Adventure Sports have been best defined as 'Outdoor Sports or Activities in which the participant competes in a natural environment, more against themselves than against others'. Although the term is sometimes used interchangeably, Extreme Sports can be considered a sub-category of Adventure Sports, as well as the terms 'Action Sport' and 'Adventurous Sport' are also used.
An Extreme Sport is any sport featuring speed, height, danger, a high level of physical exertion, highly specialized gear, or spectacular stunts. Another characteristic of extreme sports is that they tend to be individual rather than team sports. Extreme sports can include both competitive and non-competitive activities.
Some of the sports listed here as Adventure Sports would probably not be considered as 'true' extreme sports. True Extreme Sports are more likely defined as a leisure or recreation activity where the most likely outcome of a mismanaged accident or mistake was death. Extreme sports are often associated with young adults wishing to push themselves to the limits of their physical ability and fear, in turn pushing the boundaries of a particular sport.
List of Sports
The following is a large list of sports that some people consider to be classified as Adventure or Extreme Sports. You may or may not agree with what is here, or you may want to suggest one that is not.
BASE jumping - The acronym BASE stands for building, antennae, span, and earth - some of the things BASE jumpers launch themselves from. BASE jumping is considered very dangerous and is often done without permission. This article is a description of the sport.
image from the Beast of Ballyhoura Adventure Race