10 Most Dangerous Sports You’re Not Tough Enough To Play

If you are athletic, then you are probably fit enough to play most sports recreationally. However, there are some sports that are just not made for the emotionally fragile or those who lack grit.

Check out this list of the ten most dangerous sports you may not be tough enough to play.

1. Base Jumping

People who watch base jumpers free fall from antennas, buildings, and other tall structures often consider them insane, or the sport itself a suicidal one. Adrenaline junkies who participate in this sport are only equipped with hand-deployed parachutes that narrowly protect them from the trauma associated with the accelerated descent.

If you ask the members of the International Pro Base circuit, they will right away tell you base jumping is the answer to the query “what is the most dangerous sport?” as it claims the lives of 5 to 15 jumpers on an annual basis. Despite this startling figure, pro base jumpers cannot help but launch themselves from the highest towers of the earth.

2. Cave Diving

As one of the world’s most dangerous sports, cave diving gets you the chance to explore uncharted territories–but not without the steep price! If you are into this sport, you may put yourself at risk of getting in cramped spaces, suffering from hostile animal attacks, decompression sickness, and freezing to death in ice cold and low-visibility waters. Since the 1960s, the death toll has already exceeded the dreaded 500 mark.

3. High-Altitude Climbing

Mt. Everest is the highest peak in the entire planet, and unfortunately, it is witness to the demise of a number of individuals who tried to reach its summit. High-altitude climbing, or the act of ascending to high mountains like Everest, is known as one of the most dangerous sports in the world. It is said that 1 out 6 climbers die en route to the paramount of Everest; a total of 179 people have already perished since the ever person reached the peak. If the track does not take the climber’s life, he might reach the base camp suffering from pneumonia, frostbite, and hypothermia or hypoxia.

4. Motorcycle Racing

If you are curious as to what the most dangerous sport on wheels is, then the definite answer is motorcycle racing. Obstacles like trees, rocks, even bugs on one’s helmet windshields can turn the racetrack into a death zone. Perhaps the most infamous motorcycle racing event that has claimed several lives is the Isle of Man TT event, which has registered a total of 220 deaths for the past century that it was played.

5. Bull Riding

In this high-risk sport, the rider needs to keep himself mounted on his bull as long as he can, while the animal tries all its might to get rid of him. In order to win, the rider needs to last at least eight seconds on top of the bull. If he does not, he runs a higher risk of getting thrown several feet away into the air. And worst, he might land on to solid ground, possibly fracturing his bones or losing his life.

6. Surfing

When you first look at surfing, you may never consider it as one of the most dangerous sports in the world. After all, the panorama is perfect—ripped surfers riding big, blue waves. Yet while surfing might look too glamorous to be perilous, it does cause many surfers to risk their lives every time they launch themselves into the water. Apart from drowning and obtaining fractures and crash injuries, they are also at risk of becoming tasty meals to bloodthirsty sharks. Oftentimes, they are unfortunate victims to the sting of the box jellyfish and other poisonous marine creatures.

7. Street Luging

Road luge or land luge is a gravity-powered sport where a sled-borne rider confronts a number of swerves and unpredictable road blocks at devil-may-care speeds. Not only is street lugging considered as one of the most dangerous sports for riders, it is deemed perilous for onlookers as well.

First played professionally in Signal Hill, California, road luge caused numerous injuries to riders and sightseers alike that the figures forced the organizers to stop the event. However, that did not deter extreme athletes from playing this game. Despite imposing safety regulations, the organizers were still not able to prevent the injuries, fractures, and other health problems obtained by those who traverse downhill roads at insane speeds.

8. River Rafting

Like surfing, river rafting is known to many as one of the most dangerous sports in the waters. Here, you need to paddle alongside other paddlers, and do it as hard as you can to get through the raging waters. While it is fun for most, the reality is that a paddler can put himself at risk despite wearing a helmet. If you get tossed out of the raft, the unpredictable river current and sharp rocks might lead to bruises, injuries, fractures, and even drowning, all of which, if not attended to immediately, can lead to death.

9. Football

Considered one the most injury prone sport in the world, football holds the record for injury rate at 4.85%. For 2012 alone, the sport registered a total of 274,555 head injuries. It also registered the following cases: 144,896 shoulder injuries, 98,565 lower trunk injuries, 88,234 lower trunk injuries, and 88,266 lower trunk injuries.

10. Cheerleading

After football players, the people who are likely to suffer from a variety of injuries are their courtside muses – the cheerleaders. While cheerleading doesn’t look tough from the outside, cheerleading is actually one of the most dangerous sports around, since the participants are always at risk of falling on hard floor. Despite the presence of floor cushions, cheerleaders can suffer severe head injuries from a pyramid or a toss gone wrong. A total of more than 20,000 cheerleading-related injuries have been recorded by far.

While sports are meant to foster athleticism, discipline, and camaraderie, there are just some of them that can be bone-crunching and are insanely unsound. Now that you have read the items on this list, try to see if you can dare to try them out.