Young People Ask . . .

Thrill Sports​—Should I Take a Chance?

“THIS will be the most terrifying moment of your life,” you are told as you stand quivering on the platform. The countdown begins: “Five, four, three, two, one​—JUMP!” The fall takes your breath away. You hurtle toward a seemingly certain death, but suddenly you feel the abrupt pull of an elastic cord. An exhilarating feeling of relief sweeps over you. You have survived!

Bungee jumping.a The sport has attracted an estimated one to two million participants in the United States alone. It is just one of many sports that have recently skyrocketed in popularity​—rock climbing, paragliding, white-​water rafting, and sky surfing, to name a few. “The 90’s are the decade of the thrill sport,” says one bungee-​jump promoter.

And while many sports, such as bungee jumping, have fairly good safety records, things can go wrong. Mark Bracker, M.D., put it this way: “With a lot of these high-​risk sports, when something goes wrong it can be catastrophic. The higher the thrill, usually the higher the risk, whether it’s jumping out of airplanes or hang gliding or motorcycle riding.” One 20-​year-​old youth bungee jumped from a hot-​air balloon hovering 190 feet [58 m] above the ground. The problem? His cord was 260 feet [79 m] long! He leapt to a terrible death.

What’s the Attraction?

“I’ll try anything that gets me scared,” says young Norbert. “I enjoy all sports​—baseball, basketball—​but bridge jumping got me scared! It’s totally unique.” Young Douglas agrees. “Regular sports are cool, but they’re calculated,” he says. “You’re always tied down. I like the feeling of falling. And the speed . . . You never have that feeling with other sports.”

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Should Christian youths go in for thrill sports like bungee jumping?