LLANWRTYD WELLS in mid Wales is renowned as a site for a numberof sports - mountain biking, cycling, rallying, fishing etc. Itsmost idiosyncratic contribution to the sporting calendar, however,is its annual world bog snorkelling championships, where competitorsdon mask, snorkel, and flippers before making a timed dash up anddown a 60-yard trench carved in the peat bogs outside the town.
Navigating the Llanwrtyd Wells web site is not as difficult asmaking the murky swim. Check for details and results of the 15thchampionships, which take place today, in the summer eventscalendar. For a personal view from one of last year's competitorsvisit Shaggy's Bogsnorkling page - photographs are available byclicking on the cartoon of a diver.
On Saturday, after the bank holiday madness has died down,extreme sporting action of a more serious kind is on the cards inSomerset in the European leg of the off-road triathlon, Xterra. Thisis the first time that the global series which is popular withextreme sports athletes has come to Britain. It has its own web sitewith details of the event and links to the American tour and worldchampionship pages, as well as a regular newsletter.
The multi-sport event features a non-stop medley of eventsstarting on Saturday with 1.5km swim off the beach at Minehead outinto
the Bristol Channel, followed by a 30km off-road mountain bikerace and 10km cross-country run.
Competition will be intense as finishing in the top three spotswill guarantee contestants a place in the world championship andseries finale in Maui, Hawaii, in October.
HardCloud is another site for fans of adventure sports, this timeinvolving board riding. Graphically, it looks the part withrollovers and pop-up information windows. It also has the content toback up its design, with sections covering skateboarding, surfingand snowboarding. The surf section offers links to webcams fromFistral in the UK (still in its test phase), through Indonesia,Australia, the Americas and Hawaii. Descriptions of the swell, wind,and water temperature are also provided with a written report of theday's conditions.
Webcam links are also provided for skateboard parks.
Each of the sports sections share a common core structure withpages on techniques, travel and people involved in the variousdisciplines. Events are also covered with a mix of contest coverage,such as the recent Gravity Games in Rhode Island, and more freesport oriented events, such as a Surfer Magazine challengecompetition designed to test the limits of conventionally structuredcompetitions. Text, pictures and multimedia clips are all employed.
andy.oldfield@virgin.net
Site Addresses
Llanwrtyd Wells
www.llanwrtyd-wells.powys.org.uk/
Shaggy's Bogsnorkling
www.amathus.freeserve.co.uk/ bogsnorkling.htm
Xterra GB
www.xterra.co.uk/
HardCloud
www.hardcloud.com/
