by Marisa Hefflefinger

Created on: April 30, 2008   Last Updated: May 15, 2008

Extreme sports are activities with a high level of danger based on speed, height, physical exertion, and chance of serious injury or death. All extreme sports are risky, hence the name extreme, and leave athletes "amped," or overcome by an adrenaline rush. Although that is most likely the appeal of it, certain activities pose more danger than the rest.

River Surfing

Surfing in an ocean is dangerous if you take into account the animals that could be lurking for food and the fierceness of waves that can crash down upon your tiny body, as in the recent big wave surfing. However, a new branch of surfing has taken over South America and is slowly creeping into the United States.

In river surfing, popular along the Amazon, the surfer rides a tidal bore, water that has come in from rising tidal waves, and attempts to go for miles. Now, instead of sharks, you have the alligators to contend with, and aside from the simple fear of drowning as the water sucks you under, you must dodge rocks and tree branches along the way.

Cliff Diving

Olympic pool diving is a sport with difficult techniques that must be practiced. Although the beauty (and high score) of that perfect dive is something all divers hope for, there is little risk. I suppose there is a chance in you-know-where of diving too low and hitting the bottom, but it is not likely. There have been instances of a diver smacking his head off the platform, ala Greg Louganis in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea. But again, the odds are slim.

Those fear-seekers who want to up the ante of traditional diving can try cliff diving. In much the same goal of a beautiful jump, divers leap from a cliff edge into the pool of water below. Cliff diving can reach heights of 28 meters, roughly 91 feet. When falling so far, acceleration increases and divers must have a tight vertical form upon entering the water so to avoid bodily contortion, similar to that sustained after jumping off a building onto the cement. As if that weren't enough to worry about, divers must also be aware of shallow areas and jagged rocks, since the visibility is not clear like in a swimming pool.

Sledging

Take a canoe, cut off the back half, lay stomach-down inside, slide into the water donning a wetsuit, helmet, and flippers, and race down the rapids. There you have it - sledging. This cross between white water rafting and boogie-boarding was invented in Europe and popularized in New Zealand. It has the same hazards as rafting - rocks and, of course, drowning - but

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