Cultural Dissents and Technical Innovations in the'Whiz'Sports

Abstract

The way the French perceived the Californian myth in the sixties led them to develop the fun movement around the key concept of the "whiz", that is, speed, fluidity, entertainment, freedom linked to the imaginary notion of "kick" which stands for new sensations, a sense of harmony, of risk, a taste for the extreme. Whether it be snow or sea surfing, fun board, skate board, paragliding, parascending, bungee jumping etc., whether it be on snow, water, concrete or in the air, fun space is a "sport" — by which is meant a space situated mid-way between myth and reality - where the whiz stars embody contradictory values.

From criminality to creativity: how studies of surfer subcultures reinvented invention

“…69 Wheaton cites Midol and Midol and Broyer as seminal in laying the foundation of the academic study of 'new sports'. 70 Arguably, Midol's work was not necessarily groundbreaking in simply writing about these activities within the setting of sports studies; note, for instance, the contributions by Pearson and Sewart. 71 However, in these texts, academics were still concerned with demarcating surfing subcultures from the mainstream.…”

“…The 'funs', as she calls them, have 'a taste for innovation and narcissistic pleasure', and are 'heirs to a number of beatnik and hippie values which they combine with the media-conscious and enterprising outlook of yuppies'. 76 She goes on:…”

“…Moreover, there are a number of scholars within sports studies who situate the inventionand inventiveness -of 'extreme' or 'lifestyle' sports in the context of the emergence of either late modern capitalism, 3 postfordism 4 or postmodernism. 5 This argument will connect such accounts of 'surfing in society' to a wider argument about how the ideals of the 1950s beat culture, and the 1960s counterculture, 6 have become integrated and essential components of contemporary capitalism. 7 Heath and Potter argue that 'counterculture has become consumer culture', and Boltanski and Chiapello highlight that beatnik virtues such as spontaneity and creativity have become 'qualities that guarantee success' in what they term 'the new spirit of capitalism'.…”

Capturing Adventure: Trading experiences in the symbolic economy

“…In response, a range of commercialised adventure products and services has emerged to satisfy consumers' desire for activities described variously as rugged recreation, high adventure, extreme sports, thrill sports and risk recreation (see Swarbrooke et al, 2003;Tomlinson, 2001;Weber, 2001). Other labels assigned to these activities include alternative sports (Reinhart, 1996;Reinhart & Sydor, 2003), whiz sports (Midol, 1993) and, most recently, lifestyle sports (Wheaton, 2004). For this article, the more encompassing moniker, adventure sports, is employed.…”

Fast-girls, babes and the invisible girls. Gender relations in snowboarding

“…20 According to Midol the whiz sports, emphasize speed, fluidity, entertainment and freedom linked to the imaginary notion of kick, which stands for new sensations, a sense of harmony, of risk, and a taste for the extreme. 21 Alternative sports like skateboarding, windsurfing and snowboarding expanded dramatically in the late 1980s. Researchers observed that these sports were disproportionately created by young white males.…”