From Florida to Alaska and from Maine to Hawaii, extreme sports are popular with the general public. According to SGMA International's analysis of the current Superstudy® of Sports Participation, extreme sports are an established trend and here to stay.















Most Popular Extreme Sports
in the USA

(U.S. population; 6 years of age or older)
Rank Sport
 # of Participants*


1.
Inline skating		 19,233,000
2.
Skateboarding		 11,090,000
3.
Paintball		 9,835,000
4.
Artificial Wall Climbing		 8,634,000
5.
Snowboarding		 7,818,000
6.
Mountain Biking		 6,940,000
7.
Trail Running		 6,109,000
8.
BMX Bicycling		 3,365,000
9.
Wakeboarding		 3,356,000
10.
Roller Hockey		 2,718,000
11.
Mountain/Rock Climbing		 2,169,000
12.
Boardsailing/Windsurfing		 779,000

*participated at least once in 2003

Following are some additional facts on the 12 most popular extreme sports:

  • Inline skating. 51% of all inline skaters are female, yet 58% of all frequent (25+ days/year) inline skaters are male.
  • Skateboarding. The average number of days of participation for a skateboarder in 2003 was 44 days.
  • Paintball. U.S. sales and overall participation in paintball have risen each year since 1998.
  • Artificial Wall Climbing. The average age of an artificial wall climbing enthusiast in 2003 was 19.9 years of age.
  • Snowboarding. Sales of snowboard equipment in 2003 were $141 million (at wholesale).
  • Mountain Biking. Nearly 70% of mountain bikers are male.
  • Trail Running. Since the late 1990s, overall participation has grown 17.3% in trail running – from 5.2 million (in 1998) to 6.1 million (in 2003).
  • BMX Bicycling. The average age of a BMX cyclist in 2003 was 26.5 years of age.
  • Wakeboarding. The average annual household income of a wakeboarder in 2003 was $73,400.
  • Roller Hockey. Of the 2.7 million roller hockey players, 33% of them (900,000) play the sport on a “frequent” (25+ days/year) basis.
  • Mountain/Rock Climbing. Nearly 60% of mountain/rock climbers are male.
  • Boardsailing/Windsurfing. More than 40% of all boardsailors live in the South and more than 52% of boardsailors live in cities with a population of more than two million.

This information has been abstracted from the Superstudy® of Sports Participation conducted by American Sports Data, Inc., which monitors more than 100 sports and fitness activities.