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in their helmets in order to receive on field instructions from the
coach. In 2008, the 56th NHL all-star game drew indignation from
fans as goaltender Rick DiPietro had a Bluetooth headset fitted into
his mask so the commentators could interview him live on air during
a game. 10 seconds into the game commentators started asking
questions, and after 12 seconds the first puck flew past DiPietro into
his net!
So where does the future lie? Where do we draw the line where
technology interferes with natural human ability? Part of the appeal
of sport is the ability for the general public to relate to professionals
in the activities they perform, and can actively participate in the
sport themselves.
However this will not be the case when a man is able perform past
the limits of normal humans.
There are rumours about the American body Defence Advanced
Research Projects Agency developing pain vaccines, effectively
allowing an athlete to play through injuries feeling no pain. There
are also stories about studying the biology of the human respiratory
system to improve oxygen efficiency, aiming to allow soldiers (in
this case) and potentially athletes to run marathons on only several
breaths. Or how about exoskeletons that can make a 36kg load feel
80% lighter?
At what point do the little ‘boosts’ for athletes become more of a
talking point than the sport itself? The future may well come down
the present argument over Formula 1, whether the star of the sport
is the human or the car.
Article by Chris Hootton
5
Participants in extreme sports
not that extreme
A recent study found that while the image of people
who partake in extreme sports is that of risk-takers
and adrenaline junkies, the opposite was true.
Researchers from the Queensland University of
Technology in Australia found that most extreme
sportspeople were very cautious.
Eric Brymer, a lecturer from the School of Human
Movement Studies in the Faculty of Health, has been
researching whether the element of risk was an
important factor for participants in “extreme” sports
such as waterfall kayakers, mountain climbers, big
wave surfers and B.A.S.E. jumpers. “I wanted to
do this research because in my masters studies I
was hearing about sensation seeking, risk-taking
behaviour in extreme sports people, and it just didn’t
match what I knew from my background in kayaking
and canoeing,” he said. “The people I knew were very
careful, disciplined, determined and focussed, not at
all reckless or risk-taking; for some people to get to
a certain level of a sport, it takes 15 years dedicated
training, which is not something you would associate
with a thrill-seeker.”
Brymer conducted interviews with extreme
sportspeople aged from 30 to 73, to determine
their feelings when they did the activity and their
motivations.
“What I found was that these people have a real
love for these activities, and talk about a realisation
about the power of nature, a sense of humility, and
a real sense of peace,” he said. “They also said they
felt a sense of relaxation and freedom, not in the
socio-cultural sense but in the sense that they were
so focussed and aware, it was like clearing the mind
in meditation.”
Insight