If you think ice skating is tough, just imagine riding a unicycle on ice! That’s what real national leagues do in the U.K., Germany, Switzerland and Australia. Teams consist of five people, and most of the same regular hockey rules apply, except everyone is mounted on a unicycle.
Source: Unicycle-hockey.co.uk
Man versus horse is exactly what it sounds like: men (who probably overestimate their physical prowess just a little) race men on horseback. This race takes place annually in the Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells.
Source: Theguardian.com
Zorbing can be a competitive race, but who cares? It’s just a lot of fun! Zorbing involves strapping yourself to a giant bouncy ball inside another, bigger bouncy ball (to cushion impact) and rolling down a hill.
Source: Zorbing.co.uk
In some places, carrying one’s wife doesn’t end across the threshold! Competitors of this sport carry their wives on their backs while racing through obstacle courses. The sport originated in Finland, where there are annual wife-carrying championships. Competitors can carry their wives piggyback, over the shoulder, or with the wife sitting with her legs around her husband’s shoulders or waist.
Source: Eukonkanto.fi
If you ever wished hockey moved slower, just watch underwater hockey. Players try to push a puck around under water, while going back up for air whenever necessary. It’s a non-contact sport, so, as swimming always is, it’s easy on the joints.
Source: Underwater-society.org
You’ll need brains and brawn to play this game. Competitors play alternating rounds of chess and boxing. The first to get a knockout or a check mate is deemed the winner. The game began purely as an art form, but quickly became a popular competitive sport in Germany, Great Britain and other areas in Europe.
Source: Lachessboxing.com
A bog is a body of water filled with dead plant material, and bog snorkeling involves racing through a bog, using flippers. You will come out of the water looking like a sea monster.
Source: Green-events.co.uk
This sport sounds more like a test of one’s pain threshold than a sport. Allegedly the sport was once popular among coal miners in Yorkshire, England. Here are the rules: put two ferrets in your pants and see how long you can handle that. The record holder lasted five-and-a-half hours.
Source: Nypost.com
Don’t worry: players are allowed to pad their legs! This sport was invented in the 1600s as a form of protest against puritanism. The game has been played by Cornish miners and competitors at the Cotswold Olimpick Games throughout history — there’s a picture from 1633 that apparently portrays the sport. Competitors see who can knock the other down, aka kick the shin out of each other.
Source: Olimpickgames.com
Yay! It does exist! It’s called muggle quidditch, and there is even a real International Quidditch Association to govern the sport. Needless to say, there is no real flying. But players run around a field holding brooms between their legs, trying to get balls in hoops.
Source: Theatlantic.com
Hey, even people obsessed with wardrobe perfection are into athletics! According to the Extreme Ironing Bureau (yes, you read that right) the sport involves ironing in extreme locations like in a forest or on a canoe.
Source: Xtremeironing.com
We imagine acrobats would do incredibly well at this port. Bossaball takes place on an enormous trampoline, and teams of three-to-five players bounce a ball over a net much like in volleyball. The only differences (other than the trampoline) are they can use any part of their body to hit the ball, and one team can hit a ball up to eight times before sending it to the other team.
Source: Bossaballsports.com
Parkouring is what happens when humans want to be superheroes. Essentially, it’s defined as getting around any obstacle in any way your body will allow you. So if you ever see a person scale a house instead of walk around it, they were probably parkouring.
Source: Examiner.com
How the producers of “Jackass” didn’t come up with this first, we don’t know. But nope — it wasn’t dreamed up by Hollywood writers. Some citizens of Michigan came up with this sport, which involves putting outhouses on skis, and racing them.
Source: Visitvirginiacitynv.com
This might be the coolest use ever for all the leftover pumpkins after Halloween. Each year, people hollow out giant pumpkins, turn them into kayaks, and race around a lake at the annual West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta in Tualatin, Oregon. It has been named Oregon’s “best of October” event.
Source: Kayakdave.com
