10 Extreme Sports That Can Get You Killed | Deadliest Sports

November 30, 2020 By Sourav

Extreme sports, otherwise also called adventure sports or action sports are not for those with weak hearts. There are certain sports that have a high level of danger involved and they often include grilling physical exertion, lighting speed, dizzying heights, and other scary things. Although the origin of extreme sports is not specific, it largely gained popularity in the '90s and companies started taking notice. Here is the list of sports that can get you killed.

10 Extreme Sports That Can Get You Killed

It created a buzz in the media after the launch of Extreme Sports Channel and later Extreme.com. The adrenaline rush that these kinds of diverse sports issued made it an instant hit with the young generation. So gear up for some of the most extreme sports that are both risky (like, could-die risky) and exciting.

Ice Climbing

Ice climbing is exactly how it sounds – dangerous. This game is in the top spot in our list of extreme sports that can get you killed.

Enthusiasts climb ice-covered cliffs, frozen waterfalls, and icefalls, which requires guts and technical knowledge on how to deal with soft, hard, and tough ice. Climbers, for the sake of their benefit, have divided ice formations into two kinds – water ice and alpine ice. While water ice is the frozen ice found on waterfalls or any kind of outcropping beneath a stream of flowing water, alpine ice is found on mountains (the kind of ice mountaineers climb attempting to reach the summit).

Fun Fact: There’s a certain kind of climbing called ‘mixed climbing’ which is basically a combination of both rock climbing and ice climbing.

Freeflying

Freeflying is a discipline in skydiving where the divers besides diving in the traditional belly towards the earth position, also dive vertical (feet towards the earth or head towards the earth position). Doing this accelerates the speed and provides opportunities for new types of formations.

Olav Zipser (now known as the ‘Father of Freefly’) first invented the sport, Freeflying. In the 1980s he came up with this discipline while experimenting and later, in 1992 he founded the FreeFly Clowns who opened the first free-flying school. Zipser organized a competitive game called the Space Games where the best divers would come together and provide Zipser an opportunity to research, document, and judge.

Freestyle scooting

Somewhat similar to skateboarding and BMXing, freestyle scooting involves performing freestyle tricks while riding kick scooters.

Throughout the 70s and early 80s, kick scooters became massively popular and massively produced until skateboards and pushbikes came into the scene. Thanks to the design of kick scooters Riders can use a number of structures (similar to skateboards or bikes) vertical ramps, rails, etc. in a skatepark. In the streets, riders face more versatile structures where they can learn and perform interesting tricks. Parking lots and driveways are also some of the most popular places for practicing freestyle scootering. But unfortunately, the sport has had its heyday and now is declining.

Freeskiing

Also known as new school skiing, this kind of skiing specifically designed to perform tricks by using a number of cool moves like jumping through obstructions. Freediving is in the 4th place in our list of extreme sports that can get you killed.

Since its origin, freeskiing has become rapidly popular so much so that currently there are four freestyle skiing events in the Olympics. Today there are a number of professional freestyle skiers who participate in competitive games or some who don’t compete at all and only produce videos.

Fun facts: In the 1990s growing freestyle skiers, facing restrictions from International Ski Federation (FIS) began experimenting in skateboard parks and eventually developed tricks and styles influenced by skateboarding.

Flowriding

Also known as flowboarding, is one hell of an extreme sport that involves elements of skimboarding, surfing, wakeboarding, skateboarding, snowboarding, and bodyboarding.

The challenge is to ride and perform tricks while riding artificial waves in a small area. The waves are called ‘sheet waves’ and they are pumped at a speed between 20 MPH to 30 MPH. Depending on the type of board the riders choose, flowriding is of two types – bodyboard and flowboard. Although there are many different kinds of ‘area’ where the riders ride their board, two, namely the ‘Wave Loch Flow Barrel’ and White ‘Water West Single, Double, and Triple Flow Riders’ are the most recognized ones.

Hand Gliding

It’s a kind of air sports where the rider launches a non-motorized hand-glider by pushing against the edge of a cliff with his foot. Hand gliding deserves the 9th spot in our list of most dangerous extreme sports.

The rider hangs on the harness suspending from the wing-frame and changes the direction of the glider by shifting her/his body weight; although these days some hand-gliders come with control systems too. Now as for the glider, it's light-weighted and is normally made of aluminum alloy or a composite frame covered with sailcloths that form wings of the glider.

Fun Fact: Historically gliding first found in China as early as the end of the 6th century. At that time they made gigantic kites that could sustain the weight of an ordinary man.

Airsoft

It’s a sport where two teams endeavor to eliminate their opponents by fake-shooting using Airsoft pellets via Airsoft guns. Airsoft deserves the 8th spot in our list of extreme sports.

The pellets are spherical and non-metallic and the guns are designed to closely emulate real guns. The style and composition of the game vary ranging from the re-enactment of historical events to a regular enactment of combat situations on the battlefield. Participants use Military tactics and organized scenarios to bring each member of the opposing team down.

Airsoft had its origin in Japan and became popular following its spread in the United Kingdom in the 80s. Today, many law enforcement agencies in the United States use this game as a military drill.

Aggressive inline skating

In in-line skating, the skates are designed in a manner that allows greater speed and better maneuver compared to regular roller skates.

And an extreme form of in-line skating is aggressive inline skating where the focus lies on the execution of spinning and grinding. Athletes performed these kinds of skating in parks that provide plenty of rails and ledges to grind on.

Rollerblade Inc manufactured the first aggressive in-line skate in 1988. But, it developed as real organized sports until the 1990s. And from 1994, this form of skating has been subject to many skating films.

Caving

Also known as spelunking and potholing, is different to cave diving or speleology (a scientific study of the cave environment). Caving is in the 6th spot in our list of extreme sports that can get you killed.

This one of the most dangerous games simply means exploring the caves for fun as a pastime activity. Besides the almost complete absence of light beyond the entrance, the cavers face several hazards. So, despite the recreational pursuit, one needs preparation and dares to do caving. The skills required to pull-off caving is somewhat similar to that required for mining or urban exploration.

Though pioneered by Édouard-Alfred Martel in France in 1889, caving didn’t become as popular as today until the 1930s. In contemporary times, with the advent of modern caving gears and safety equipment, many cavers dislike the sports being termed as ‘extreme sports’.

Freediving

In freediving, one needs to hold her/his breath and go deep underwater and resurface. This sport deserves the top spot in our list of extreme sports that can get you killed.

Freediving activities can be competitive (like underwater rugby or hockey or football, spearfishing, synchronized swimming, etc) and non-competitive (like traditional fishing, etc). Historically, people practiced freediving in search of food or for harvesting or recovering resources. Under extreme sports, freediving attracts large audiences who cheer competitors trying to cover great distances or depths or time on a single breath. Currently, there are two international associations - AIDA International (International Association for Development of Apnea) and CMAS (World Underwater Federation) who organize freediving competitions.

Do you know some other sports that can get you killed? If yes, then let us know in the comments section below.