Extreme Sports Availability in Ireland

c - 13

So i've decided that I want to try at least one new sport (or extreme activity) this year. I was just wondering whats available to me in the country.

Tried and enjoyed So far -
Surfing
Skydiving

Possibilities -
Wakeboarding
Bungee
Zorbing (if I could find a place open to do it)

All possibilities considered, bearing in mind i'm Waterford based.

Any suggestions at all ? Thanks.

crazeehorse

you can wakeboard in golden falls in blessington

but may i turn your head towards rollerblading?
loads of new parks are popping up all over the country and once you have a pair of entry level skates (not anarchy or argos) you dont have to buy anything else unless your a pussy and need pads

c - 13

In honesty i've never tried blading, i'm terrible on ice skates though if I can draw a comparison though, the girlfriend used to blade competitavely at one stage though so maybe I wont rule it out just yet when theres a teacher on hand.

Kenjd

What about Kitesurfing. Wanted to try this myself for a while...maybe this year who knows!
http://www.kitesurfing.ie/

wideangle

bmx park riding,kite landboarding,paragliding,skateboarding,parkour,bodyboarding!!

JahEerie

Forget about bladin
....Heelies are where its at!

Kitesurfin has become quite popular in last few years, but it reqiures a LOT of kit & costs a wedge. Then again, I'm sure ya could do lessons thru the IKSA (or whatever the association is called)

Bottom line, get out there & have a laugh
- that's what its all about

JohnBoy

wideangle

One of the surf shops at Tramore beach give kite landboarding lessons,nice and near if you are based in Waterford!!

c - 13

Thanks for all the advice lads, theres a wakeboarding place in Portumna that i'm going to give a ring later on, hopefully I can give that a blast this weekend.

Then ill just have to go from there

MREGAN

There is a company called bungee ireland They do bungee and sling shot all over the country. I done a bungee with them in Belfast.

ec18

where did you go skydiving?

djfattony2000

Im 26 and I recently bought a skateboard. Highly recommend it although I do have to put up with my mates calling me a peado :rolleyes:

c - 13

MREGAN wrote: »

There is a company called bungee ireland They do bungee and sling shot all over the country. I done a bungee with them in Belfast.

I was looking at those guys alright, but I dont think the sites been updated since early '07 with the locations. Maybe ill try email them.

ec18 wrote: »

where did you go skydiving?

Irish Parachute Club in Clonbullogue

http://www.skydive.ie/about/location.html

Highly recommend it the onlt thing is its so weather dependant and if the conditions arent right it can put a damper on the whole thing if you've travelled a bit to get there. My own jump was delayed by about 3 hours because of fog.

djfattony2000 wrote: »

Im 26 and I recently bought a skateboard. Highly recommend it although I do have to put up with my mates calling me a peado :rolleyes:

I am considering giving it another go, I tried a few years ago and was unbelievably bad.

I went wakeboarding with Watermark Ski Club (Portumna/Terryglass) on Saturday. Excellent laugh and much much harder than it looks. I did get my stand in the end though. THe water was so cold though it wasnt funny 6 degrees and then a 2.5 degree air temperature to add to the wind chill. I've never been so cold in my life. Well worth it though.

Wideangle - Turns out I know the guy who gives the Kiteboarding lessons in Waterford. He used to be the chairman of the WIT surf club while I was there, so i'm going to look into that too.

Thanks for all the replies, ill keep the thread updated as I go along.

hunter164

How much did you pay for skydiving?

c - 13

hunter164 wrote: »

How much did you pay for skydiving?

€320, I think it was wel worth it though, you could do it for a charity or something too if you raise above the set limit they cover you to jump.

owenbre

c - 13 wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice lads, theres a wakeboarding place in Portumna that i'm going to give a ring later on, hopefully I can give that a blast this weekend.

Then ill just have to go from there

Compare the cost of Kitesurfing to Wakeboarding

Kitesurfing requires...
board
kite
harness
wetsuit

wakeboarding requires...
board
wetsuit
and a speed boat!!!

Grimlock

owenbre wrote: »

wakeboarding requires...
board
wetsuit
and a speed boat!!!

Not any more, check out tis video from engerland.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCPkb3uY6Kg

I'm building a winch with a friend at the mo so hopefully we'll be wakeboarding and wakeskating around Dublin come the summer.

owenbre

Grimlock wrote: »

Not any more, check out tis video from engerland.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCPkb3uY6Kg

I'm building a winch with a friend at the mo so hopefully we'll be wakeboarding and wakeskating around Dublin come the summer.

Nice one

Are you gonna mount it on the back of a pick up or something?
I guess you'll need some kind of bungee cord or do you have a speed controler on the winch to bring the rider up to speed without ripping out his arms.This would be cool to see going,where are you gonna test it?

Grimlock

Nope, we figure it will fit in the boot, we've got a 100cc scooter engine, still needs a few parts and that's what is holding up the build at the moment.

A bungee cord!!! nope you want abslutely no stretch in a wakeboard rope, we are getting a 600ft rope and handle shipped from the states.

The throttle will handle the speed, so I'm sure it'll take a bit of fine tuning but I don't think it will be a problem. A land start will make sure that we don't rip our arms off.

We are going to try scouting the canals for nice quiet long stretch of flat water. Or maybe a lake closer to home. I'll keep posting about it once we start using it.

Bill-e

Grimlock wrote: »

Nope, we figure it will fit in the boot, we've got a 100cc scooter engine, still needs a few parts and that's what is holding up the build at the moment.

A bungee cord!!! nope you want abslutely no stretch in a wakeboard rope, we are getting a 600ft rope and handle shipped from the states.

The throttle will handle the speed, so I'm sure it'll take a bit of fine tuning but I don't think it will be a problem. A land start will make sure that we don't rip our arms off.

We are going to try scouting the canals for nice quiet long stretch of flat water. Or maybe a lake closer to home. I'll keep posting about it once we start using it.

Did you ever use it?

srmnm

HI,

Check the other thread about 'surfing dirt' for Mountain (All-Terrain) boarding. Sooo much fun for anyone! I have went to this place for many weekends. All the staff are pleasant and helpful.
If anyone wants enjoys this and wants to buy my gear off me, let me know. Its good for beginners and im selling it real cheap. MBS Comp26 with custom snowboard bindings, Full face crash helmet, Goggles..etc. Great bargain!

Cheers,
SRMnM

doilie

try climbing - as extreme as you can get the better you get...

join the IMC for a taster -or do a day session. adventure.ie are good for half day rock sessions.

PeakOutput

doilie wrote: »

try climbing - as extreme as you can get the better you get...

climbing can be pretty cool though

Grimlock

Bill-e wrote: »

Did you ever use it?

It's still a work in progress,:p we need to find some one who can weld aluminium.

But in the mean time we've bought a wakeboard specific jetski....so that project has fallen by the wayside.

otwb

How does the jetski work with a board? I'm a bit of a pureist who thinks that you need a kick ass wake for wakeboarding...

Grimlock

otwb wrote: »

How does the jetski work with a board? I'm a bit of a pureist who thinks that you need a kick ass wake for wakeboarding...

It works quite well. It's not the same thing obviously but it's a fraction of the price, especially if you own a Hyperlite Roam or Ronix Covenant. It's also great for wakeskating.
I don't have 20k to spend on a boat, also I'd have nowhere tostore a boat and i'd need a new car so the jetski fitted what I needed and I have to say it's been a lot better than I expected.

I'm not a very good rider, but the hours clocked up at the end of last summer helped me out big time. My switch riding is almost a good as my regular, by October I had surface 3's down which should help when I try to take them wake to wake this summer.

here's a video of some guys in the states riding behind one, they land tantrums and 3's

http://www.vimeo.com/2022774

Snowie

i would say rock climbing you live in watreford so you've got blalleydowin cove which is sweet for bouldering in the summer when there's not 20,000 beach dweller's and all the surounding coves as you walk on to the beach to the left aint great but the right sweet ord heaven on earth some lovely bouldering along there and if you like that you can allways go a bit further and start rock climbing all you need is a pair of rock shoes and a chalk bag....

Jacinta C

If there's anyone else interested in trying wakeboarding there's a good place in Monaghan, only an hour from Dublin. Tut tut to the committee member who's already on here and didn't mention it!! :rolleyes:

Lough Muckno Waterski & Wakeboard Club

www.skimuckno.com
info@skimuckno.com

00353 87 7402806

J.