A list of all the sports that use a board: Which is your favorite?

From skateboards to surfboards, these are sports that use a board and take place in the air, land, snow and sea or a combination of two or more. Over the years, such activities have become more daring and extreme. Dig into the world of daredevils and discover all the sports that are played on a board.

How are board sports played in the world? In these activities, an athlete stands on or rides the specialised equipment while manoeuvring across snow, water, air, paved, or unpaved land throughout its duration. This article dives into the world of extreme physical exercises to bring you a comprehensive list of sports that use boards.

What are the sports that use a board?

By definition, these activities use boards of different makes and sizes as the primary equipment. In some, the athlete stands on the specialised equipment, while others require the player to be strapped on it.

While these extreme physical exercises are primarily played for leisure, recent developments have allowed few to be included in major tournaments such as the Olympics. Scroll down and find out all the best board sports played on formal and informal stages.

What is a sport that uses a board on water?

Various similarities exist between extreme board sports on the water. They are typically characterised by the use of wind, kites, oars or the panel itself to propel participants onto the water's surface. On the other hand, others utilise a player's ability to exercise extreme balance and stability on large water bodies.

1. Surfing

Surfing is one of the most popular water sports and the hardest sport on a board, whose roots originated in ancient Polynesia and spread throughout the world. In it, surfers manoeuvre, breaking waves in oceans or wave pools. This involves getting in a wave, riding it, and getting out of it while standing on paddle or surfboards, the only pieces of equipment.

2. Standup paddleboarding

In this sport that uses a board, participants paddle on the water while standing, sitting or kneeling on a paddle board. Equipment needed for the physical activity includes a paddle, a flotation device, a pump, a leash, a rescue whistle and a flashlight.

3. Wakeboarding

This is one of the most intensive extreme water sports. Its participants seemingly ride an endless wave on a board and are towed behind motorboats at speeds of about 50 km per hour (31.07 miles per hour) while performing aerial jumps. Although debates exist on whether it is a competitive game or a leisure activity, its proposed entry into the Olympics proves otherwise.

4. Kneeboarding

Like in wakeboarding, participants ride on boat-towed paddles at 32.19 km per hour (20 miles per hour). However, glide over the sea while kneeling on the board

5. Kite surfing

Compared to traditional surfing, participants do not have to wait for a breaking wave to surf. In this wind-powered sport, players hold on to a hand-controlled kite while gliding across the water. Skills needed for Kite surfing include the ability to maintain balance while controlling the kite.

6. Riverboarding

In this sport, players surf rushing rapids while laying flat on their bellies on a polyethene foam paddle coated with a hard plastic shell. Also known as hydrospeed rafting, this relatively new physical exercise has become a popular treat for daredevils who enjoy fast descents on rapids.

7. Windsurfing

Windsurfing is a favourite among water enthusiasts who enjoy sailing and surfing. The primary equipment in this physical activity is the board, which has a flexible sail and mast attached to it. The player must learn to control and manipulate the sail while riding. Advanced players can also make complex manoeuvres such as jibes, jumps, and tacks.

8. Bodyboarding

Like surfing, participants in this physical activity primarily ride waves in the sea or ocean. However, in this water sport, players surf a wave's curl, face and crest while lying flat on the board. Participants are leashed onto the board at the bicep or wrist in bodyboard surfing.

8. Skimboarding

Also known as skimming, the sport shares a few similarities with surfing. Like surfing, the player rides a wave in the sea or ocean while standing on a board.

What is the difference between surfing and skimboarding? In skimming, the player runs to the water and glides across the water surface to meet and ride an incoming breaking wave to the shore.

What is a sport that uses a board on land?

Various alternatives to the above water sports exist for land lovers. From neighbourhood pavements to icy slopes, action sports lovers have an unlimited supply of competitive gaming options.

1. Skateboarding

Commercial skateboarding can be traced back to the late 1950s, with earlier versions of the sport being played using crates of wood with roller blades attached. Skaters can play the physical exercise professionally or leisurely by riding and performing tricks on a flat wooden panel with wheels.

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Other Sports

2. Snowboarding

Snowboarders combine elements of skateboarding, surfing, and skiing while descending snow-covered slopes. In the 1920s, the sport evolved from plywood and wooden planks with rope, clotheslines and horse reins used as equipment. Today, the boards are made from fibreglass and strips of laminated hardwood. Additionally, players can join the elite athletes list after the activity debuted in the Olympics in 1998.

3. Street Luge

Land luge, road luge and street luge. This extremely competitive game is known by many names. In this gravity-powered sport, participants race down a sloping steep track on a specialised skateboard where riders lie on their backs, descending feet first.

4. Street boarding

A street boarder is at home in the urban jungle, manoeuvring street obstacles on a specialised skate with ease. Players typically have to move around stairs, guardrails, planter boxes, drainage ditches, and benches, unlike organised skating, where ramps and half pipes are built.

Additionally, the physical activity's main equipment differs from the traditional skateboard. That allows the player to move around obstacles and perform tricks.

5. Mountainboarding

This is a sport that uses a board with the longest name. According to various sources, it is a blend of skating and snowboarding with elements of offroad BMX biking thrown in as players go careening down mountains. Additionally, the most daring players sometimes opt to take on active or dormant volcanic mountains.

6. Caster boarding

This is a sport played on the RipSTIK or swivel board. Players combine their skating, surfing and snowboarding to propel themselves forward and perform tricks and stunts.

7. Ice and land windsurfing

Although windsurfing is typically done in the water, the versions of the sport allow athletes to attach sails on skating equipment and sledges or modified snowboards. Also known as snow surfing, winter windsurfing, ice sailing, ice boating or snow sailing, the earliest ice surfers in the 18th century were known to enjoy this as one of their favourite pastimes

8. Sandboarding

Much like snowboarding, this game requires players to ride down a sand dune. It also contains elements of skiing as athletes make their way down a 'mountain' while standing or crouching on their equipment. Depending on a player's choice, they can lie or sit on the board as they make their way down the dune.

What is a sport that uses a board on air?

The most daring of the board enthusiasts have, in the recent past, taken to the skies. Scroll down and discover which boarding game can be done in the skies.

1. Skysurfing

Skysurfing is a combination of skydiving and surfing. Athletes jump from planes with parachutes and specialised surfboards and perform stunts as they make their way onto the ground. Although it was an accepted competitive game in the 1990s and the early 2000s, safety concerns have played a role in its reduced popularity.

Final lap

Sports that use a board can be played competitively and non-competitively on land, snow, ice, water and air. Additionally, since most do not have age restrictions, they make up some of the most sought-after physical activities for all ages.

Sports Brief published an article defining extreme sports and ranking some of the most popular action physical activities. A significant portion of the world's athletes seek out activities that come with an exhilarating thrill, adrenaline rush, action, and adventure. Click the link above and find out how many extreme games exist worldwide.