Extreme sports have been increasing in popularity over the past decade, more and more people each year become fixed on adrenaline-driven activities. One of the most popular extreme sports is called “B.A.S.E jumping“. The word “BASE” refers to the objects from which a person can jump of off: Buildings, Antennas, Spans (beams/bridges), and Earth (cliffs).
Today marked the end of the seventeenth annual base jumping competition held in Malaysia. This year the competition was held at the top of the seventh tallest free-standing tower on earth. This massive building is named after the city in which it was built “Kuala Lumpur”. The tower of Kuala Lumper was constructed in 1995 and is from top to bottom 1,381 feet tall. It was built to be used as a telecommunication tower and features a revolving restaurant at the top.
This event has been growing in popularity over the past several years. This year 180 skillful base jumpers gathered from 22 different countries to jump from the top of the tower. The event lasted 4 days and all of the jumpers landed on the ground safely.
If you are interested in participating in next years event, it is a little more difficult than just signing a waiver. In order to be considered as a potential BASE jump competitor you must: have completed over 120-lifetime jumps, 20 of them must have been done with the last year, and you have been actively jumping for at least two years. Even if you have all of these qualifications, only 100 out of all of the applicants will be selected.
The human race is amazing, we have the knowledge to build buildings that are as tall as mountains and we have the bravery to freefall from the tops of them.
