The sport that is 'extreme ironing' is an outdoor activity that combines the danger and excitement of an 'extreme' sport with the satisfaction of a well pressed shirt. It involves taking an iron and board (if possible) to remote locations and ironing a few items of laundry. This can involve ironing on a mountainside, preferably on a difficult climb, or taking an iron skiing, snowboarding or canoeing.

All over the world. Browse the galleries and find out what has been done before.

It all started in the city of Leicester in the UK, in the summer of 1997. When mild mannered Steam, returned home after a long day in the knitwear factory, the last thing he wanted to do was start on a pile of ironing. The sun was shining and Phil preferred the idea of an evening out pursuing his (somewhat unsuccessful) hobby of rock climbing. Then it occurred to him to combine these activities into an extreme sport - the result: extreme ironing.

From there it was taken al over the country and when the website was launched ei was taken up all over the world.

The fearless!
Anybody with a penchant for peril can try EI, but be warned, it's addictive! For the low-down of some of the Extreme Ironing Bureau (EIB) members go to the who's who page.

Budding extreme ironists are advised to start ironing in the safety of their back garden, before progressing to mountainsides, woods or public places. The basic equipment is an iron and board. Ironists are also advised to take full safety equipment such as harnesses, ropes and helmets where appropriate.
Info here

Domestic ironing is usually done indoors - fairly boring right? Well the first step is to take it outside and add a bit of risk. This might mean ironing on a particularly difficult mountain climb, or taking your iron and board 20 metres underwater with full scuba gear. The only limit is your imagination. Just remember to plan your extreme ironing carefully. Pay attention to weather conditions as they change quickly in the mountains and never extreme iron on your own. The nature of some extreme iron sessions is such that it would be foolhardy to attempt them without backup.

In the beginning extreme ironists used (very long) extension cords, but soon realised that unless they wanted to be limited by taking a generator with them, a new solution would be needed. Starch and Hotplate are at the forefront of battery powered irons, whilst in Germany, Dr Iron Q has developed geothermics, a method of tapping in to the earth's energy supply to power the iron - with mixed results.

The Extreme Ironing Bureau (EIB) is the ruling body of the now semi-official sport. It is the central contact for all nations, it also runs the British section.

Are there any other clubs/groups other than the EIB? There are groups in Germany, New Zealand, South Africa and Colorado, US. The German EI Section has its own website - http://extremeironing.info/ . The EIB is looking for more EI international ironing organisations to be started. If you'd like to do this, please contact the membership helpdesk at the EIB.

Presently it is estimated that up to 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.

Yes.
Please submit your pictures to the readers irons gallery here. Send all info (e.g. Name, date, location, etc...) to pics@extremeironing.com

Cool - let us know. Choose a random contact from above and mail us

Starch - That's a brilliant idea. An ecologically friendly portable ironing fuel source. We've never seen a "natural" gas powered iron but somebody must have built one. I'd suggest testing your method on dark coloured garments at first.

There's not a 2004 calendar, but it's a real possibility for 2005. Keep an eye on the extreme ironing shop for info.

Go for! it and make sure you send us some pictures for readers irons.

We'd love to sell branded clothing. See the ironing forum for a discussion on this very subject.

You could take a small board without legs. Or strap one to your feet? As far as the iron goes, you could get one heated by mains electricity or by gas and iron quickly before it goes cold. It's not like you're going to have a lot of time to perfect your collars and cuffs is it?

There are occasions where the danger and the thrill of extreme ironing are more exciting than the actual ironing.

There might well be. We're being a bit tight-lipped about the next World Champs as it's subject to sponsorship negotiations.

Should there be a World Champs in the next year, then Britain is on the shortlist of countries expected to host the event.

Sure thing, send me, steam@extremeironing.com, you're contact details and I'll forward what I have to you.
Iron on
Steam

Not until later in the year, but until then there's the Rowenta trophy where we'll be offering prizes for the best example of ironing in extreme conditions!

Underwater ironing has its own set of problems, not least amongst them the difficulty of keeping an iron hot when immersed in cold water. Extreme pressure on the garments seems to be the only way of removing creases under these conditions.

Ever since a couple of British climbers claimed the world extreme ironing altitude record by pressing a garment on the Weissmeis in Switzerland, there have been a wave of ironists claiming extreme ironing records. Whilst the EIB, is a fairly laid back organisation, we have had to put together a few "rules" before we can verify an "official" new record.

Board size: A miniature board is ok (although we prefer to see full sized boards wherever possible). However, it can't be one of those tiny boards. It needs to be at least 1 metre long, 30 centimeters at the widest point and have legs.

Irons: No plastic toys irons, they must be real irons. Travel irons are fine.

Garment: Any garment is suitable, but it must be at least the size of a tea towell. It's hardly impressive to iron a handkerchief.

Ironing: There must be visual proof of ironing (a photo or video clip) and it should be at a recognisable and verifiable landmark. For example, there's enough pictures of the top of Everest to verify that one. And, it sounds stupid, but you MUST be outdoors - no indoor ironing counts.

Type of record: We've had people ironing near the top of Everest (height) and through the Blue Hole off the Egyptian coast (depth) but there's still plenty of records to go for yet. We'll leave it to your imagination...

Iron on
Steam

There's not a print magazine about extreme ironing, although I'm sure you've seen the regular flow of news on the site. For more news check out the "News Topics" button on the left hand side.

Kinder Scout in the Peak District is one of my favourite places, but no it wasn't us. That's the beauty of extreme ironing - it's an underground sport with people doing it all around the world just for the hell of it. Join us ironing fans.... you know you want to!

Like you, I was very impressed with the Hot Plate Brothers' efforts, however, by their own admission, they didn't iron at the top of the mountain, so that means that John Carrick has the record for the time being. However, we're not all that bothered about records in the EIB - it's the taking part that counts.

Please email me at steam@extremeironing.com with any questions not covered in the FAQ - but please, check the FAQ first as we do get quite a few requests...

Try the Rowenta website? Despite our allegiance to Rowenta irons, we don't have anything to do with their markeing, returns, product registration etc. ;-)

The main thing is to make sure that you do your extreme ironing safely and only let people do things that are within their capabilities. To make it more "newsworthy" you probably need to come up with some sort of angle, such as breaking a record - eg the most people ironing up a tree or the oldest person extreme ironing. Check out the FAQ on legitimate extreme ironing records by making sure you have all the right equipment. Also, invite the local press; you can get the details inside any newspaper. Finally, get some pics, upload them to the Readers Irons galleries and let us know how you get on. Iron on! Steam

Shaw - otherwise known as Steam

Erm, via the manufacturer's website...?

Stick it up in the Galleries in Readers Irons Submissions and we'll take a look at it. Just don't make it too big please ;-)

We're not selling the calendar online this year, but you can get it from all good calendar shops and some websites (mainly in the US, I'm afraid).

Try...
http://www.calendars.com/xq/asp/TID.%7B8B19E5C5-47E0-423E-942E-8C07FB55E30A%7D/PID.1/MGID.2773/IID.22808/qx/product.htm