Weird and wacky sports
November 24, 2005
Graeme esau
Every place seems to have a sport. Canada has hockey, the U.S. has baseball, Brazil has soccer, and Alabama has spitting tobacco into tin cans. Thinking about this made me realize that there must be places on Earth that enjoy much different sports than we are accustomed to. After much gruelling research I developed a list of the top ten weird sports. These sports are all real, and, frankly, pretty cool.
10. Bog Snorkelling
England is home to the World Bog Snorkelling Championships. Fearless competitors must swim two laps through a dirty, vile bog in the shortest amount of time. The 60-yard channel is filled with scorpions, moss, sludge, and most likely feces. The tough guys do it without a wetsuit. Unfortunately, they probably catch some disease.
9. Cockroach Racing
Those wacky Aussies hold the World Championship Cockroach Races on their national holiday in Queensland, Australia. The sport is pretty self explanatory, and super competitive. Races include the sprint and the steeplechase.
8. Underwater Hockey
No, this isn’t what happens when an ice rink melts. Underwater hockey is actually quite a popular sport that is played all over the world. You’d think that the violence of hockey combined with the threat of drowning could make this sport extremely popular.
7. Camel Wrestling
Unfortunately, this sport does not entail a man doing battle with a camel. Camel wrestling is much like cockfighting, pitting camel vs. camel.
6. Wooli Goanna Pulling
This sport is much like tug-of-war, only cooler. Two competitors lie on their stomachs with a leather belt wrapped around their necks. I guess whoever’s neck breaks first loses.
5. Unicycle Hockey
Hockey? Check. Unicycles? Check. Wow, this sport has everything. The only thing that stopped this sport from claiming the top spot was the damage it must do to its male competitors.
4. Pankration
This may not be the weirdest sport on the list, but the manliness rates extremely high. Pankration was an ancient Olympic sport that combined wrestling and boxing. The only rules were no biting, no gouging of eyes, and no tickling.
3. Gumboot Throwing
Yes, you heard correctly. Gumboot Throwing.
2. Elephant Polo
Regular polo is played on horses. Where horses are scarce, other alternatives must be used. In Africa, they use elephants. In Alaska, I assume they use polar bears.
1. Giant Platypus Throwing
I know I’m not alone when I say that all I’ve ever wanted is a sport that somehow incorporated platypuses. Well don’t fret everybody, it has been done. Platypus Throwing is a sport, and we have the Australians to thank once again. The Aussies seem to do a few things well: surf, talk funny, and invent crazy sports. Giant Platypus Throwing just might be their greatest invention yet.
Now you go...
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