Watch an action-sport documentary

• Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Take a look at our guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.  
• Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
• Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short on helpers. 

Planning and setting up the activity

• Set up the devices you’re using, such as a projector, and make sure to check the motion-picture guidance.
• You may want to watch the films before showing them to the group to make sure the content is suitable. Be aware of your group’s needs and be especially sensitive if you know any of the topics may be difficult for anyone. Make sure you look out for individuals and provide a safe and calm space for them to process their emotions. Always follow the Yellow Card. 

Running the activity

1. Gather everyone together and ask everyone what they think an ‘action sport’ is. Think skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, BMX – or even something more out there like wingsuit flying or parkour.
2. Ask everyone what action sports have in common. Are they high-risk, or is it more about high-adrenaline or high-energy? Why do you think people do them?
3. As a group, choose an action sport documentary to watch. Some suggestions include:

• • Free Solo (12, released 2018): Professional rock climber Alex Honnold attempts to conquer the first free solo climb of famed El Capitan's 900m vertical rock face at Yosemite National Park.
  • Sunshine Superman (PG, released 2014): A heart-racing documentary about Carl Boenish, the father of the BASE-jumping movement, whose early passion for skydiving led him to attempt ever more spectacular and dangerous feats of human flight.
  • 14 Peaks - Nothing Is Impossible (12, released 2021): Fearless Nepali mountaineer Nimsdai Purja embarks on a seemingly impossible quest to summit all fourteen of the world's 8,000m peaks in seven months.
  • Senna (15, released 2010): The career of racing legend Ayrton Senna, a national hero in Brazil and three-time winner of the Formula One world drivers' championship.
  • Mountain Queen (12A, released 2024): The first Nepali woman to summit and descend Mount Everest, now a single mum working at a Connecticut Whole Foods, heads back to Everest to make a better life for her two daughters.
  • Zion (PG, released 2018): Born without legs, Zion Clark finds solace in wrestling, joins the team, and finds his calling.
  • Nordfor Sola (PG, released 2013): Surfers, Inge Wegge and Jørn Ranum, spend the Scandinavian winter living on a remote island that gives them access to some of the finest waves in the world.

4. Watch the documentary and think ask everyone to think about why people may be attracted to these sports, the mindset you may need to do the sports or the challenges, and how someone may have started out in the sport.
5. After the documentary, ask everyone to reflect on what they’ve watched. You could talk about what you enjoyed, how you felt watching the documentary, what inspired you, what surprised you, if you’d try the sport, and the kind of training or preparation that might be involved.
6. In pairs or small groups, come up with your own mini challenge or idea for an activity that could count towards the Action Sports Badge. You could choose an action sport you’d like to try or learn more about, visit a local event, attend a taster session or skills workshop, or try a virtual reality version.
7. Ask everyone to share their ideas. You could use sticky notes and put them on display for everyone to look at, write ideas on whiteboards and put them in the middle, or talk about everyone’s ideas.