The sport quickly spread throughout North America, and by the late 1970s it had become widely popular in Europe. Its popularity soon spawned a thriving sailboard-manufacturing industry in Europe.

There is a lot of variation in modern sailboard design. The boards now usually range from two to four meters and weigh between seven to eighteen kg.  By the way, some boards can reach speeds of over forty knots. There are also different types of modern windsurfing that include racing, slalom, freestyle and wave sailing.

It is amazing that windsurfing was included in the Olympic Games. Olympic windsurfing features sailors who race over a traditional triangle course. It was first contested in 1984, as a demonstration sport, with separate competitions for men and later on for women. There were some equipment changes in successive Olympiads: sailboards of the Windglider design were used at the 1984 Games, Division II boards in 1988, Lechner boards in 1992, etc.

Hardly anything can be compared with extreme sports and emotions you get from it. That is why more and more young people get involved in the activity. Skateboarding is considered one of the riskiest types of extreme sport as skateboarders longing for glory try to ride not only ramps but retaining walls, hand rail, etc. It is logical that where winners are, should be also those who failed. These unlucky chaps with their crazy wipeout are in the limelight today.
The guy in the first video should worry about his future posterity. In fact, he made a serious mistake as he did not choose carefully a place for jumping. I bet that a place with a pole on the way is not the best option.

This poor guy will not be able not only to skateboard but even walk in the nearest future. Not a single skateboarder is immune to ankle troubles, and this video is one more proof.

The next fall is not so bad but it is worth seeing for skateboarders who underestimate the importance of a helmet. Not without a reason they say that one will not take a problem into account until results involved in it. People tend to think after they have done a mistake.

This poor chap thought that the worst is already back. He relaxed a bit and failed to finish the trick. The speed was still large and his single move led to disaster. Fortunately, after such a jump he did not break anything but several dislocations or at least strained tendons are guaranteed.

All sports have winners and losers, we have just mentioned Sports Video Top 5 Weirdest Football Moments, which proves it. Skateboarding is another kind of sports that also features its weird and glorious moments. And to conclude the topic I would like you to enjoy a great compilation of skateboarding accidents where guys were much luckier than in previous ones.

It all began in the 1950s with the first skateboard ‘Roller Derby’ – a straight board on wheels, which actually had nothing common with the modern skates. Kids and teenagers loved the thing though they used it as a means of transport that required minimum skills of balancing and avoiding the obstacles on your way. But Larry Stevenson took it more seriously and displayed skateboarding as a new sport.

In the 1960s skateboarders organized into teams and fist skateboarding competitions took place. Some skateboarders performed great stunts and the skateboard went through great improvements that made performing the stunts easier and even more diverse. Nowadays the skate is not just a deck with truck and wheels; there are a lot of optional components that make skating more exciting: rails, slip tape, lappers and so on.

What considers the skateboarding tricks – they are numerous: riding on two wheels (“wheelie”), high jumping over a bar and landing on the board again (”hippie jump”), no-hands aerial (“ollie”), kickflips – almost anything you can imagine, up to jumping over a moving car like in this video.

Professional skateboarders invented their tricks and opened special skateboarding schools. In 1995 Extreme Games were opened and since that time skateboarding began to gain its popularity all over the world
The attitude towards skateboarding culture nowadays is very discrepant. Some people picture it as rebellious, non-conforming and highly dangerous; others think it to be the way of life of urban teens, which has nothing to do with drugs and crime.