Most Dangerous Sports for Students - QuoteWizard (2024)

Every year, more than 2 million school-age children, teenagers and young adults are injured playing sports. However, sports are getting safer. Our team of analysts found that sports-related injuries have declined by 10% since 2017 — especially in football, where 40,000 fewer people were injured in the last full year of competition.

Key findings:

  • Football is the most dangerous sport for children under 15
  • Basketball, football and soccer are the most dangerous sports overall
  • Sports-related injuries have declined by 10% nationwide
  • Skateboarding is the only sport where injuries have increased

Sports with the most injuries

More people are injured in team sports like football and basketball than in individual sports like tennis. Basketball, football and soccer have the most injuries overall, but the number of injuries varies with each age group. Football is the most dangerous sport for children ages 5-14, while basketball has the highest number of injuries among people ages 15-24.

Sports-related injuries have declined over the last several years. Football, baseball, basketball and soccer injuries have each decreased by nearly 20% since 2017. Skateboarding is the only sport where we found an increase in the number of injuries. There has been a 51% increase in skateboarding-related injuries since 2017.

Sports with highest number of injuries
SportTotal injuriesAges 5-14Ages 15-24% change since 2017
Baseball/Softball157,16465,05848,188-16%
Basketball403,980139,733185,316-19%
Boxing16,0712,0017,000-7%
Football292,306149,149116,946-14%
Hockey36,88512,26814,951-17%
Lacrosse, Rugby74,32628,31022,6131%
Racquet sports25,8443,4084,091-9%
Skateboarding148,92146,07151,86451%
Soccer188,33684,93871,030-14%
Track and field28,04811,28712,274-22%
Volleyball51,45518,47922,6520%
Water skiing, surfing18,1432,1865,932-11%

Sports with the highest rates of injury

The injury rates below show the number of injuries per 100k in each sport for participants aged 15-24. These figures indicate where 15-24 year-olds are most likely to have a resulting injury.

Most Dangerous Sports for Students - QuoteWizard (1)

Sports with the most concussions

Concussions in sports are extremely common. The CDC estimates that around 4 million athletes will get a concussion every year. We found that high-impact sports like football and hockey have substantially higher percentages of concussions than others. Hockey has the highest rate of concussion-related injuries, followed by snowboarding and football.

Concussions in each sport
Sport% of concussion-related injuries
Hockey12%
Snowboarding10%
Water tubing9%
Football8%
Lacrosse8%
Horseback riding7%
Wrestling7%
Rugby7%
Soccer6%
Cheerleading6%
Baseball5%
Volleyball4%
Basketball3%

Will health insurance cover sports injuries?

Sports-related injuries are most likely covered by insurance. If you are participating in a school-sponsored activity, the school will almost always have an insurance policy in place to protect students. However, these policies are mainly for severe or catastrophic injuries.

For less severe injuries, sports participants will need health insurance. Almost every college requires proof of health insurance in order to attend, but elementary, middle and high schools do not. This leaves a gap where sports participants might be uninsured or underinsured.

Because children and young adults tend to be healthy and represent a low overall health risk, buying an individual health insurance plan is often relatively inexpensive. If possible, athletes should have health insurance because without it, even a sprained ankle can end up costing thousands of dollars.

Methodology

QuoteWizard analyzed National Safety Council and Insurance Information Institute data on sports-related injuries from 2010 to 2020. A sports injury is defined as any injury resulting from a sports activity that resulted in an emergency room visit. We looked specifically at injuries involving people between the ages of 5 and 24. While 2020 data was evaluated in this study, we did not factor it into percentage calculations due to coronavirus-pandemic-related changes in sports participation.

QuoteWizard.com LLC has made every effort to ensure that the information on this site is correct, but we cannot guarantee that it is free of inaccuracies, errors, or omissions.All content and services provided on or through this site are provided "as is" and "as available" for use.QuoteWizard.com LLC makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, as to the operation of this site or to the information, content, materials, or products included on this site.You expressly agree that your use of this site is at your sole risk.

Most Dangerous Sports for Students - QuoteWizard (2024)

FAQs

What is the number 1 most dangerous sport? ›

1. B.A.S.E. Jumping. There are a lot of dangerous sports out there, but base jumping seems to claim more and more victims with each passing year since its inception.

What is the Top 5 dangerous sports? ›

Ranking Top 10 Most Dangerous Sports
  • Rock Climbing (Source: Wikimedia.org)
  • Luge Sport (Source: Flicker)
  • Big Wave Surfing (Source: Wikimedia.org)
  • Sports car racing (Source: Wikimedia.org)
  • Rugby players on the field (Source: Wikimedia.org)
  • A cowboy on a bull (Source: Wikimedia.org)
18 Nov 2021

What are the top 20 most dangerous sports? ›

From extreme sports like Base jumping to well-known ones like football, here are 20 of the Most Deadliest Sports in the World.
  • Cheerleading. ...
  • White Water Rafting. ...
  • Big Wave Surfing. ...
  • Bo-Taoshi: Most Deadliest Sports in the World. ...
  • Auto Racing. ...
  • Heli-Skiing: Most Deadliest Sports in the World. ...
  • Wingsuit Flying. ...
  • Street Luging.
16 Jul 2021

What are the top 3 most dangerous sports? ›

Basketball, football and soccer have the most injuries overall, but the number of injuries varies with each age group. Football is the most dangerous sport for children ages 5-14, while basketball has the highest number of injuries among people ages 15-24.

What sport is the safest? ›

Swimming is the safest sport to take part in. Its easy on the joints and can be an aid in recovery after an injury so making it the safest sport in America. A study by researchers at The University of Colorado Denver lead by PhD.
...
Top Five Safest Sports to Play
  1. Swimming.
  2. Cheerleading. ...
  3. Golf. ...
  4. Track and Field.
  5. Baseball.
28 Jun 2019

What are the 4 hardest sports? ›

According to Sports Virsa, the top 10 hardest sports in the world to play in 2022 are as follows: Boxing (hardest), American football, mixed martial arts, ice hockey, gymnastics, basketball, soccer, wrestling, rugby, and water polo.

What are the 4 most dangerous sports? ›

Here are the most dangerous sports in the world.
  • Rugby.
  • Polo. ...
  • Bullfighting. ...
  • Bull Riding. ...
  • Scuba Diving. ...
  • Skiing. ...
  • Cheerleading. ...
  • Street Luge. You would expect this sport to be at the head of the pack. ...

What is the hardest sport on earth? ›

1. Water Polo: 44 Points. Often overlooked in discussions, this Olympic sport is officially the toughest sport in the world.

What is the most dangerous sport for females? ›

If you think cheerleading only involves cute pom-poms and piggy tails, well, think again. Because according to studies, it is by far the most dangerous sport for female athletes, accounting for a number of serious injuries and even fatalities.

What is the least deadliest sport? ›

This research has identified some of the safer sports for high school students.
  • Swimming. The safest sport for both male and female student athletes turns out to be swimming. ...
  • Cheerleading. ...
  • Volleyball. ...
  • Track. ...
  • Baseball. ...
  • Girls' gymnastics. ...
  • Boys' Basketball. ...
  • Girls' Lacrosse.

What is the most painful sport? ›

Rowing is obviously the most painful sport. Rowing tears every muscle in your body and bits tremendous strain on the legs, arms, and back. The water is pushing with great force against the blade which tears huge chunks of skin out of your hands.

Which sport causes the most injuries? ›

1. Basketball causes the most injuries. Basketball is a popular sport—more than 26 million youngsters ages 12 to 17 play it—but it causes the most injuries for players of all ages.

What is the 2 hardest sport? ›

Degree of Difficulty: Sport Rankings
SPORTENDRANK
Boxing8.631
Ice Hockey7.252
Football5.383
33 more rows

What is the hardest sport for kids to play? ›

Gymnastics. For males and females alike, gymnastics is considered to be one of the most difficult sports at the school-aged level. Gymnastics requires mastery of the body, and gymnastics are expected to demonstrate a high degree of excellence in all events (vault/pommel horse, beams, floor, bars/rings).

What is the easiest sport on earth? ›

The 7 Easiest Sports to Play
  • Table Tennis/Ping Pong. Table tennis is a game that can be played with two or four people. ...
  • Running. Running is easily the most accessible and easiest sport to play. ...
  • Spikeball. ...
  • Badminton. ...
  • Cycling. ...
  • Volleyball. ...
  • Bowling.

What sport is the easiest on the body? ›

Low Impact Sports That Won't Injure your Joints
  • Swimming. The water supports your body weight and takes pressure off your joints. ...
  • Rowing or kayaking. When you row or paddle, the movement is cyclical and puts very little impact on your joints. ...
  • Road cycling or mountain biking. ...
  • Bowling. ...
  • Golf. ...
  • Yoga.

What is the mentally hardest sport? ›

Swimming

It may be surprising to most people that swimming is number 1 in the list of the most mentally challenging sports in the world. Many professional swimmers fall into a 7-day self-sabotage cycle. This is a period where they may doubt themselves and grow continuous stress on themselves.

What is the most skillful sport? ›

Tenpin Bowling and swimming were considered the sports requiring the most skill. The ratings are still being recorded (this list is from December 2019), so the list order may change over time.
...
Top Ranked Skill Sports.
RankingSportRating
1Tenpin Bowling87.4
2Swimming (200m Free)86.9
3Weightlifting86.2
4Water Polo85.8
6 more rows

What sport has the fittest athletes? ›

Water Polo is your Fittest Sport
RankingSportOverall Fitness Rating (%)
1Water Polo80.3
2Rugby 7s79.6
3American Football79.3
4Ultimate79.3
50 more rows

What sport is hardest to go pro in? ›

Here are the top 5 hardest sports to make it pro in (statistically).
  • Ice Hockey. If you enjoy the majesty of gliding over the ice and the thrill of smashing into other adults, you might want to pursue a career in hockey. ...
  • Baseball. ...
  • Soccer. ...
  • Basketball.

Which sport has hardest exercise? ›

A great deal of strength is also required to progress in boxing. Plus, there's a big chance you'll get punched in the face. To last a whole boxing match is to be able to manage 12 rounds of 3 minute HIIT sessions. And the intensity of those sessions is why boxing is often considered the world's hardest sport.

Which sport is the most athletic? ›

Top 13 Sports With The Most Athleticism
  • #1 Basketball. First up on our list is basketball. ...
  • #3 Football Wide Reciever. Next up on our list is football wide receiver. ...
  • #5 Tennis. ...
  • # 7 Rugby. ...
  • #9 Boxing. ...
  • Gymnasts.
21 Jul 2022

Why do girls quit sport? ›

Lack of positive role models.

Peer pressure can be hard for girls at any age; when that pressure isn't offset with strong encouragement to participate in sports and healthy physical activity, the results may lead girls to drop out altogether.

What is the most dangerous sport for adults? ›

Key findings:
RankSporting activity% of injuries that resulted in hospitalization
1Horseback riding14.6%
2ATV's, mopeds, minibikes, etc.13.3%
3Racquet sports11.9%
4Bicycles8.8%
1 more row
18 Sept 2019

Why are males better than females at sport? ›

Physical and Biological Differences

The breadth of their shoulders allows for more muscle on a larger shoulder girdle, the main contributor to postpubescent males' advantage in upper-body strength. Adult males have more overall muscle mass and less body fat than females, even in trained samples.

What is the number 1 injury in sports? ›

1. Strains. Strains are by far the most common of all sports-related injuries simply because we use so many muscles and tendons when we exercise or play. These moving parts are all susceptible to stretching farther than they should, or moving in ways they shouldn't move, leaving them torn, damaged and in pain.

What activities have a 1 death rate? ›

Lifetime Odds of Dying:
Cause of DeathOdds
Pedestrian accident1 in 561
Riding a motorcycle1 in 846
Drowning1 in 1,086
Fire or smoke1 in 1,506
20 more rows

What is the most dangerous activity for kids? ›

Trampolines: No. 1 most emergency room visits per year with 3,193. To avoid injury, check that bolts are tight, install a safety net enclosure, put padding over the frame and springs, and set jumping rules with adult supervision. Monkey Bars: No.

What are 3 main events in the most dangerous game? ›

Here is a basic list representing "The Most Dangerous Game" plot: Rainsford washes up on Ship Trap Island and meets General Zaroff and Ivan. Zaroff and Ivan hunt Rainsford for sport. Rainsford wounds Zaroff with a cleaver tree trap in the forest.

What is the world's #1 sport? ›

Soccer is the world's most popular sport. It is played by more than 20 million people in more than 140 countries.

What is the deadliest sport in America? ›

After extensive research, our team has found that Basketball is the most dangerous sport in the US, with 2,823 injuries sustained in 2021 – 64% more than American Football.
...
Basketball named the most dangerous sport in America
  • Basketball – 2,823.
  • American Football – 1,719.
  • Soccer – 1,289.
  • Baseball – 347.
  • Boxing – 247.
20 Jun 2022

What sport has an extremely high death rate? ›

It's not the only sport with an extreme fatality rate. A health care study found that the deadliest sport is base jumping with 1 in 2,317 jumps resulting in a death. Other dangerous sports listed included skydiving and skiing.

What is the 2 best sport? ›

Comparing All Lists
RankSport9
1Football / Soccer9
2Basketball10
3Cricket
4Baseball8
19 more rows

What are the 3 main sports? ›

MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL are commonly referred to as the "Big Four." Each of these is the wealthiest professional club competition in its sport worldwide, and along with the English Premier League they make up the top five sports leagues by revenue in the world.

What is the scariest sport ever? ›

Continue reading to find out more about...
  • Cliff diving, Wales.
  • Big-wave surfing, Hawaii.
  • Slacklining, USA.
  • Zorbing, UK.
  • Bull running, Spain.
  • Shark-cage diving, Australia.
  • Luge, Germany.
  • White-water rafting, Nepal.

What are the top 5 injuries? ›

Top 5 most common workplace injuries and how to avoid them.
  1. Trips, Slips And Falls. ...
  2. Being Struck By Or Caught In Moving Machinery. ...
  3. Vehicle Related Accidents. ...
  4. Fire And Explosions. ...
  5. Repetitive Stress and Overexertion Injuries.

What are the 7 most common sports injuries? ›

Top 7 Most Common Sport Injuries
  1. Knee Injury. About 55% of sports injuries occur in the knee. ...
  2. ACL Tear. Your anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is responsible for connecting your thigh to your shinbone at your knee. ...
  3. Tennis or Golf Elbow. ...
  4. Shin Splints. ...
  5. Groin Pull. ...
  6. Sciatica. ...
  7. Hamstring Strain.

What is the easiest sport to get injured? ›

Skiing / Snowboarding

Broken bones, sprains, dislocations, concussion and bruising as all common injuries, and if you like downhill skiing which is one of the fastest non motorised sports in the world then prepare for some big falls!

What sport has the lowest life expectancy? ›

The sport with the lowest life expectancy: Boxing

According to experts (see below), the accumulation of head blows over time has an adverse effect on the body and can reduce life expectancy.

What sport uses sudden death? ›

Sudden-death overtime has traditionally been used in playoff and championship games in hockey. It has been used in the National Hockey League throughout the league's history.

Which sport helps you live the longest? ›

The answer: tennis. People who regularly play tennis have the longest life expectancy compared with people who do other activities, such as jogging, swimming, or bicycling.

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