Rowenta Sponsors Extreme Ironing Sport and Website

German iron maker Rowenta has brought the sport of Extreme Ironing to the US -- the only global sport that combines a household chore with an extreme sport. Participants, according to the Rowenta press release, release "like to mix the thrill of danger with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt."

The US tour began in Boston and concludes on Memorial Day with a grand finale in Times Square. Meanwhile, extreme ironers are ironing while rock climbing, boating, parachute jumping, and scuba diving. (Since extreme ironers must wait for the invention of solar- and battery-charged irons, they heat their irons with portable gas burners, campfires and generators. I have no idea how they iron under water.)

America can watch the extreme ironers press through a tour of American landmarks at the Extreme Ironing Website ñ which is yet another missed opportunity for a blog.

The site uses the tried and true PR gimmick, the information bureau in the form of the Extreme Ironing Bureau; a photo gallery to which ironers can upload photos and stories and videos and FAQs, news of events, competitions, and proof that it got into the 2004 Guinness Book of Records.

The photos on the site are dark and for the most part too small to see clearly, and navigation is clumsy. But the idea is big fun, so take a look.

Rowenta estimates that, presently, 1,000 people (2003 figs) around the world take part in extreme ironing. Over 80 people competed at the World Championships in Munich in Sept 2002.

The tour has generated a minimal amount of press coverage, including The
International Herald Tribune.

When asked how long before the sport of Extreme Ironing takes off in America, Steam, one of the world's top EIs, replied, "It's just around the corner -- I'm currently campaigning for it to become an Olympic sport."

42 people online in extreme ironing forums when I visited. Go figure...

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