21 bizarre sports that people play around the world
In Guatemala City, performers are seen taking part in an exhibition game of the Mayan Ball (or Maya Ball) game, which involves getting a solid rubber ball through a set of rings without using one's hands.
Musangwe boxing is an age-old tradition in northern South Africa. Men and boys display their fighting skills in an all-out battle with only three rules: the struggle continues until blood is shed, someone is knocked out, or a fighter surrenders by raising his hand.
Source: BBC
The annual Shrovetide football match in Ashbourne, central England, consists of teams — the Up'ards and the Down’ards — trying to score by tapping the ball on stone goal plinths three times.
Pictured here is Jockey Samuel Cudjoe running his goat over the finish line at the Class C2 100-meter race. The goat-racing event is part of Trinidad and Tobago's annual Easter celebration.
In the summer, hundreds of people flock to Malta to participate in the tricky game of trying to climb a "gostra," which is a pole covered in grease. Dating back to the Middle Ages, the game requires participants to make their way to the top of the slippery pole and uproot a flag to win prizes.
Kabbadi is a game that is popular in both India and Iran. Two teams that occupy opposite halves of a field try to tag as many opposing players as they can while repeating the word "Kabbadi."
The Chitwan Elephant Festival in Chitwan, Nepal, includes ox-cart races, horse-car races, and canoe races, as well as other games that involve elephants.
Sepak Takraw is a sport that is native to Southeast Asia. Players must use any part of their bodies — besides their hands and arms — to send a rattan ball into the opposing court. The exact rules can vary depending on where the game is being played.
Fingerhakln is the name given to a traditional finger-pulling competition played in Germany. Two opponents sitting across from each other at a table hook their middle fingers into a leather ribbon and pull the other over the table's center line. The sport even has different weight classes of light, middle, semi-heavy, and heavyweight.
Source: Daily Mail
The game of Lelo dates back 300 years and is played once a year during Orthodox Easter celebrations in Shukhuti, Georgia. A 18-kilogram ball is filled with sawdust by locals, and at 5 p.m. it is thrown into the center of the village by the priest. The objective is for two different teams to try and push the ball into the opposing teams' end of the village.
Source: The Guardian
Cheese rolling hails from Britain, but it's also played in New Zealand. Large cheese wheels are rolled down the hill, and the person who catches the cheese gets to keep it.
Every year, dogs are taken to Imperial Beach in San Diego, California, to participate in the Unleashed by Petco Surf Dog Competition. According to Reuters, all proceeds go to benefit the San Diego Humane Society.
Palin is a traditional game from the Mapuche people of Chile and Argentina. The game is complex, but it basically involves two teams wielding curved sticks smacking a ball towards the end of the field to score. The game is more often considered a tradition than a competition, however.
Every August, residents of Kosovo gather to participate in the Rugova Traditional Games. The games include tree climbing, stone throwing, wrestling, and tug-of-war.
In Kyrgyzstan, men wrestle while riding horses as part of the national horse games and festival.
Hornussen, a kind of mixture between golf and baseball, is a Swiss sport dating back to the 16th century. There are two teams, and the batting team has to hit a puck called a Nouss as far as possible into the opponent's area.
Source: Switzerland Tourism
The opposing team has to stop the Nouss as soon as possible by using a shingle, or catch board. The team with the smallest number of penalization points at the end of the game wins.
Source: Switzerland Tourism
Single bamboo drifting was added to the Chinese Traditional Games of Ethnic Nationalities in Guangzhou, China, several years ago. It involves standing on seven-meter-long bamboo poles and using a much thinner bamboo as an oar to glide through the water.
The sport of wife carrying was born in Finland. Male competitors must carry their female teammates while conquering an obstacle course.
The Highland Games are an honorary tradition in Scotland. Activities include the hammer throw — using a handle or wooden pole to whirl a 16-22 pound hammer around one's head, and then throwing it as far as possible.
Source: Scotland.org
Buzkashi is the national sport of Afghanistan, and it's common throughout Central Asia. The game is like tug-of-war, but it's played on horseback with a goat skin. Teams compete to grab the carcass, circle the field, and deliver it to the goal.
Source: NPR
Popular Right Now
Popular Keywords
Advertisement