, surfing, mountaineering and trekking were discovered. They also satisfy the robust side of human behaviour.

The classification in one line: Water (rafting, surfing) → Land (mountaineering, trekking) → Air (paragliding, jumping)

Camping, another adventure activity, was covered in the Class IX book. This chapter explains paragliding and surfing in detail.

Paragliding: flying without an engine

Paragliding is a recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders. It is engine less, or motor free, and demands courage and the ability to decide quickly.

How the sport developed.

The chapter also notes that Walter Neumark predicted in Flight magazine that a glider pilot would one day launch by running off a cliff or down a slope, and that the French engineer Pierre Lemoigne improved parachute designs, leading to the Para-commander.

Classification and the aircraft. Paragliding is classified as light weight gliding, free flying glider and foot launched glider. A foot launched glider is like an aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness suspended below a fabric wing made of many interconnected baffled cells, and the suspension lines keep the wing in shape. Flights can last many hours and cover hundreds of kilometres, although a flight of one to two hours covering a few tens of kilometres is considered a valid norm for gliding. By skilfully using sources of lift, the pilot can gain height, often to a few thousand metres.

Equipment numbers worth knowing.

The complete equipment packs into a rucksack. The wing is folded into a stuff sack and stowed in a large backpack with the harness, so it can be carried on the pilot's back, in a car or on public transport.

Pause and predict: a paraglider has no engine. What allows the pilot to keep gaining height and fly for hours?

Check your answer: skilful use of sources of lift. The pilot finds air that is rising and uses it to climb, which is why instruments that show climbing and sinking air matter so much.

Beyond the textbook. For the exam: the variometer helps the pilot find and stay in the core of a thermal. In reality: a thermal is a rising column of warm air, which forms when the sun heats the ground unevenly. Paraglider pilots circle inside it to gain height, then glide to the next one. This is how a motor free wing covers long distances, and it is why pilots read the weather and the terrain before every flight.

Instruments. Three instruments are named.

Flying techniques. As with all aircraft, launching and landing are done into the wind. Paragliders, like hang gliders, never actually "jump". One assisted launch technique is used in flatland areas, and two launching techniques are used on higher ground.

Landing. An unpowered aircraft cannot abort a landing, so pilots follow set techniques. Pilots most commonly lose height by flying a figure of 8 over the landing zone until the right height is reached, then line up into the wind and give the glider full speed. When the glider is about a metre above the ground, the pilot "stalls" (pauses) it to land.

Control. The glider is controlled with brakes and an accelerator, together called the speed bar mechanism or control brakes, held in the pilot's hands. The brakes are used to adjust the speed of the glider.

Competitions.

Paragliding versus sky diving. Sky parachutes look most like paragliders, but the sports are very different.

Surfing: riding the wave

Surfing is the act of riding a wave, with or without a board and in any stance. It is a surface water sport in which the wave rider, called a surfer, rides the forward or deep face of a moving wave, which carries the surfer toward the shore. Suitable waves are mainly found in the ocean, but also in lakes or rivers as standing waves or tidal bores. Surfers can use artificial waves too, such as those made by boats and artificial wave pools. Surfing was added to the Olympic Games from 2020.

How surfing developed. For centuries it was central to ancient Polynesian culture. British explorers may have first observed it at Tahiti in 1767. George Freeth (1883 to 1919) is often credited as the father of modern surfing and is thought to be the first modern surfer. The highest governing body is the International Surfing Association. Professional contests started in 1975, the year Margo Oberg became the first female professional surfer.

Types of surfing.

Types of surfboard. A long board (about 10 feet) causes more friction with the water and is slower, and it suits beginners who need help in balancing. A smaller, lighter board (about 6 feet) gives more control and manoeuvrability, so it suits experienced surfers.

Pause and predict: why would a coach give a beginner a 10 foot board instead of a 6 foot board?

Check your answer: a longer board gives more help in balancing, which a beginner needs most. The extra friction makes it slower, but speed and sharp manoeuvres matter less than staying upright when you are learning.

Dangers in surfing.

Beyond the textbook. For the exam: a surfer caught in a rip current should paddle parallel to the shore. In reality: a rip current is narrow, and it pulls you out but does not pull you under. Lifeguards advise people to stay calm, avoid swimming straight against the current and move sideways along the shore until free. Panic and exhaustion, not the current itself, are what put swimmers in danger.

Surfing related sports. Paddle boarding and sea kayaking do not need waves. Kite surfing and wind surfing rely mainly on the wind for power, though all these platforms may also be used to ride waves. Wave surfing behind V-drive boats, where a person surfs on the boat's wave, has emerged recently.

Safety and security in paragliding and surfing

These sports carry a high risk, so safety rules must be followed. They fall into three groups: the person, the equipment and the environment.

Why it matters. Notice how the rules link back to other chapters. The fitness rule applies what you learnt in Health Related Physical Fitness, and the use of protective gear and supervision is the same logic as the injury prevention rules in Safety and Security.

Exam traps

60-second revision

Where this chapter connects

• Previous: Tournaments and Competitions covers organised contests, including the Olympic Games that now include surfing.
• Related: Safety and Security gives the general safety logic of supervision, equipment and preparation that these risky sports depend on.
• Related: Health Related Physical Fitness explains the fitness qualities needed to meet the demands of adventure sports.