Overview

Death Diving, also known as Dødsing or Døds Diving, is an extreme sport in which participants dive from a height of 10-15 meters belly first with their arms outstretched in an "X" shape, impacting the water in a shrimp or cannonball position. The sport purportedly began in the 1970s in Norway and participants are judged for their speed, time in the air, the complexity of their dives and the length of time they stay in the "X" position. The sport became notably popularized on TikTok throughout the early 2020s, eliciting warnings from the media discouraging kids from taking part in it due to the potential for harm.

History

Death Diving purportedly started in the summer of 1972 in Norway and was pioneered by the guitar player of the Raga Rockers, Erling Bruno Hovden.^[1] According to WhatIfShow, the sport was started by a group of boys to impress girls.^[2] The World Championship of Death Diving takes place in Oslo, Norway every August (2018 championship footage shown below).

As the sport gained further popularity outside of Norway, other championships and competitions started to gain prominence around the world. For example, in 2022, an event for the sport was held in Austin, Texas, known as the "Døds Challenge Austin" (shown below).

Online Presence

Death Diving garnered increasing prominence outside of Norway throughout the 2020s, in part due to its virality online on platforms like TikTok. The TikTok^[3] hashtag "#deathdiving" has accumulated over 250 million views as of February 2023 and includes numerous videos of people participating in the sport, including children (top examples shown below). The majority of the videos have a content warning attached due to the sport's potential for harm.

@martin_32123 Kids having fun🤟🏽 #deathdiving ♬ Problem Child – Live – ACDC

@asbjorg_n This one deserves it’s own video. #døds #deathdiving ♬ original sound – Asbjørg Nesje

In February 2023, media outlets began reporting on the virality of Death Diving, specifically on TikTok, with many of the stories highlighting the danger of the sport. On February 6th, 2023, the New York Post^[4] published an article about it, and on February 7th, Fox News^[5] and Daily Mail^[6] also published articles about the sport.