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This is the year of the niche athlete, the retroactive sport, the shirtless uniform. It’s an opportunity to travel to remote destinations to watch those who believe that competing with the elements, as well as with one another, makes for a neat challenge.
今年会有很多小众赛事、历史悠久的赛事和赤膊上阵的赛事，这些运动员们认为与自然环境和其他选手竞争是最高尚的挑战。想去偏远的地方旅游看比赛，现在正是良机。
Since its public outing as a demonstration sport at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, competitive ice climbing has hit new highs with spectators, which the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (U.I.A.A.) hopes to parlay into a bona fide slot at the 2018 games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
自从攀冰在索契冬奥会开幕式上公开展示之后，这项运动的观众人数达到了历史新高，国际登山联合会(UIAA)希望借机使它成为2018年韩国平昌冬奥会上的一个真正的比赛项目。
Ice climbing is no gradual ascent up Everest. It’s a test of speed and agility, during which climbers scale slick 75-foot multitowered ice structures with 70-degree overhangs using nothing but crampons, ice axes and their own strength. You can catch the U.I.A.A. Ice Climbing World Championshipslive in two chilly but intriguing destinations: first, in Rabenstein, Italy (Jan. 30 to Feb. 1), and later in Kirov, Russia (March 6 to 8). And in between there’s the French World Cup in Champagny (Feb. 5 to 7).
攀冰不是慢慢爬上珠穆拉玛峰，而是对速度和敏捷的考验，攀登者要爬上光滑的多层冰架，高达75英尺，其中包括70度悬岩，只能依靠钉鞋、冰斧和自己的力量。你可以在两个非常寒冷但十分有趣的地方现场观看国际登山联合会举办的攀冰世界锦标赛：第一个是在意大利的拉本施泰因（1月30日至2月1日），第二个是在俄罗斯的基洛夫（3月6日至8日）。这两个赛事之间，还有在尚帕尼举办的法国攀冰世界杯（2月5日至7日）。
Though most know it as a misfit fusion sport for millennials, stand-up paddle boarding has been doggy-paddling toward legitimacy as a competitive sporting event for the last three years at the International Surfing Association’s annual World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championship. The fourth annual (May 10 to 17) moves from Nicaragua to Sayulita, Mexico, an easy-to-reach destination that the I.S.A. hopes will draw more fans and provide choppier waters for competitors. The true test of legitimacy? If Hawaii, which competes separately from the United States and is considered one of the best teams in the world, joins in to give the reigning Australian champs a run for their money.
虽然大多数人认为立式单桨冲浪是一项搭配不当的融合运动，属于千禧一代，但是过去三年，国际冲浪协会每年都举办世界立式单桨冲浪锦标赛，使它渐渐成为一项正统的竞技性体育赛事。第四届锦标赛（5月10日至17日）从尼加拉瓜搬到了墨西哥的萨尤利塔，后者更易到达，国际冲浪协会希望这里能给选手们提供更汹涌的波浪，还能吸引更多粉丝。对这项赛事正统性真正的考验是什么？是夏威夷队——它不是美国队的一部分，而是单独组队，被认为是世界上最棒的队伍之一——能否和卫冕冠军澳大利亚一决高下。
Scotland’s Cowal Highland Gathering on Bute island in the Firth of Clyde (Aug. 27 to 29), on the other hand, does not want for crowds. After more than a hundred years it has established itself as the biggest display of traditional Highland Games in the world. Sturdy kilt-wrapped men and women tossing trees and lead balls are at the heart of it all, but in recent years the simultaneous World Highland Dancing Championship has begun to overshadow the games with hundreds of dancers from all over the world competing for titles each day. (Needless to say, there will be no shortage of pipers to accompany them.)
苏格兰克莱德湾比特岛上的科瓦尔高地运动会（8月27日至29日）可不缺观众。在举办一百多年之后，它已成为世界上最大的传统高地运动赛事。其核心项目是身穿苏格兰裙的健壮男女们扔树和铅球，但是近几年同时举办的世界高地舞蹈锦标赛开始抢去了它的风头，每天来自世界各地的成百上千名舞蹈者在这里争夺冠军（不用说，绝不会缺少风笛手为他们伴奏）。
Relay horse-racing, another sport deeply rooted in tribal culture, considers itself the oldest extreme sport in North America, according to the Professional Indian Horse Racing Association. The races, during which riders jump from one horse to another while galloping at high speeds, are believed to date back more than 400 years to when American Indians honed their relay skills for war, to hunt buffalo or to capture wild horses.
接力赛马是另一项深深植根于部落文化的运动。印第安职业赛马协会认为它是北美最古老的极限运动。比赛中，骑手们从一匹飞驰的赛马跳到另一匹上。这项运动可以追溯到400多年前，当时美洲印第安人为了打仗、捕猎野牛或野马而锻炼接力技巧。
They’ve continued since, though mostly in small numbers on reservations in the northern Plains or at rodeos, but a recent boost in interest inspired the association to sponsor the first All Nations Indian Relay Championships in 2013. The next, in Sheridan, Wyo. (Sept. 11 to 13) will feature 30 teams from at least 12 nations.
这项运动流传了下来，虽然主要是在北部平原的印第安保留地或牛仔竞技表演上偶尔出现，但是近几年人们对这项运动的兴趣渐长，因此，该协会在2013年举办了第一届印第安各族接力赛马锦标赛。下一届比赛将在怀俄明州谢里登举行（9月11日至13日），届时将有来自至少12个印第安族群的30支队伍参赛。
Speaking of powerful animals, it shouldn’t be surprising that Red Bull, the energy drink maker, has become the de facto sponsor of almost every sporting event designed to make a viewer’s heart stop. Luckily, most are set in relaxing environments like Bilbao, Spain, where the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series will have divers dropping from the La Salve Bridge to fall 80 feet against the backdrop of the Guggenheim Museum and into the Nervión River.
提到勇猛的动物，不出人们所料，功能性饮料制造商红牛是许多惊险体育赛事的实际赞助人。幸运的是，大多数赛事安排在令人放松的环境中，比如西班牙的毕尔巴鄂——红牛悬崖跳水世界系列赛将在那里举行，选手们将从拉撒尔夫桥上下落80英尺，跳入内尔维翁河，古根海姆博物馆充当这一赛事的背景。
For something a bit closer to the ground (though not by much) Red Bull also sponsors the Art of Motion, a free-running and parkour showcase of athletes who bounce, tuck, roll and leap over the rooftops of Santorini, Greece (Oct. 3).
红牛还赞助了另一项更接近地面的运动（虽然也不是太接近）——移动的艺术(Art of Motion)，它将展示自由奔跑和跑酷技术，届时运动员们将在希腊圣托里尼岛的屋顶上弹跳、蜷缩、翻滚、跳跃（10月3日）。
