Data Journalism Story

 

Action sports or extreme sports as some have come to know, is a rising community of athletes. Breaking the norm of what sports have been viewed as for over a century now, the select sports like Skateboarding, BMX, Motocross, and others have gained major attention in the mainstream eye. The ability to freely be active without the restrictions of a coach, rules, or time limits has made sports like skateboarding a magnet to youth. Just like any sport, these extreme sports all take some sort of athleticism and skill. It pushes people’s motor skills and muscle memory along with cardiovascular endurance. 

 

Here in Canada, there have been some staple names out of the action sports community that have made a major statement for the rising industry. The likes of Ryan Decenzo (professional skateboarder), Mark McMorris (professional snowboarder) going as far as to win 1st place in the Men’s street division at the X-Games (Decenzo), and McMorris being a three time bronze Olympic medalist in the slopestyle event. With the rise of the action sports industry in Canada, I wanted to know where it is thriving and what might the influence behind those stats be? The statistics shown on Google trends that Quebec & Manitoba have the peak amount of searches for extreme sports in Canada with a  79 search amount rate over the past 12 months

Here in Ontario we have 52 searches in the past 12 months. Now we have to wonder why these stats are the way they are. A major factor in why these stats are the way they are comes down to a matter of a few things. Facilities, resources and climate. Here in Ontario, action sports enthusiasts have hundreds of outdoor and indoor skateparks to ride all year round, along with numerous stores related to their specific sport (Skateboard shop, Bike store,etc.). Climate is a major factor as not all provinces get the luxury of riding all year round due to weather and a lack of resources. A province like Alberta has a very minimal amount of time to ride in their year with their lack of indoor facilities and overall community interest. Somewhere like Quebec with a 79 search rate is a province where it is thriving due to the large community, facilities and funding behind each action sport. 

 

Though fluctuated with the numbers, extreme sports are on the rise all around Canada creating new opportunities for younger athletes. I fully believe extreme sports are here to stay and sooner or later, it will be normal to hear a kid say he wants to be a professional skateboarder or anything in between. The sky’s the limit with this foreign yet thrilling new series of sports and we are seeing it more and more everyday with prestigious competitions like the Olympics now having skateboarding become one of their professional sports just this past summer. Extreme sports is the way of the future and this is just the beginning for these talented and determined athletes.

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