List Extreme Sports: Extreme sports are associated with the emotion of intense thrill. Here we have a list of extreme sports with pictures. The main characteristics of extreme sports are high speed and high risk.
Some of the most common extreme sports are Bungee Jumping, Free Climbing, Mountaineering, Skiing, Scuba Diving, and many more. Some rope adventure sports or sports which involve the use of ropes are Bungee Jumping, Free Climbing, Rock Climbing and Mountaineering.
Some people enjoy extreme sports a lot because of the thrill these activities provide.
Extreme sports, also known as action sports, extreme adventure sports or alternative sports, often involve a high degree of speed risk height and physical toil.
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They are highly dangerous and may lead to serious injuries and sometimes death. Nevertheless, extreme sports are practiced by sportsman to provide maximum entertainment and make a fortune. There are many benefits of extreme sports.
This article contains a list of extreme sports along with detailed explanations and proper pictures.
List of Extreme Sports
Names of Extreme Sports
- Aggressive Inline Skating
- Base Jumping
- BMX
- Bungee Jumping
- Free Climbing
- Bouldering
- Sand boarding
- Mountain biking
- Rock climbing
- Mountaineering
- Scuba Diving
- Skiing
- Skydiving
Description of the Extreme Sports given on the list
Aggressive Inline Skating
Aggressive inline skating is a variant of inline skating. It began to be recognised as an organised sport in the early 1990s. It can be performed in the streets where the skater makes use of hurdles existing in the streets.
It can be performed in skate parks, which are special, purpose-built locations, made for skateboarding. The skater uses specially designed aggressive inline skates, modified to be tougher and stronger than the usual inline skates. It is one of the fastest-growing participant sports in the world.
BMX
BMX stands for Bicycle Motocross. A BMX bike is used for off-road racing trick, riding and stunt riding. It initially originated in the U.S. in the early 1970s. The riders compete on specially designed dirt tracks that have rollers, jumps and berms before the finish line.
Usually, eight riders compete for the first place in each race. A BMX track usually has a start gate, starting hill, a roller, a step-up, a step-down, a rhythm section, a table top and a finish line. After being released from the start gate, the riders have to race around the track to reach the finish line. It is a very thrilling extreme sport.
Base Jumping
BASE jumping is an extreme sport where trained athletes have to climb to the top of a fixed object and then make a leap. BASE stands for Building, Antennae, Spans and Earth, which are the main categories of fixed objects from where the thrill-seekers jump. It is an extremely dangerous sport.
Unlike skydiving, BASE jumpers have to jump from a much lower altitude. As a result, they get comparatively very less time to open their parachutes or to deal with any other trouble that may arise during the leap.
Bungee Jumping
In bungee jumping or bungy jumping, a person leaps from a high place while being securely connected to a specially designed elastic cord. Bungee jumping is usually performed on natural geographic features such as cliffs and waterfalls.
It is performed because of the thrill that people get during the free-fall and the rebound. The bungee coil stretches when the jumper jumps, and then it recoils. Bungee jumping has led to the creation of some of its variants like Catapult, Bungee Trampoline, Bungee Running and SCAD diving.
Free climbing
Free climbing is gaining massive popularity over the years. It is a kind of rock climbing. In free climbing, the climber has to climb up a steep feature without any artificial aid or special gear.
The climber is allowed to use ropes, but only as a means of protection. The climbers have to find handholds and footholds using their hands and feet in order to move upwards.
Bouldering
Bouldering is a variant of free climbing where the climber has to climb small, artificial rock formations. It is a much safer and easier sport than free climbing as the rock formations are usually not very tall or gigantic.
Very less equipment are required for bouldering. Climbers generally carry just a pair of climbing shoes, some chalk and a crash pad. The chalk helps to keep their hands dry. Though the bouldering problems are short yet they are tricky. The climbers have to use their brain and techniques along with using their balance and strength.
Sandboarding
What happens if we combine skateboarding, snowboarding and surfing? We get Sandboarding – the thrilling extreme sport. It is a type of boardsport. While performing this recreational activity on sand dunes, riders have to stand on a specially designed sandboard and ride across the sand dune.
It is believed that sandboarding was created by ancient Egyptians who used wooden boards to transport heavy goods across the deserts. It is a difficult sport, but can be made easier with the aid of proper equipment.
The major places where sandboarding is practiced are Israel, Australia, Africa, the U.S, South America, Central America, Europe and the United Kingdom. It is very similar to snowboarding. Instead of snow, the riders ride down or across sand dunes.
Mountain biking
Mountain biking is an extreme sport where the rider rides a bicycle over rough off-road trails. It is performed on rough terrain like mountains, rocky hills and deserts. The main equipment needed for the sport is a specially designed mountain bike or mountain bicycle.
They are specialized and modified to be used on rough terrain and unpaved surfaces. Modern designs of mountain bikes have features like gears, suspension and disc brakes. The origin of this extreme sport can be traced back to the 1970s. Performing Mountain biking is not easy. It is an extremely dangerous sport and can lead to serious injuries.
Mountain biking has also developed new disciplines like Enduro, Freeride, Cross-country (XC) Cycling, Trail Riding, Downhill Biking, Dual Slalom, Dirt Jumping, and many more.
Rock climbing
Rock climbing is an extreme sport where the climbers perform the activity of climbing natural rock formations or artificially made rock walls. In Rock Climbing the climbers not only climb up but also down and across the rock formations.
They are allowed to use ropes both for protection and as a climbing aid. The main equipment carried by the people participating in rock climbing are specialized rubber climbing shoes, specialized climbing helmet and protective climbing rope.
The specialized climbing helmet protects the participants from head injuries that may be caused from falling rocks or from crashing into rocks.
While being a dangerous and difficult extreme sport, rock climbing is also very damaging to the environment as it leads to the breaking of natural rock features, damage to plants growing in the cracks, chalk accumulation, soil erosion and several other environmental damages.
Mountaineering
Mountaineering is also known as Alpinism. Some people also refer to it as Mountain Climbing. While performing this extreme sport the participants have to climb up tall, gigantic mountains. The origin of the activity of climbing mountains can be traced to as early as the 4th millennium BC.
The Expedition style and the Alpine style are the two major styles of mountaineering. The climbers or participants of the extreme sport usually take shelter in tents, bivouac sacks, huts and snow caves. Bivouac sacks are emergency shelters carried by mountain climbers for safety purpose as the weather in the mountains can never be predicted accurately.
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary was the first climber confirmed to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Fanny Bullock Workman was the first female Mountaineer who climbed extensively in the Karakoram.
Scuba Diving
Scuba diving is an underwater sport. The term SCUBA stands for “Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus”. It was coined by Christian J. Lambersten. In Scuba Diving, the participant can dive and then swim underwater for a long time.
The divers carry the equipment called the “scuba” with them which helps them to breathe under water. It contains breathing gas’ usually compressed air, and does not have any supply of surface air.
The curiosity and adventure of the world under the seas have attracted a lot of people towards the extreme sport of Scuba diving. The activity of scuba diving provides a lot of fun and enjoyment to the divers
Skiing
Skiing is a great recreational and competitive winter sport. It is also used as a means of transport. The participants performing the sport of Skiing have to glide on snow using special equipment called “skis”. Some sources claim that skiing has been practiced even hundred centuries ago.
There are different types of skiing that have developed over the years. Some of them are Alpine skiing, Nordic skiing and Telemark skiing. One variant of skiing is Sand Skiing where the performer slides on sand and not snow.
Skiing is originally an outdoor sport which is performed during the winters on but it can also be performed indoors, without the use of snow, and also outdoors on grass.
Skydiving
Skydiving is an extreme sport which includes the activities of free-falling and parachuting. While performing this extreme sport, the participants have to jump off from a very high point, usually from an aircraft or any other high place.
The basic difference between skydiving and parachuting is that in parachuting, the participants deploy the parachutes straight away. On the other hand, in skydiving the participants first dive through the atmosphere in free-fall before deploying their parachutes.
The main equipment used by skydivers are a harness system, a main and a reserve canopy and an automatic activation device usually known as AAD. Skydiving is both a recreational and a competitive sport. It is an extremely dangerous sport. Skydiving can lead to serious injuries and sometimes even death.