Risk athlete

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Canyon jumpers in Mexico (Cañón de Las Adjúntas, Mexico)

Risk athlete is a term commonly used in colloquial language and specialist literature for a person who - consciously or unconsciously - exposes himself to considerable imponderables and dangers in the field of sports that he cannot adequately control, and in which he is consequently largely dependent on a favorable fate.

term

The compound of the two sub-terms “risk” and “athlete” creates a context between a hazard potential on the one hand (risk) and a person (athlete) on the other hand who is affected by this hazard or who is justified by their specific circumstances and behavior. A similar formation of terms can be found in the medical field with the term “risk patient”. A high-risk athlete is basically to be understood as someone who practices a high-risk sport . In addition, the term characterizes a personality that is characterized by oversized risk-intensive behavior that can be lived out in any sport.

Risk sports and risk athletes

As the word combinations of the two compounds formally express, they denote two different approaches to danger in terms of content:

While in so-called high-risk sport, the decisive part of the risk comes from the matter of sport, such as material defects in the sports equipment or technical defects in the respective sport , the risk in high-risk athletes is in the personality of the acting individual, for example in his inexperience, a lack of sporting skills or in Deficiencies in his self-assessment justified. The risk hazard can, but does not have to come from the type of sport, i.e. the thing being carried out, but can also result solely from the specific circumstances of the individual athlete. The psychologist U. Aufmuth investigated the question of motivation in extreme mountaineering and found that the search for identity, to be seen as a courageous person and to create a corresponding charisma, is so important for many mountaineers that they find themselves ready, including them to exceed the risk limits set by nature.

The high-risk athlete enters a sporting situation, the risk potential of which is not manageable for him and cannot be controlled, or only with great difficulty. This subjective situation, which has to be assessed differently for each athlete according to the individual competencies, makes an objective assessment difficult in individual cases. In addition, there is often considerable divergence between the (perceived) understanding of outsiders and the (experienced) assessment of those concerned themselves and the reflective professional world in the specific assignment to certain actions and forms of sport.

Based on these considerations, a high-risk athlete according to SA Warwitz defines himself less from the activity in a certain (in principle controllable) sport than from his individually particularly risky behavior profile and his specific action in any sport. Accordingly, he describes high-risk athletes as gamblers who “take risks that they are not prepared for, that they cannot take responsibility for, that they cannot overlook or simply ignore. "

Characteristic of the risk athlete

The psychoanalyst Michael Balint typifies people who are consciously looking for danger, who are more attracted to danger than to deter and who present themselves as high-risk athletes in sports with the term philobatism . The risk researchers Sigibert A. Warwitz also uses the designations for him thrill viewfinder, or Risiker Hasardeur and interpreted as an essential pulse striving for an intensification of the life feeling which is z. B. looks for a field of activity in individual psychological terms through the phenomenon of fearfulness or in social psychological terms through a publicly effective striving for fame without reflecting on the expected dangers in a rational and ethically responsible manner. The US physiologist Marvin Zuckerman speaks in this context of sensation seeking , which causes an increase in the adrenaline level on a physiological level and thus triggers feelings of happiness. According to Michael Apter, these sensations can take on intoxicating traits.

The risk athlete loves the challenge of danger. By engaging in highly unsafe situations and tasks, he enjoys the thrill of the possibility of failure. In an old mountaineering song of the youth movement it says: " With rope and heels, death in the neck, we hang on a steep wall ". Even today some extremes surround themselves with the aura of death-defying cars and identify themselves as risky athletes by reading their books Titles such as “To the limit and beyond”, “On the silk thread - K2 and other borderline experiences” “Survived - All 14 eight-thousanders” As these are largely autobiographies , i.e. self-portraits from the personal experience of those directly affected, they provide insightful insights into the ways of thinking and experiencing high-risk athletes. In extreme cases, risky undertakings can take on ordal character, as the French venture researcher David Le Breton states. He explains this statement with statements such as: " Only death's no can restore the actor's lust for life " (p. 49) or “ You risk your life in order to be able to save it better ” (p. 46)

In addition to these personal motives, external impulses play an essential role in the professional field, such as the need to achieve the highest possible public attention through spectacular acts that are effective in the media and to do justice to the pressure of sponsors , on which professional adventurers in particular are dependent.

Manifestations

High-risk athletes can be found in numerous fields of sport. The risk is less likely to come from the sport than from the inappropriate behavior of the athlete who disregards the limits of sport and its rules or overstrains one's own abilities. An athlete who has mastered and heeded the safety regulations and requirements of an established, even daring, sport is not a risk. In a special study, A. Engeln examined the phenomenon of risk appetite among motorcyclists. In a number of publications and interviews, Warwitz gives specific examples from various types of sport and clarifies when an athlete becomes a “risk athlete”. B.

  • a mountain hiker who is untrained, inadequately equipped, without a map and local knowledge, without conscientious tour planning and knowledge of the weather development in the high mountains
  • a climber who, despite a thunderstorm warning, sets off on a via ferrata
  • a skater who performs risky stunts without a helmet, knee or arm guards
  • a skier who unadjusted and recklessly descends a heavily frequented slope at high speed
  • a paraglider who risks a take-off despite an approaching thunderstorm front and expected strong and shear winds
  • a hang glider that takes off into a cloud window that can close at any time
  • a sailor who does not head for a safe haven as quickly as possible when the storm is approaching
  • a motor sportsman who enjoys car or motorcycle races in public traffic
  • a kayaker who enters a steep rocky white water river without prior route control , which can contain blockages and must offer emergency exits

The specialist literature speaks of a “high-risk athlete” especially when inadequate safety precautions as well as irregular and irrational behaviors have developed into a permanent character trait of the personality beyond the individual case.

In a study, the leisure researcher HW Opaschowski is looking for reasons why high-risk athletes have been trying to act out more often in the leisure sector and in changing fields of activity.

Legal consequences

The justification of discounts and special classifications for high-risk athletes has been the subject of controversial public debate for years. However, because the accidents are highly person-dependent and less dependent on the type of sport, insurance companies find it difficult to classify them. There is no generally binding list. After all, insurance companies usually differentiate between extreme athletes and risk athletes. Attempts to bind to certain types of sport have proven to be factually unsuitable. For example, because of the relatively low accident rates in the Federal Republic of Germany, the sporting risks of paragliding and hang-gliding pilots can now be insured at normal accident and liability insurance rates .

The Swiss insurance industry differentiates between "absolute risks", which are based on sports such as speed flying or base jumping , and "relative risks", which can be traced back to misconduct on the part of those involved in sports, such as disregarding the usual rules and precautionary measures. Insurance law formulates the latter behavior accordingly as "actions with which the insured person exposes himself to a particularly great danger without taking or being able to take the precautions that limit the risk to a reasonable level" . According to Art. 39 UVG and Art. 50 UVV, the high-risk athlete must expect a cut in cash benefits by half and, in particularly severe cases, a complete refusal of payments by the insurance company.

Moral Consequences

The sports associations are reluctant to see high-risk athletes in their ranks because they can easily increase the number of accidents and thus damage the image of the sport in public. Above all, the types of sports that are particularly at risk of accidents therefore usually offer equipment information, equipment checks, safety courses and general rules of conduct. Insofar as high-risk athletes violate codified regulations, this will also be punished by the courts. Since the possible consequences of an accident can affect not only the high-risk athlete himself, but also bystanders and the community of solidarity is involved via the rescue services, insurance and medical supply institutions, the high-risk athlete does not have a good reputation in public opinion. There is therefore an urgent need to promote the awareness of the values ​​of those involved in extreme action, for example in the form of risk education practiced from childhood . Large associations such as the German Alpine Association (DAV) are already taking this idea into account by trying to put their members' actions in training and regular campaigns on an ethical basis , with prudence and consideration for their own health, for people and Nature that sets standards.

literature

  • Michael Apter: In the intoxication of danger . Publishing house Kösel. Munich 1994
  • Ulrich Aufmuth, Miroslav Rydl: Risk sports and identity problems. In: Sportwissenschaft 13 (1983-3), Verlag Hofmann
  • Michael Balint : Anxiety and Regression . Klett-Cotta, 8th edition. Stuttgart 2014
  • Karl-Heinrich Bette: X-treme. On the sociology of adventure and risk sports. transcript Verlag, Bielefeld 2004, ISBN 978-3-89942-204-7 .
  • David Le Breton : Pleasure in risk . Dipa publishing house. Frankfurt 1995, ISBN 3-7638-0336-X .
  • German Alpine Association (DAV) (Ed.): Risk - Dangers or Opportunities? Conference report of the Ev. Bad Boll Academy. Munich 2004
  • Sabrina Fehn: Risk sports and fairness in health care: Should risk athletes pay for their accidents themselves? GRIN Verlag, Munich 2013
  • Iris Hadbawnik: To the limit and beyond. Fascination with extreme sports . Publishing the workshop. 2011, ISBN 978-3-89533-765-9 .
  • A. Huber: Life as a thriller: thrill or luck? In: Psychologie heute 6 (1994) S, pp. 64-69.
  • HW Opaschowski: Thrilling as a new leisure movement. In: Ders .: Freizeit 2001 (project study), Hamburg 1992, pp. 50–54.
  • Siegbert A. Warwitz : Search for meaning in risk. Life in growing rings. Explanatory models for cross-border behavior. 2., ext. Edition. Verlag Schneider, Baltmannsweiler 2016, ISBN 978-3-8340-1620-1 .
  • K. Wieland, U. Eckhard, B. Kessler: Coping with fear in risk sports: An empirical study on skydiving. Centaurus, Herbolzheim 1998
  • Marvin Zuckerman : Sensation Seeking. Beyond the optimal level of arousal . Hillsdale 1979.

Web links

Wiktionary: Risk athletes  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Wiktionary: Risk sports  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz: Search for meaning in risk. Life in growing rings. Attempts to explain cross-border behavior. 2., ext. Edition. Verlag Schneider, Baltmannsweiler 2016, p. 15.
  2. ↑ Ulrich Aufmuth, Miroslav Rydl: Risk Sports and Identity Problems. In: Sportwissenschaft 13 (1983-3), Verlag Hofmann
  3. ↑ The risk must be worth it (PDF file; 622 kB). Interview in bergundstieg.at. October 2011.
  4. ↑ Michael Balint: Anxiety and Regression . Klett-Cotta, 8th edition. Stuttgart 2014.
  5. ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz: sensational addiction or search for meaning, thrill or skill. In the S. Search for meaning in risk. Life in growing rings. Explanatory models for cross-border behavior. 2., ext. Edition. Verlag Schneider, Baltmannsweiler 2016, pp. 300–311.
  6. ^ Marvin Zuckerman: Sensation Seeking. Beyond the optimal level of arousal . Hillsdale 1979.
  7. ↑ Michael Apter: In the intoxication of danger . Publishing house Kösel. Munich 1994.
  8. ↑ When we climb dizzying heights , text E. Härtinger, music: H. Kolesa o. J. (1923)
  9. ↑ Iris Hadbawnik: To the Limit and Beyond. Fascination with extreme sports . Publishing the workshop. 2011.
  10. ↑ Hans Kammerlander: On the silk thread - K2 and other borderline experiences . Piper, Munich 2005.
  11. ↑ Reinhold Messner: Survived - All 14 eight-thousanders. Munich 1987.
  12. ↑ David Le Breton: Pleasure at Risk . Dipa publishing house. Frankfurt 1995.
  13. ↑ A. Engeln: Risk Motivation - an educational-psychological study on motorcycling . Marburg 1995.
  14. ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz: Search for meaning in risk. Life in growing rings. Attempts to explain cross-border behavior. 2., ext. Edition. Verlag Schneider, Baltmannsweiler 2016.
  15. ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz: Risk must be worthwhile . In: mountaineering . No. 3 , 2011, p. 40–46 ( online [PDF; 637 kB ]).
  16. ^ HW Opaschowski: Thrilling as a new leisure movement. In: Ders .: Freizeit 2001 (project study), Hamburg 1992, pp. 50–54.
  17. ↑ pharmazeutische-zeitung.de -Ausgrenzen risk athletes does not help, accessed on 29 June 2016th
  18. ↑ Sabrina Fehn: Risk sports and fairness in health care: Should risk athletes pay for their accidents themselves? GRIN Verlag, Munich 2013.
  19. ↑ suva.ch -Wagnisse - Dangerous sports and activities with case studies, accessed on June 26, 2016.
  20. ^ Opaschowski, Horst W .: Xtrem. The calculated madness. Extreme sport as a time phenomenon . Germa-Press Verlag 2000.
  21. ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz: Risk must want the essential. In: Ders .: Search for meaning in risk. Life in growing rings. 2., ext. Edition. Verlag Schneider, Baltmannsweiler 2016, pp. 296–311.
  22. ^ German Alpine Association (DAV) (Ed.): Risk - Dangers or Opportunities? Conference report of the Ev. Bad Boll Academy. Munich 2004.