The Greeks and Romans envisaged most of their gods as young fit athletes. Even Apollo, the god of the arts, had a six-pack to die for, as well as a lyre and bow and arrows.

We don't imagine our gods as physical beings anymore, if we imagine there are any at all, but we deify our athletes, which probably makes it even more shocking when one of them dies.

Yesterday a 15 year old appears to have drowned at the Australian Surf Life Saving championships at Kurrawa as he was competing in a board race. The reporting is hysterical and inaccurate.

It strikes me that not only is our society becoming extremely risk averse, but many of us now think that immortality is a birth right. Any death is regarded as a death too many, even though death is the fate all.

I'm not suggesting that sporting events ought to be any more dangerous than they have to be, but I am suggesting that there is a risk of mortality in all activities, and it is not something to be shunned.

There are many reasons why this young athlete may have died. I doubt whether the surf played much of a role in it at all.

It's also more likely that he would be killed travelling to and from a surf carnival, or riding his bike along the road.

Surf life saving carnivals are part of the training for men and women who volunteer to keep our beaches safe. It's dangerous work that they volunteer to do, so their training has to be dangerous too. I think it's about time that we moved back towards celebrating those who embrace risk, and stopped looking for someone to blame if that embrace turns fatal, as though the authorities were Olympian Gods, micromanaging the affairs of human beings.

Graham,

It seems to be part and parcel of modern society - especially where children are concerned - to eliminate many risks associated with natural inclinations that form part of our physical and cognitive development.

I agree that it's in rough conditions that surf lifesavers are more likely to be called upon to go in and do their stuff. They need to train in strenuous conditions.

I was a bit of a risk-taker in my youth, although I seem to have reversed that inclination as an adult. I spent almost all my spare time surfing in my early teens. I loved being out on the water (all the other girls were happy to preen themselves on the beach). Our local beach, though, wasn't renowned for big surf, and it was only in the 'boiling grey surf' during winter that we were guaranteed good surfing conditions - so we'd flock down when the water looked its most threatening. If I found myself at the beach without my board, I would practice 'getting dumped', so I could hone my skills and reactions for when I was on my board.

I once climbed almost to the top of a Norfolk Island pine, simply because it was there...but I'd freak if one of kids tried that.

with the news cycle..being what it is
if its got vision..it leads][if it bleeds it leads]

its symptomatic[but your question sems to imply further][like baning surf carnivals[like they got rid of street parades..and cracker night...and them drunk smokers]

quote..""Surf life saving carnivals..are part of the training..for men and women who volunteer*..to keep our beaches safe.""

[so too volenteer firfighting/flood resque/emergency response services[how big was that deaths at work number'?

how manmy die in sports
or from cancers from food additive's
carncenogenes in our food water fuel..'airfresheners..
or adult diabetus..[that 'fat' people..*co=cause]

""It's dangerous work..that they volunteer to do,""

are addicted to doing

""so their training..has to be dangerous too.""

agree absolutly
many a fit persion has died...'training'
perhaps more so...when traing ALONE..that at any gathering[carnival]

""time that we moved back..towards celebrating..those who embrace risk,""""

NOT FOR LIGHT OR TRANSIENT CAUSE*
sports..isnt worth dying over
nor fame...[i refuse to lorde them]

i ignore them

""stopped looking for someone..to blame
if that embrace turns fatal,""

yes its so easy..to forget..we are ETERNAK/spirit
having an incarnated 'life experience'..uniquely chosing
*how that life [their life]..gets lived*

[but fully accountable..for any affect..they
[their obsession]..cause's..*or results in]

""as though the authorities*[beurorocrats.../leeching off talent]
""were Olympian Gods,micromanaging the affairs
of.."[MERE]"..human beings."""

ALLOWED to be gods
by 'the chosen ones'..riding their talented cash cow's
[sports rorts/sports club debts....into infinite indebitedness..

its the glory hunters
and those who can make you famous*

that youth reason..is worth dying for..
[lord them..for living..not dying]

..news reports..'a body'..found
[another child has drowned]

and that is terrible
but he served his 'life sentance'..[did his time]
lived out his alloted life sentance...[in this realm]

but what of the next realm
what happend to him..after his spirit left us
[that depends on us...you will recall that famouse rich dude[who died 'on the table'...saying there was nuthing[but he has lived his material life[and is spiritually blind]

the youth on the other hand
will have felt his spirit...slip from his flesh
[and do asmasing things]...it often can take some time..for our spirit..to realise..its not in its 'body'..no more..

never the less he would notice in time his astral body..is much like his material flesh...he is now unbound by space of time

nothing can hurt him now

his astral form[his new body]
is of light...he is now..the sum total..of all he wished to be in life

only one thing holds him back[now]
that is his beloved 'others'..who remain
he feels all their pain..their hoppes feelings thoughts[as they concern 'him'.]..he is going just great[but our suffering can and often does restrain him]..so know he lives
is ever present

he isnt dead
he has simply taken on his earned form

there is no such thing as living/dead
[energy cant be created nor destroyed
his life energy has transmognified]

[inform?]

ie..changed form

that is all

I don't know what the answer is to this problem
when youngsters engage in such dangerous sports.
Apparently this was the third death in recent times
in that particular area. We can only hope that all
safety precautions are being taken. Perhaps there needs
to be an age limit to participation in these kind of
events - no matter how talented the youngster is?
Afterall it's the adults who make the rules - right?

I feel so sorry for the families of these teens. It
would be devastating to lose a child in this way.

i know we are about to get..many solicitations
learn much about this spirit..when he was 'of man'[in the flesh]

but note the word 'immortality'..in the heading
thus seek to inform..some more mind imagry...
on 'im-mort'ality..into word..

there are no more 'sleeps'..in reality
yet many sleep[these are those of our youth..who died under the 'in-fluence'..[often material spirit's and drugs]..but more often..by way of belief..we have thrust on us..

faulse beliefs..like judgment day
[he now is underrgoing 'self judgment'
as he hears all who loved him..remember*

thier memories[emotions/loves hates fears worries etc]
it all just piles on..so lets recall not to talk ill of the 'dead'

and avoid mind recall..or worse inner turmoil
of what has been..[presumably]..lost..he aint dead
dont think things of the dead like you did the living

where he is there are no secrets
if you think it..he feels it[in reality there is no 'judgment day''[except what people think or say]..now they think you gone away]

another caution goes to those self obsessive types
who remain tied to their mortal flesh

and then there are those crossed over
but who insist they 'wait'..till the day of reserction

as spirits know...immediatly theu realise..'their dead'
is that they arnt dead[so those two huge lies]..hurt

then there is the things said..at the fun-er-all
waste no time of formal..but pray that the spirit[who 'may]..be spiritually blind/briefly or longer:..

;'its like adjusting eyes to the light..from the dark of night...
know..that the light confort all..burns the sins of the soul clean

no guilt blame shame
anytime you need them..*they will be there

next year many more of you
will know this/..4 sure*

My condolences to the kids family & friends. I won't even presume to imagine how his family are feeling, but I do know what his friends are feeling.

I raced cars for many years, & as with many sports, most of my friends did also. One mate I raced against in sports cars, & then again in F11 racing cars.

We owned the same type of old Lotus, & swapped bits to help each other get to race meetings, when our old cars were broken.

He was killed when another car crashed into a wall, & bounced back into the track in front of him. It was just bad luck, & we missed him, & had great sympathy for his family.

His wife sponsored a memorial race for him, at the track where he was killed, not far from his home.

I won that race despite a failed clutch operating system. I reckon I could have carried my car, & won that race, I wanted it so much.

The trophy is one of my most valued possessions, & says it all really. The inscription is a quote of Fangio's, perhaps the greatest ever driver, when another driver was killed back in his day.

"To race is to live, & those who died while racing knew how to live, perhaps, more than all others". Good by young surfer, may you be long remembered.

Yes have to agree, we do not yet know what bought about this sad death.
It could be unrelated to the event.
And some comments, one from legal bloke is way out there.
It sadly is our nature to get in to kicking events after they take place.

Risk is to life as salt is to food, a relief to its blandness.
Anthony
http://www.observationpoint.com.au

As a mother and a gran - I know my choice would
be for a "mortal" child than an "immortal" one
and a "trophy" on a shelf - would be small comfort indeed.
Still it's not my choice to make, such is life.
I would still fight for some sort of age limit - when
kids are a bit stronger - mentally and physically to
bear the full brunt of "mother nature." Is a fourteen year
old really qualified for events such as these? After-all
these events are supposed to be for "iron-men," not children.

Lexi,

I feel pain when I read of this young man's death. Neither of my children are particularly 'sporty'. They are active, but they are totally different to myself at the same age. I was slightly built, small, wiry and strong. When I think of all my adventures on the ocean, it would have been easy for me to come to grief - didn't happen, and I suppose to a certain extent it was due to the luck of the draw, my own competence and strength for my size...and perhaps the fact that I chose my own challenges and not those that were chosen for me.

Lexi on this one you miss the point entirely.

Yes your kids can sit for ever on a big chair, in a nice safe room, watching TV, or movies, & provided they don't choke on their snacks, they will probably remain safe, as they grow fat.

Or they can go out, into the big dangerous world & ride a wave, belt/kick a ball or ride a horse. If done in competition so much the better, as it is the striving that makes the man, or woman. It's the striving that fulfills the emotions, & the soul, & gives life meaning.

Some ladies appear to gain this satisfaction by giving birth, although going by our many world champion ladies I doubt it. I can of course never know on that.

If you can not understand or feel the emotion behind the quote, I am truly sorry for you.

sir laurance of arabia
loved racing bikes..[he died in a bike accident]

his story begins with that crash
im looking for it
http://www.google.com/search?q=laurence+of+arabia+afterlife

oh dear seems suicide might be included into that file
http://whitecrowbooks.com/features/page/the_fate_of_the_suicide_in_the_afterlife_part_1

not sir laurence
but what he revealed..*re those decieved spirits

never the less his words are worth noting
http://www.divinetruth.com/PDF/People/Jane%20Sherwood%20-%20Post%20Mortem%20Journal.pdf

it reads as true
in less than one minute
you can read for thyself..if its true

also try blue island
[the titanic 'dead';who wernt dead]

or google 'getting the hell out of here'
or the best text 'the officer'

the truth is out there
rejoice..the time of grief is over

believe it
or not

if you want it
http://www.divinetruth.info/Downloads/CD/NaturalLove/PDFs/Franchezzo%20-%20A%20Wanderer%20In%20The%20Spirit%20Lands.pdf

nope deleted

ok try
http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/wsl/index.htm
http://www.divinetruth.info/naturallovepathdocuments.htm

http://www.divinetruth.info/Downloads/CD/NaturalLove/PDFs/Franchezzo%20-%20A%20Wanderer%20In%20The%20Spirit%20Lands.pdf

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=GXiiawvlRCcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=A+Subaltern+in+Spirit+Land&source=bl&ots=JjNlQosKrm&sig=1qJYbhem82A3OOsb31iN2QRf8J8&hl=en&ei=yz1CTK7PBpC9cd39uL8P&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

ohh i see
steal the free info
hide it from people grieving

that stuff is OWNED BY SPIRIT!
not mans puny patent laws

bah

Dear Hasbeen,

My sons do not sit on chairs and watch television.
Neither are they fat. They are tall, lean, and
very sporty. They have always been active
and into sports - From basketball, to mountain-bikes.
We encouraged them with sports from a very early age.
And like their mother who runs regularly - and goes
to a gym several days a week. They are and have
always been - very active.

Dear Poirot,

I understand what you're saying. And I've always felt
that encouraging children into some kind of sport
and to maintain a healthy lifestyle was important.
Luckily the choice that my children made with their sport
was not something as dangerous as what the youngster
who died chose. But perhaps he wasn't quite ready to
take part in that event at his age - I'm not saying
that there's anything necessarily wrong with the sport -
merely with the maturity and strength of the participants.
I'm not sure that we can say equivocally that the kid
made the right decision for him at the time. That's why
I mentioned an age limit should possibly be set. When
all participants are stronger and more experienced.
It will probable take a few more young deaths for
organisations to examine their rules of competition.
I hope they don't wait too long.

Lexi great, your earlier post gave a different impression.

I'm sorry, but you are showing either a lack of knowledge of these sports, or you've had a very different experience than mine.

Mountain biking is to my mind, one of the most dangerous sports there is, much more dangerous than anything I have done. About the only thing more dangerous is adding a motor & calling it trail bike riding. My son is doing his best to kill himself at that too.

My eldest daughter was a show jumper & an eventer, both sports I have fiddled with. I think these are both more dangerous than surfing, & my heart was in my mouth when ever she competed or trained.

I believe it is bad luck that these deaths have occurred in these surf carnivals. I can see the danger in surf boat races, but board work should not really be all that dangerous.

I heard a report that the parents have said they believe it was an unfortunate accident, & they hold no one responsible. Even thinking about it must have been very hard, & I take my hat off to them.

Dear Hasbeen,

Mountain bikes can be dangerous. However my son is the
owner of a chain of mountain-bike stores and has been
riding them for a greater part of his life. They are his
passion, and he does not take any unnecessary risks.
I too admire the parents of the youngster who died.
And I don't blame anyone for his death. However, I still
stand by my concern that not all youngsters have the
strength to handle that dangerous surf in that particular
beach - where there have already been more than one death.
All I am suggesting is that an age limit for participants
should be looked at.

Graham, this is tough subject.

When you think about it, most rescues are performed in adverse surf conditions and, it would be quite pointless training life savers only in calm, or at least, reasonable conditions.

On the other hand, should we be subjecting our kids to adverse surf conditions, when we could perhaps place an age limit, linked to surf conditions.

I would suggest that the two deaths that occurred on the same beach, would be a coincidence, rather than human error, but who knows.

Modern sport is merely a catapult for narcissuses.

Dear Individual,

This one's for you:

http://www.catapultsports.com/?gclid=CLDg79rXkq8CFdAodKk8Iyw

Lexi,
The link won't open so I don't know what it's all about.
Watching thei insane saturation of sport,sport,sport,sport & more sport all around me I can not help see nothing but ego, money, hyped up glory & excuses.
Sitting in some stadium or watching TV isn't sport. It's mindless compliance to the spin merchants.
If we really want to get active then we should encourage recreational activities.
I guarantee you if you gave teenagers the choice of watching some game or taking them out & away from the urban drag to an outdoor camp or similar they'd chose the latter any day.
They'd reap the benefit of fitness, thinking for themselves & realising how much the sport merchant spins are exploiting them & ruining their future social lives.

One of my points about the beach is that the surf was not particularly large or dangerous. It was a size that most serious recreational surfers would see as good fun. A 15 year old surf lifesaving champion would have no difficulty handling the surf.

Kurrawa is not a particularly dangerous beach. It is not as sheltered as North Kirra, the beach they moved to, but it is less susceptible to bad weather than say Bondi in Sydney.

The accident didn't happen because the conditions were particularly dangerous. They weren't dead calm, but surfers don't surf when it is dead calm - it's no fun.

This is what I mean by exaggeration.

An excellent article, and an excellent response by 'individual'. If the millions spent on elitist sportsmen and women at the 'Sports academy' were spent on adequate facilities for normal children, then we'd have a race of healthy, motivated, sharp-witted and intelligent kids. Sluggish bodies lead to sluggish minds. Surely, a healthy nation is worth more than a few extra gold medals at international sporting events that only encourage more young people to become couch potatoes?
The analogy with Greek Gods should go further. Mortals accepted that their gods' extraordinary abilities were accompanied by extraordinary characters, and so excused their sexual and other excesses, but we expect our sportsmen to play like heroes, and then go home and behave like touchy-feely, new-age wimps, ripe for suing for large sums of money if they don't treat their girls like porcelain princesses. Like sportsmen, their hangers on should accept the risks associated with mixing with the' gods'.