Stamps Capture Thrill of Extreme Sports

Many of us tend to spend the winter in hibernation mode -- curled up on the couch under a pile of blankets, remote in hand, snacks at the ready, waiting for the spring thaw! There are those hardy souls though who thrill to the sight of snow, who inhale deep gulps of icy air with vigor as they go careening down snow-laden slopes at ungodly speeds balanced precariously on two thin sticks of fiberglass, or whatever miracle substance they make skis out of these days.

A winter couch potato myself, I spend my winter, heart in throat, vicariously thrilling to every dangerous leap and turn as these winter daredevils speed down my television screen, secure in the knowledge that any broken legs won't be mine. I love extreme sports, as long as I'm a spectator. I applaud those rugged individuals who charge down mountains on slim boards or plunge through water-churned canyons on flimsy rubber rafts or hurtle out of airplanes with a mere square of fabric tacked to their backs. In my imagination I'm right behind them, charging and churning along on a rush of adrenaline. In reality I'm safely at the other end of the remote, gasping in dismay as they take yet another death-defying leap into the unknown!

What better way to capture the virtual thrill of extreme sports than in stamps. New Zealand, where a surprising number of the populace tend to be participants not observers of such sports, has issued a marvelous prestige booklet on extreme sports. Breath-taking photographs capture every heart-pounding moment. You can practically feel the spray on your face in the whitewater rafting stamp shown above! Each stamp in the booklet features an electrifying photograph of a different extreme sport. Click the post title to order.

County Stamp Center offers hundreds of stamps on every sport imaginable from baseball to tennis and everything in between. Just use the handy search feature on our website to search by key word, category or Scott catalog number. Check out our other stamps on extreme sports and come to County Stamp Center for all your philatelic needs.