Unit 5 AO1 Describe the range of outdoor activities and opportunities for regular participation.

Introduction All over the world there are millions of outdoor opportunities to undertake on a regular basis. The range of activities varies from the weather conditions, landscape and culture of a country. This could mean access to high mountain ranges too extremely deep water. Or a year round below freezing climate or a climate with guaranteed sun all year round. Many places are much more beneficial than others and this is what I am predominantly going to be talking about and describing during my assignment.

Outdoor Activities The amount of outdoor activities across the world is endless. however the amount you can do in a certain area is limited, Sometimes to very few and sometimes a fantastic range. A Here are some examples: Mountain Biking Rock Climbing Hiking White water rafting Abseiling Caving Surfing

Location Location means everything for outdoor activities. Apart from man made areas for example indoor surfing complex such as the one in the LC 2, a natural location is crucial. For nearly all outdoor activities you need to have a landscape, water surface or a specific type of terrain e.g. in Las Vegas the large amount of sand dunes and sand mountains present in Death Valley makes it a fantastic and unique place to dome buggy. If this landscape was not present it would make the outdoor activity boring as you wouldnt be able to do many of the stunts they perform as the buggies are designed specifically for this type of terrain. However
in Swansea this outdoor activity would not be possible as it doesnt offer the quality terrain. The Swansea sand dues around the Gower are highly populated all year round, and wouldnt offer any fun or freedom as it is not allowed.

Weather Weather is also a key factor in the range of outdoor activities you can participate varies due to climate and weather conditions. The weather conditions in Swansea are varied however the landscape doesnt make some activities possible to suit the weather. For example Swansea has the highest rain intake in all of Brittain (Lucas) 2007 The Evening Post. If we had a lot of rivers and more lakes this would be excellent as the lakes could reach a good amount and would be deep enough for water activities such as Jet Skiing, White water rafting, windsurfing, diving, extreme fishing, canoeing, kayaking and speed boating. Only a small proportion is accessible in Swansea and this shows the strong link between weather and location. Another weather type that is very useful for a lot of outdoor activities is snow. Snow is common mainly in Antarctica, Europe and Americas. Again if you have a lot of snow but no mountains or extremely steep hills snow is not useful. Snow is used for many activities such as Skiing, Snowboarding and snow biking. Swansea produces little snow every year so even with space like the Brecon beacons not a fraction of the snow is good enough for these activities. However in an area like the French Alps where a heavy snow fall sees the majority of the district covered in snow making it a prime tourist direction across the world! Comparisons The amount and range of activities you can regularly participate in depends on where you live. Not just regionally but on a large world scale. For example in California you can Surf, Ski and Mountain Bike in the same day however in the Swansea you could only surf and not anywhere as near the experience and good waves as California. This I mainly due to weather and landscape. Different countries and better and different sports and activities as each other, for example Britain are excellent at cycling and rowing because of the excellent amount of rivers and velodrome the countries has to offer as well as the vast amount of cycling tracks all around the country. However due to the weather conditions Canada receive the countries Olympic team excelled in the commonwealth games due to the amount of lakes frozen over for ice hockey etc. As well as the high mountain range for skiing and bobsleighing. Another good comparison would be United States compared to Greece. The United States is an incredibly large country with every type of weather, landscape and sport you could want. However Greece is a country with an extremely hot climate all year round and mountainous landscapes that see fewer than centre metres of snow fall every year. This makes Greece good at sports such as football because of the weather where games are never really cancelled however the USA only has very few places like this, however in many of these football isnt the regional sport. However the United States has a fantastic Ice hockey teams, regional as well as national and in Greece the sport isnt played due to the lack of frozen fresh water lakes and indoor facilities. These comparisons clearly demonstrate the importance of facilities and natural locations for outdoor activities and sports.

Conclusion To conclude my assignment I now know from my research the affect that location, weather and facilities has on outdoor activities and sports. This is something I was clearly unaware about mainly in the Beijing Olympics when I didnt know why the UK were the best cycling and rowing team, however reading an article on Chris Hoy on The Guardian website where he said Britain are fantastic at sprint cycling due to great facilities around the British Isles. This is strong evidence as the Olympic Gold medallist is stating what I believe in.