Every year in the world there are more and more sports that allow people to cripple themselves. But injuries are just one side of the coin. On the other - adrenaline, an indescribable sensation of balancing on the verge of life and death, a way to break out of routine life.
It is important to take safety measures responsibly, not to start training unprepared, not to train on your own, and then injuries can be avoided.
When compiling a rating of the most extreme sports it is difficult to be objective - the degree of danger and the sensation of sensations are very individual, and fatal outcomes are usually hidden.
Your chances of dying while playing sports (infographic)
10. Climbing
A type of active pastime, which is a type of mountaineering, is climbing an artificial climbing wall or natural relief (rocks). By and large, this pastime is not associated with risk and is even good for health. But there are subtypes (on-site, solo, rock climbing on a natural terrain along unprepared tracks), when an athlete is in danger of breaking and falling, then it is possible to earn a fracture, dislocation or concussion. It is important to have physical fitness, observe safety precautions and carefully select and test equipment.
9. Rafting
Sports rafting on special inflatable boats (rafts) along stormy mountain rivers or artificial canals in Russia appeared relatively recently. This is a rather dangerous hobby, especially on routes of category 3–6. The main difficulties for rafting can be: overcoming large stone rapids and waterfalls; getting into “barrels” (obstacles with blockage) and underwater pockets-cavities; remoteness from civilization and, as a rule, lack of communication with rescue services.
In this sport, extreme sportsmen are not safe from injuries and hypothermia: during rafting, athletes can be thrown out of the raft and go under water or hit rocky obstacles. Therefore, there is a risk of breaking something, knocking out a joint or getting bruised and scratched. For inexperienced adventurers there is the so-called commercial rafting as part of boating.
8. Motorsport
In motorcycle sport there are now a lot of disciplines: speedway, motorcycle trial, etc. Many of them are united by high speed, complexity of the track, low protection of the athlete, despite the equipment, and injury risk. In addition to high-speed disciplines, there is, for example, motor-freestyle, which is the performance of acrobatic stunts in ski jumping on cross-country motorcycles.
Some recognize motorcycling as the most dangerous, but little has been written about injuries in this sport. It was found out that according to statistics, about 90% of riders had injuries under the age of 17 years. At the same time, 57% of athletes earned injuries when jumping. Basically, these are injuries of the spine, concussion, joint sprains, fractures of the wrists and collarbone. Yet there are others, much more extreme competitions.
7. Rodeo
A traditional sport for North Americans that has historically originated among cowboys. There are several types of competitions: horse racing on a wild bull or horse (saddled or not), catching a bull on a lasso, blocking, etc. Extreme sports here are off scale: a wild and frisky animal can easily trample a rider. At the same time, a rodeo is considered the shortest sport - it takes only 8 seconds to hold on to an angry 800 kilogram bull.
To minimize the risks for the athlete, “bullfighters” are involved in the rodeo with the bulls, which distract the animal if the cowboy falls. But this does not save most riders from numerous injuries. It is noteworthy that the earnings of the most famous cowboys go to their treatment.
6. Street climbing
Another extreme sport was invented in the USA in the 70s, but after a few years official competitions were discontinued. Its essence lies in the high-speed descent of lying on the boards along the asphalt public roads, in close proximity to traffic. It is like bobsled with obstacles, only there are no brakes on the skateboard and riders do not have a normal view. Therefore, when braking, they use their legs and hands, well, or corny crash into a suitable obstacle.
It is not difficult to imagine how dangerous and traumatic this entertainment is. Of course, “athletes” do not neglect protective ammunition: they use helmets, shields, gloves and knee pads, but there is very little guarantee of protection.
5. Speed riding (speed gliding)
Very young, combining paragliding, parachuting and downhill skiing, sports. Speed riders use a special kind of glider (wing or speed gliding) and downhill skiing to quickly go down the slope. Part of the way extremals soars through the air.
Sport is very dangerous and involves the development of high speeds (up to 100 km / h), which is prohibited on many ski slopes, and athletes are called reckless. Speed riders themselves use only unused slopes for descents. Of course, the level of training for speed riding should be at its best, and even more so you can not learn on your own.
4. Cave diving (cave diving)
This extreme hobby is associated with technical submersion in caves under water. At first glance, this sport may seem simple, but in fact there are difficulties, such as the impossibility of instant ascent, absolute darkness, low temperatures, difficult terrain, health problems, etc. Extremely serious preparation, reliable equipment and debugged equipment. In terms of danger, such diving can be compared to feeding sharks: more than 400 divers have already buried caves in central Florida alone
3. Slackline
The third place in the ranking is Slacklining, or walking along a sling stretched between objects. This requires strong nylon or polyester, but not very tight, ropes. If the rope is not stretched tightly, then if necessary it can be stretched like an elastic band.
The degree of tension depends on the goals and objectives of the balancer. It is easier to move around and stretch like a string, and perform various dangerous tricks. Also, the athlete chooses the presence or absence of insurance. By the way, the balancer when walking on a sling can not be used. The world record for the highest slackline was recorded in 2016 by Stefan Sigrist on the slopes of Kilimanjaro.
2. Heli-ski
A variety of skiing is one of the most extreme in the world. It is a helicopter jump and descent along an untouched and unprepared slope. Using air transport allows you to find various options for snowy tracks, where in another way there is no way to quickly climb.
The main danger for skiers comes from possible snow avalanches and unexpected obstacles, such as dips hidden under the infusion or trees that suddenly appeared and rocks clumped with snow. That is why, to ensure their own safety, the skier must have avalanche sensors, a shovel and other equipment to search for people during an avalanche.
1. BASE jumping
In some countries, base jumping is prohibited by law. Still, one of the most dangerous extreme sports is jumping with a special parachute from various objects located at low altitude. B.A.S.E. Is an acronym from English words: building (building, house), antenna (antenna), span (bridge, ceiling), earth (earth), which is a list of fixed objects for performing base jumps. The moment of flight takes very little time, and there is a chance not to have time to choose the correct position when opening the dome or to encounter an obstacle from a gust of wind.
Attempts to jump independently, without skills and professional equipment, for example, from a high-rise building, as a rule, lead to serious injuries or death. Between 1981 and 2011, more than 150 incidents were recorded: up to 15 people die each year during the jumps.
