It’s a warm and sunny afternoon in Northern California and Sion Milosky, confident from surfing some of the best waves all day, sees a wave building in the distance that he knows will be a monster. He begins to paddle with the wave, and stands tall.
The wave is 25 feet high. It knocks Milosky off his board. Twenty minutes later his body is found.
Milosky, like many others, died doing a sport he loved. While all sports pose some sort of a threat of being dangerous, there are some that are more dangerous than others.
More traditional sports, such as football, basketball, and baseball are played in a controlled environment. They are often called off or postponed because of a bad weather threat. They are also predictable; if a baseball if hit your way, you throw it to where the out will be. If the ball is thrown to you, you run with it and avoid the opponents. On the other hand, if you are skiing down a snow covered mountain, most likely you aren’t anticipating an avalanche, a bump in the mountain, or an unexpected change in the weather.
If you think getting a concussion from a football game is bad, imagine getting thrown off a raging bull, and then getting trampled. Imagine diving into an underwater cage and running out of oxygen. Imagine BMX-ing up a ramp, losing your grip of the bike in mid-air, and landing on your neck.
According to studies and research, the top most dangerous sports include Hali Skiing, (a form of extreme skiing) Base Jumping, White Water Rafting, BMX, Rock Climbing, Street Luging, (lying on a longboard riding down a steep hill) Big Wave Surfing, Bull Riding, Cave Diving, and Scuba Diving.
It’s quite hard to find many people who participate in these extreme sports, due to the high risks. Those who take part, know the dangers, but choose to do it anyway because they simply love it, and or find thrill in it.
When VHS Junior Madison Misuro was asked if she would partake in any of such sports she replied excitedly “I would definitely Base Jump, Scuba Dive, and even Bull Ride,” and when I asked her why she said “I’m pretty much an adrenaline junky, I think the people who do things like that are awesome and even though the risk of injuries is high, you can’t go through life being scared.”
Like Madison, many people would or have only done these things once, or because it is a once in a lifetime type of thing. If you like to live on the edge, then you may sign up to do these deadly sports for fun, not because you are professional. If you’re willing to take a chance, you also have to be willing to lay down quite the amount of money. One Scuba session can cost $550. Even though it’s expensive, the experience is unforgettable.
Can you imagine this? Your nerves begin to kick in, and that feeling in the pit of your stomach doesn’t come and go unnoticed. The crowd is in uproar, but is muffled in your ears. The beads of sweat drip down your forehead. The bull you sit upon begins to kick and jolt a little behind the gates. Someone reassuringly pats you on the shoulder saying “you got this,” but you’re too shocked to even look at them. You close your eyes and another voice asks you if you’re ready. You nod, because the adrenaline has taken over, and it’s now or never. You give the bull a light friendly tap, and anticipate what’s ahead. The horn goes off and the bull is released.
If that situation is hard to imagine, and you can’t see yourself in those shoes, then venture instead to a nice quiet beach, or go play some Wiffle Ball, because the most dangerous sports in the world are most definitely NOT for you.
