About Gary King

I’m a writer, speaker and lover of all things that raise the heartbeat and tickle the senses. If there is one thing that I’ve learnt from my years of extreme sport and adventure travel is that life is for living - not spectating.

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Red Bull Stratos Reveal Groundbreaking Camera Systems For Mission To The Edge Of Space

by Gary King on 02-Sep-10 21:39

Video showing cutting edge technology. Courtesy: Red Bull Stratos

As the incredible Red Bull Stratos mission grows near to realisation, The Stratos mission team today gave the world a first look at the custom camera systems that will record and broadcast Felix Baumgartner’s stratospheric mission later this year. Here they demonstrate how capturing a potentially supersonic freefall from the edge of space in real time and high definition may be one of the most complex elements of the Red Bull Stratos mission.

The unique systems include in-flight cameras mounted on both the capsule and Baumgartner’s space suit. It is hoped that these will not only provide an almost first-hand perspective of what it’s like to bail out in near space and freefall 23 miles above Earth, but also to provide valuable research data.

Capsule Camera System

The Red Bull Stratos capsule is equipped with nine high-definition cameras, three 4K digital cinematography cameras and three high-resolution digital still cameras, all designed to withstand near-vacuum air pressure, ice and extreme heat. Four are space-rated units attached to the exterior base of the vessel, another eight are in pressurized housings also on the exterior, and the remaining three, although positioned on the interior, are space rated to withstand the atmospheric extremes once Baumgartner depressurizes the capsule to step out. Supporting all this is a pressurized electronics “keg” that contains approximately two miles of wiring. The equipment will allow Mission Control to monitor the pilot visually for any signs of decompression sickness, as well as to see what he sees as they communicate via radio. They will also provide viewers with perspectives of the capsule, the skyscape and Baumgartner himself.

Suit Camera System

Some of the most dynamic images will be those captured from Baumgartner’s point of view on his descent. Three small high-definition video cameras will capture three angles of his descent back to Earth. Baumgartner will activate these suit cameras himself, just before he jumps, and, like Baumgartner, they must be able to function in near-space conditions for up to 20 minutes, as well as at the extremes of supersonic speed. Further, the cameras mounted on both his legs and chest must provide useable shots regardless of Baumgartner’s orientation.

Live Broadcast & Webcast

On the day of Baumgartner’s jump, Red Bull Stratos, along with web partners, will provide a live TV broadcast and online stream of the activities and stories surrounding his ascent and descent. The final launch date, location and live stream details will be announced in the coming weeks on www.redbullstratos.com, and on Facebook and Twitter.

Filed under: Adventure Activities Events Felix Baumgartner

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Spiked X in the City Countdown Has Begun

by Gary King on 01-Sep-10 13:38

With only 8 weeks to go the countdown has begun to Spiked X in the City, the innovative new urban action sports event taking place at London’s weather proof ExCel from 22-24 October 2010.

The event is going to be huge with nothing like it ever having been staged before. It will inject a big shot of adrenaline into London whilst encouraging everyone to get engaged and show that action sports are for everyone, at any age or level.

9 Zones of Action

There are 9 zones of Urban Action Sports covering the elements of Land, Water and Snow over 153,000 feet with the zones including Ride and Roll, Freestyle, Art of Combat, Water, Parkour, Roller Derby, Snow, Climbing and Cage Cricket.

31 Sports with 200 World Class Athletes

31 sports are being performed by over 200 world class athletes and riders who will be showing off their skills and talent whilst getting everyone involved and engaged in their sport.

Team Extreme

Team Extreme will be present with its top Vert Team of performers including top UK skateboarders Sam Bosworth and Sam Beckett, world-class Vert halfpipe BMX riders Zach Shaw and Mike Mullen, and current No 1 halfpipe skater Rich Parker. Jenna Downing, Inline Women’s Street LG World Champion and 9x Female British Inline Champion will be part of the Team Extreme Street Team, alongside with Inline Skater Superstar Danny Aldridge, the UK’s No 1 BMXer Mark Webb, Guinness World record holder Ben Wallace and Skateboarder Genius Jak Tonge.

The Freestyle Zone

The Freestyle zone will be mostly occupied by the legendary Streets United’s freestyler and street sports artists doing spectacular demonstrations & displays as well as holding workshops and competitions. You will be able to watch, meet and learn from 5 times world football freestyle record holder Dan Magness, Parkour artist Chase Armitage, legendary breakdancer Lil’ Tim, Radio 1's Extra DJ L Double, world renowned power riser Iain Jaimeson, world wide pogo and power riser artist Wacky Chad, world renowned basketball freestyler A2W, Beatboxer Bass6, Double Dutch artists Jumpr UK and Bourne Ultimatum actor & martial artist Joey Ansah.

Skate Freestyle

SkateFreestyle will also have a strong presence with internationally famous freestyle slalom skater Naomi Grigg, Founder and Coach of the SkateFreestyle Competition and demo team and Chairperson of the UKFSA. The SkateFreestyle Team will be running coaching sessions and demos and have organised for the final round of the National Slalom Series as well as a Rookie Comp to be taking place at XTC.

Roller Derby

Additionally you will be able to watch the 2 best Roller Derby teams competing against each other – the London Rollergirls and the Windsor Rollergirls. There is also loads of action happening on Europe’s biggest indoor wake pool - Uniwake are organising wake displays and competitions, plus there will be pro comps every day too. New female world and UK champion Kirsteen Mitchell will be showing off her skills on the board too.

Three days for £15 / £10

Tickets are priced at £15 adults and £10 for Students, under 16s and OAPs, and under 5s are free. This is for all three days of access, there are no hidden costs or additional charges.

For more info and to buy tickets go to www.xinthecity.co.uk .

Filed under: Adventure Activities Events Sport X in the City

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The Dark Side of the Lens Surfing Video by Mickey Smith

by Gary King on 30-Aug-10 17:47

Surfing videos don't get much better than this. Lovely, chilled, evocative.

Check it out for yourself. It's gorgeous.

Filed under: Water Activities Sport Surfing

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Training for the Bupa Great North Run and Great South Run

by Gary King on 20-Aug-10 15:58

Team Telegraph: Harry Wallop, Cassandra Jardine, Andrew Pettie, Anna Tyzack, Catalina Stogdon, Peter Hutchison (From L to R) Pic: Andrew Crowley

Click on the picture to read my article published in The Daily Telegraph about Team Telegraph's progress in training for the Bupa Great South and North Runs.

Filed under: Other Sport

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Shaun White Wins Portland Dew Vert Skateboard Finals

by Gary King on 17-Aug-10 08:39

Pic by Alll Sports

Shaun White, 23, won the skateboard vert final on Sunday at the Dew Tour's Wendy's Invitational. A two-time Olympic gold medalist and former summer and Winter Dew Cup champion, the win marks White's first skateboard vert win since his return to skateboarding post Vancouver.

The competitive rivalry between White and Canadian Pierre-Luc Gagnon came to a head going into the final jam session with White sitting in first place and Gagnon nipping at heels in second. Utilizing his aggressive skating and on-point landings, White maintained the lead and topped the podium with a 93.50. Despite falling on his first two runs, White was rock solid in his third and winning run, throwing out a huge frontside fakie 540 to 540 cab and his new signature trick the armadillo -- a fronside heelflip body varial 540. Bucky Lasek of Baltimore, Md., 37, placed second with a 91.50 and Gagnon, 30, finished in third place with a 90.00.

"After seeing the runs before me, I knew I had to put together a run like I'd never done before," said White. "It's just an honor getting to continue competing like this."

For more information check out ESPN.

Filed under: Other Sport

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TTR is Settling the Score at Burton NZ Snowboarding Open

by Gary King on 13-Aug-10 06:41

Following the successful launch of the Snowboarding Live Scoring System™ at The Oakley Arctic Challenge slopestyle last winter, major events on the Swatch TTR World Tour have agreed to work together to expand and implement the system for all halfpipe, slopestyle and big air competitions for the upcoming 2010/11 season.

The Live Scoring System is planned to be introduced across all 6Star TTR events in an effort to break down barriers posed by the current Overall Impression system and to improve the presentation and understanding of competitive freestyle snowboarding as a whole.In a tight partnership between TTR, the World Snowboard Federation, the events, judges and riders, the Live Scoring System was developed as a completely new way to judge snowboarding.

The current system in use, called Overall Impression, focuses on a rider’s run in its entirety and provides little to no feedback to riders or spectators on how a score is generated. The new Live Scoring System is more transparent and allows everyone to clearly see how judges give points by scoring each trick individually in a rider’s run. Each trick score is added up to generate a total trick score that is then combined with a total flow score (how well a rider links all tricks in the run) to make up the final score for a rider’s run.

The Live Scoring system will be used for the first time in both halfpipe and slopestyle at the 2010 Burton New Zealand Open.

Filed under: Snow / Ice Snowboarding

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Red Bull Cliff Diving in Polignano a Mare with Artem Silchenko

by Gary King on 11-Aug-10 09:03

Red Bull Cliff Diving in Polignano a Mare, Italy.

An emotional Artem Silchenko finally got the victory he craved as the 2010 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series was thrown wide open in Polignano a Mare, Italy. In front of 45,000 people, a mistake from Series leader Gary Hunt, who was still practicing a new dive, was all the Russian needed to grab victory and reduce the gap on his rival.

Filed under: Air Water Activities Other

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Ed Stafford Walking the Amazon

by Gary King on 09-Aug-10 12:02

Photo: Keith Ducatel

Congratulations to adventurer, Ed Stafford who has just walked the length of the Amazon River. It's taken him 859 days, double his initial estimate, due to huge floods that meant he had to take a 2000 mile detour. The trip has been cited as one of the most incredible ever taken by explorer extraordinaire Sir Ranulph Fiennes. “Ed Stafford's achievement in walking from the Pacific, over the Andes and along the entire length of the Amazon to the Atlantic is truly extraordinary,” he said.