Extreme ironing was invented in 1997 in
Leicester, England, by resident Phil Shaw in his back garden. Shaw had a number of chores to do, including ironing. Preferring the idea of an evening out
rock climbing, he decided to combine the two activities into a new extreme sport. In June 1999, Shaw, who uses the nickname "Steam", embarked on an international tour to promote the activity. The stops included the
United States,
Fiji,
New Zealand,
Australia and
South Africa. An encounter with German tourists in
New Zealand led to the formation of a group called "Extreme Ironing International", and the German Extreme Ironing Section or GEIS. This has yet to popularize in North America. A more extreme form of extreme ironing has been developed that includes bungee jumping. Bungee ironing is what some would call the ultimate in the thrill of extreme ironing. The first competition for extreme ironing took place in
Germany in 2002. Eighty teams competed in an obstacle course in which the competitors had to iron different articles of clothing in different dangerous settings. These settings included hanging from a tree, scaling a wall, and climbing under the hood of a car. A common misconception would be that competitors are scored only on how dangerous the location of their ironing is. But, the most significant part of scoring is actually how many wrinkles are left on the clothing and how the competitor chooses to iron the clothes. Competitors are scored for the quality of the pressing, style, and speed. Quality of the pressing counts for half of the points scored. The sport gained international attention in 2003 after a documentary entitled
Extreme Ironing: Pressing for Victory, was produced for Britain's
Channel 4 by Wag TV. The program followed the British team's efforts and eventual Bronze and Gold placings in the
1st Extreme Ironing World Championships in Germany. A side-story looked at the rivalry between the EIB (Extreme Ironing Bureau) and a breakaway group called Urban Housework who were trying to establish their own extreme sport based around vacuum-cleaning. The film later aired on the
National Geographic Channel. In 2003, John Roberts and Ben Gibbons from
Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire In 2003, the
Rowenta Trophy was won by a group from
South Africa by ironing across a gorge at the Wolfberg Cracks. In 2004, the EIB traveled to the US on the Rowenta Tour to recruit additional ironists and ironed at
Mount Rushmore,
New York City,
Boston and
Devils Tower. On 18 April 2011, tenor Jason Blair was filmed ironing on the
M1 motorway in London, UK, a section of which had been closed following a fire. In 2012, Extreme Ironing pioneer Steam came out of retirement to take on a new challenge and run the Hastings Half Marathon in March wearing an ironing board, pressing garments on the way.
Underwater In March 2008, a team of 72 divers simultaneously ironing underwater set a new world's record for number of people ironing underwater at once. On 10 January 2009, 128
divers including six
freedivers, attempted to break the previous world record, managing to confirm 86 divers ironing within a 10-minute period. The event took place at the National Diving and Activity Centre (NDAC) near
Chepstow,
Monmouthshire, and was organised by members of the Yorkshire Divers
internet forum. In addition to breaking the world record, the event raised over £15000 for the
Royal National Lifeboat Institution. On 1 May 2010, a group of Dive Centers in
Key Largo, Florida, attempted to claim the record. The event was part of the
Conch Republic Days in the Florida Keys and was attempted by Keys Diver, Silent World Dive Center, and Captain Slates Atlantis Dive Center. The attempt took place at the historic site of the
Christ of the Abyss at Key Largo Dry Rocks. On 28 March 2011, Dutch diving club De Waterman from
Oss, Netherlands, set the new (official) world record extreme underwater ironing. A group of 173 divers set the new world record in an indoor swimming pool in Oss. De Waterman organized this event to mark their 40-year anniversary. On 16 June 2018, a freediver, Roland Piccoli, ironed a T-shirt at a depth of 42 m (138 ft) in the world's deepest pool (Y-40) in Montegrotto Terme Italy.
Related activities Extreme Ironing has inspired other forms of unusual extreme activity, such as
Extreme Cello Playing. ==In popular culture==