Shillong, August 17: The mega event for extreme sports which include BMX stunt, motorcycle stunt, Paintball, Freestyle Dance (B-Boying), music, along with photography and art exhibition, is in Shillong as the first of the three-day event kicked off today at the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) convocation Hall.
Organized by X-Jam Shillong, and the brain-child of Manipur Extreme Sports’ General Secretary Umananda Irom, with the support of Extreme Sport Association of India (XSAI), and local host Meghalaya xBhp Sports & Adventure Club (MxSAC), and North-Eastern Hill University Student Union (NEHUSU) along with Nagaland Paintball Association, Small Art Project (Shillong) and Knack Movement (Shillong), the ‘arts & entertainment’ program today was well attended by extreme sports lovers from all over the region.
Speaking to this reporter, X-Jam publicity secretary Benny F Lyngdoh said, “The main purpose of organizing the event is to promote freestyle motorcycling, skateboarding, bmx and mountain cycling as a sport, including freestyle dance & b-boying as a youth culture, as well as paintball gaming, art and photography for recreation.
Professionals and amateur enthusiasts of the sports, including local and international stars such as Asia’s best BMX freestyle stunt team from Thailand backed by Asian Extreme Sports Federation took part in the opening Friday in exhibiting their talents.
MTV Stunt-Mania’s qualifiers Kevin and Monty with prominent new generation guest and local artists, including Ranjan Engti & the Small Art Project are but a few stars who would be part of this event.
Bands like the Digital Suicide (Guwahati), Rubicons (Imphal) and White Fire (Imphal) will be accompanied by Symphonic Illusions, Dead Note, Aberrant, 11th Hour, Midnight Garden Factor and Street Stories to rock the campus.
Expressing his excitement at the response and participation, X-Jam general secretary Jean Daniel M Momin said, “We are glad that the tour is included in Shillong, and we can see from the response that extreme sports is gaining grounds.”
Although the rain had played spoil sport, Momin said the team is not losing hope as there is something for everyone. He did say though that if the sport is more popular perhaps more sponsorship would come in.
“Sadly, sponsorship is very few because the sport is still at its amateur stage in India, and we hope to attract more youth so that extreme sports gain popularity,” he said.- By Our Reporter
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