List of Extreme Sports, Action Sports and Adventure Sports

Extreme sports, also known as action or adventure sports, are activities that involve high risk, skill, and adrenaline. They often include speed, height, intense physical effort, and specialized gear. This list includes some of the most popular and thrilling sports across land, water, snow, and air.

🪂 Air & Gravity Sports

These sports involve speed, altitude, or aerial movement, often pushing physical and psychological limits.

• Skydiving – Jumping from an aircraft and deploying a parachute mid-air.
• Bungee jumping – Leaping from a height while secured by an elastic cord.
• Paragliding – Gliding through the air with a parachute-like canopy from high elevations.
• Wingsuiting – Gliding horizontally through the air wearing a wingsuit before parachuting down.
• BASE jumping – Parachuting from fixed objects like buildings, cliffs, or bridges.
• Hang gliding – Soaring through the air with a lightweight, non-motorized glider.
• Air racing – High-speed racing with small aircrafts around a fixed aerial course.
• Skysurfing – Performing aerial tricks while attached to a board during freefall.
• Cliff jumping – Jumping from cliffs into natural bodies of water, usually without equipment.
• Extreme ironing – Ironing clothes in extreme outdoor or dangerous locations.

🌊 Water Sports

Sports performed on or in water, ranging from high-adrenaline rides to technical diving challenges.

• Surfing – Riding ocean waves while standing on a surfboard.
• Scuba diving – Underwater diving using a self-contained breathing apparatus.
• Kitesurfing – Surfing while being pulled by a large controllable kite.
• Wakeboarding – Being towed behind a boat while performing tricks on a board.
• Whitewater kayaking – Navigating rough river rapids in a small kayak.
• Snorkeling – Observing underwater life near the surface with a snorkel mask and tube.
• Freediving – Diving deep underwater on a single breath, without scuba gear.
• Jetskiing – Riding high-powered personal watercrafts at speed.
• Water skiing – Gliding across water while being towed on skis.
• Windsurfing – Riding a board powered by a sail across water surfaces.
• Bodyboarding – Riding waves while lying on a short, soft board.
• Technical diving – Advanced scuba diving involving deeper dives and gas mixtures.
• Waveski – Surfing on a paddle-powered kayak-style board.
• Cave diving – Underwater diving in water-filled caves using scuba gear.
• Foiling – Surfing or sailing with a hydrofoil that lifts the board above water.
• Winging – Riding a hydrofoil board while holding a handheld wing for propulsion.
• Flowriding – Riding artificial standing waves on a short board.
• Canyoning – Navigating through canyons using swimming, rappelling, and climbing.

❄️ Snow & Ice Sports

Winter sports that take place on snow or ice, requiring balance, control, and often high-speed skills.

• Snowboarding – Sliding down snowy slopes on a single board with bindings.
• Freestyle skiing – Aerials, moguls, and terrain park tricks on skis.
• Extreme skiing – Skiing steep, dangerous, and often off-piste terrain.
• Alpine ski racing – Competitive downhill skiing with gates and timed runs.
• Freeskiing – Performing tricks and jumps on skis in parks and natural terrain.
• Ski jumping – Jumping from long ramps and flying through the air on skis.
• Snowmobiling – Riding over snow using motorized sleds.
• Bobsleigh – Racing down icy tracks in an aerodynamic sled.
• Ice climbing – Scaling frozen waterfalls or icy rock faces using tools.
• Ice diving – Diving under frozen lakes or seas using scuba gear.
• Snocross – Competitive snowmobile racing on motocross-style tracks.
• Ice canoeing – Racing canoes across frozen and icy river routes.
• Ice yachting – Racing sailboats mounted on blades across frozen lakes.

🏞️ Land Sports

Ground-based extreme sports using wheels, boards, or physical movement in natural or urban terrain.

• Skateboarding – Riding and doing tricks on a four-wheeled board.
• BMX – Performing tricks and racing on small, durable bicycles.
• Mountain biking – Riding bicycles off-road on challenging mountain terrain.
• Motocross – High-speed dirt bike racing on rugged off-road tracks.
• Rock climbing – Scaling natural or artificial vertical rock faces.
• Parkour – Moving efficiently through environments using jumps, vaults, and climbs.
• Freerunning – Expressive, acrobatic movement through urban spaces.
• Longboarding – A longer form of skateboarding focused on cruising and downhill racing.
• Mountaineering – Climbing high-altitude mountains with technical skill and endurance.
• Mountainboarding – A mix of snowboarding and skateboarding on off-road wheels.
• Freeride biking – Riding steep, natural terrain with tricks and jumps.
• Motorcycle sport – Competitive riding of motorcycles on various terrains and circuits.
• Inline skating – Skating on wheels arranged in a single line, often involving tricks.
• Street luge – Racing down paved roads while lying flat on a wheeled board.
• Rallying – High-speed car racing on dirt, gravel, and off-road tracks.
• Land windsurfing – Using a wind-powered sail mounted to a wheeled board on land.
• Slacklining – Balancing and walking on a tensioned flat rope between two points.
• Ironman Triathlon – An ultra-distance race combining swim, bike, and run events.
• Freestyle scootering – Performing stunts with reinforced scooters in skateparks.
• Extreme pogo – Doing high jumps and tricks with advanced pogo sticks.
• Volcano boarding – Sliding down a volcano slope on a reinforced board.
• Sandboarding – Surfing down sand dunes with a board.