The sport of Extreme Skiing has had a couple of unrelated deaths in the past couple of weeks. My heart goes out to the families, friends and fellow competitors of the two people that died doing what they love. Many people have been touched by these tragedies and some people have wondered whether or not the sport is sufficiently safe.
I don’t mean to seem crass, but the question is kind of silly. It’s hard enough to keep race car drivers from death or injury even though they are encased and secured in high tech vehicles that offer a plethora of protective devices. I can hardly imagine protecting a skier travelling in excess of 100km per hour or doing tricks that would terrify the best Hollywood stuntman.
The human body is only capable of taking so much stress or doing only so much work. In the last fifty years or so athletes of all kinds have pushed the limits of the human body with sports, tricks, stunts and actions pretty much inconceivable by previous generations. It’s thrilling and amazing to see them perform feats of physical derring do that leave the spectator almost as breathless as the performers themselves.
The question remains, can that and other sports be made safer? I guess it depends on how much a person is willing to sacrifice in terms of the sheer physicality of the sport. You could probably wrap a skier in armour or other systems to protect life and limb. Unfortunately that would limit their ability to do practice their art. You can either be safe or you can be extreme, but you can’t be both: either you’re extremely safe or at extreme risk. There isn’t much room to compromise.
In many places there isn’t much room to compromise in matters of faith. In some countries Christians put themselves at extreme danger because of their religion. They are physically and emotionally persecuted. We have no idea of the suffering they must endure. Yet for them the risk is worth it. They are not extremists; they are simply trying to honour God in the face of hatred, ignorance and intolerance. There are no safety measures other than living in secrecy or simply not practicing their faith at all. Like extreme athletes, they do what they love even though it puts them at great risk.
In our part of the world we’ve taken a far safer tack; in fact we take virtually no risks in practicing what we believe. I wasn’t too vocal when Sunday store openings took away our Sabbath day of rest. I didn’t protest too much when our provincial government decided to profit from gambling and lotteries. Because of those choices, our practice of faith is now coming under fire. We are viewed as extremists or irrelevant. The gods of entertainment, science, leisure, work and sports extreme or otherwise have taken over.
That leaves me with only one question: In contrast to those Christians inn other lands who risk it all, or those extreme athletes that push the limits of their bodies and their craft, have we played it too safe?
I don’t mean to seem crass, but the question is kind of silly. It’s hard enough to keep race car drivers from death or injury even though they are encased and secured in high tech vehicles that offer a plethora of protective devices. I can hardly imagine protecting a skier travelling in excess of 100km per hour or doing tricks that would terrify the best Hollywood stuntman.
The human body is only capable of taking so much stress or doing only so much work. In the last fifty years or so athletes of all kinds have pushed the limits of the human body with sports, tricks, stunts and actions pretty much inconceivable by previous generations. It’s thrilling and amazing to see them perform feats of physical derring do that leave the spectator almost as breathless as the performers themselves.
The question remains, can that and other sports be made safer? I guess it depends on how much a person is willing to sacrifice in terms of the sheer physicality of the sport. You could probably wrap a skier in armour or other systems to protect life and limb. Unfortunately that would limit their ability to do practice their art. You can either be safe or you can be extreme, but you can’t be both: either you’re extremely safe or at extreme risk. There isn’t much room to compromise.
In many places there isn’t much room to compromise in matters of faith. In some countries Christians put themselves at extreme danger because of their religion. They are physically and emotionally persecuted. We have no idea of the suffering they must endure. Yet for them the risk is worth it. They are not extremists; they are simply trying to honour God in the face of hatred, ignorance and intolerance. There are no safety measures other than living in secrecy or simply not practicing their faith at all. Like extreme athletes, they do what they love even though it puts them at great risk.
In our part of the world we’ve taken a far safer tack; in fact we take virtually no risks in practicing what we believe. I wasn’t too vocal when Sunday store openings took away our Sabbath day of rest. I didn’t protest too much when our provincial government decided to profit from gambling and lotteries. Because of those choices, our practice of faith is now coming under fire. We are viewed as extremists or irrelevant. The gods of entertainment, science, leisure, work and sports extreme or otherwise have taken over.
That leaves me with only one question: In contrast to those Christians inn other lands who risk it all, or those extreme athletes that push the limits of their bodies and their craft, have we played it too safe?
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