07 May Extreme Sports in Panama
By Frank Corbett
StarfirePhotography.net
Many people have heard of, or comment on Extreme sports but are not 100% sure what the “Extreme” means so here is a small intro the term and what sports are involved.
Extreme sports is a popular term for certain activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height. They require a high level of physical exertion, and highly specialized gear.
Here is a list of some extreme sports; some you may have heard of and some not so common:
Earth:
Skateboarding, Longboarding, Mountain Boarding, Sandboarding, Drifting, BMX, Motocross, FMX, Aggressive Inline Skating, Mountain Biking, Caving, Slacklining, Absailing, Rock Climbing, Free Climbing, Bouldering, Mountaineering, Parkour, Sand kiting, Zorbing
Water:
Surfing, Long/short, Body boarding, Waterskiing, Wakeboarding, Kitesurfing, Windsurfing, Cave diving, Flow-boarding, Paddle surfing / Stand up paddle, Kayaking, Cliff Jumping, Coasteering, Scuba Diving, Knee Boarding, White Water Rafting, Skim Boarding, Jet Skiing
Snow and Ice:
Snowboarding, snow skiing, Ice Climbing, Snowmobiling, Snow Kiting
Air:
Base Jumping, Skydiving, Wing Suiting, Bungee Jumping, High-lining, Hang Gliding, Paragliding, Slacklining.
Some of these sports require no equipment only time and energy while some require in depth training and lots of funds to start and stay involved.
When we first came to Panama there were little or no cycling clubs or cycling events in Panama, but today, it is a rapidly growing sport and the Extreme side of it, downhill racing and mountain biking is flourishing in the country.
Panama is a thrill seekers dream: kite surfing, surfing, white water rafting, sky diving. Panama, has it all, the diverse climate and terrain makes it possible to kite surf in the morning and mountain bike in the afternoon.
The home of Extreme sports is at a place called Nitro City Panama in Punta Chame. This is a place where you can kite board, wake board, skydive and skate board and if the mood takes you, you can go paintballing in a custom killing field. They also have a small track for Motocross and a track where you can learn to drive a Subaru Rally type of car.
There are tracks and circuits popping up all over the country for the motorized side of extreme sports. Coronado has had a Go-Kart and Supermotard Bike racing track for years called the Kartodomo and is hosting some top drivers from the US and Latin and Central Americas. Panama is home to a number of young and coming junior racers and are racing in both the US and Central America competitions. Take time to go and cheer them on.
La pista Limón en La Chorrera host Motocross and Circuit International de Panama host Dragster, superbikes and Supermoto racing, so there is no shortage of places to go and get deafened and enjoy the sports.