Extreme ironing

Extreme Ironing is an extreme sport from England that put a strange new spin on ironing[?]. An outdoor activity, it combines the excitement of an extreme sport with the satisfaction of freshly ironed clothes. Though it seems just to be a parody, many extreme ironers take themselves and their sport quite seriously.

To extreme iron, people take an iron and an ironing board to a remote location, in order to iron a few items of clothing. Examples of applications of this task have so far shown to be as diverse as on a mountainside of a difficult climb; a local forest; in a canoe[?]; while skiing or snowboarding; on top of large bronze statues; in the middle of a street; even when snorkeling, even though this possibility defeats the purpose of actually ironing.

Different ironing styles are present, either in a group or by yourself; ironing existing formations or freestyle. The only aim of this sport is to have fun while looking tidy.

Started in Leicester,East Midlands,England by resident Phil Shaw[?], this sports is has been said of by The Guardian as carrying on a tradition of British eccentricity. By now, this is by all means an international sport. In June 1999, Steam embarked on an international tour to promote the sport. The stops included the United States of America, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia and Southern Africa[?]. In New Zealand, he stumbled across some German tourists, which led to the founding of Extreme Ironing International[?]. This lead to the 2000 founding of the German Extreme Ironing Section[?] or GEIS.

In September of 2002, the first World Championship for the sport took place in Valley, Germany[?], near Munich, Germany. Organized by the German Extreme Ironing Section, the 1st Extreme Ironing World Championships were considered a success, drawing international media attention and participation. This event hailed competition from Austria, Australia, Croatia, Chile, Germany, and the UK. The second annum of this competition is rumored to take place in England.

Many participants in this sport refer to it as EI, the initials of the eccentric activity.

Since foundation, there has been the formation of an alleged breakaway group, Urban Housework. This sport has been considered unethical by most, as it alters the environment, disrupting the natural decay of plant matter to help re-fertilize the earth.

A documentary, appropriately entitled Extreme Ironing, was filmed for the Chanel 4.

Internet Links

• [1] (http://www.extremeironing.com/) Extreme Ironing Bureau organization's site.
• [2] (http://www.extremeironing.info/) German Extreme Ironing Section site.