25 Odd Sports Played Around The World

What have you found out from that word “odd”? Strange or Uncommon. As you all know how much we love Sports; it requires a lot of physical fitness and exceptional skills to be a pro in any sport, but wait man! then what would be the scenario if Sports also have some weirdness in it, that sounds crazy, na? So today, here we will list some most uncommon sports played in the World.

We all have heard of a Chess game, and a Boxing game too, but have you ever heard of Chess Boxing or something like Camel Wrestling? How about a Cheese Rolling game? The World is full of strange and weird things and this time I will present you the 25 odd Sports played in the World:

1) Bo-taoshi

Bo-taoshi is a Japanese traditional game played by cadets at the National Defense Academy (NDA) of Japan on its anniversary and also played at schools during their sports days. 

In this game each team has 150 people that are split into two groups of 75 attackers and 75 defenders. What is the goal? A team wins only if it is able to lower the pole of the opposing team (which begins perpendicular to the ground) to a thirty-degree angle (respective to the ground), before the other team reaches this goal. Until a rule-change in 1973, the angle of victory was only forty-five degrees. Your gang should try this game once.

2) Extreme Ironing

Extreme ironing (also called EI) is an extreme sport in which people take ironing boards to remote locations and iron items of clothing. 

As per EI Bureau, this is "the latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt". This extreme sport originated in England during the 1980s, and today it's now a worldwide phenomenon that has taken place underwater, on mountainside, while parachuting, in forests and in many thrilling ways.  The performances have been conducted solo or by groups. If you want to see more cool pictures of people doing extreme ironing then please click here.

3) Ga-ga Ball

Ga-ga is played in the Australian Jewish community of Perth, Western Australia, from the 1960s and it also became famous among juniors during the 1980s. 

It is a variant of dodgeball that is played in a ga-ga "pit" in which you have to hit players beneath the knees to get them out, it is played inside the octagon.

4) Cheese Rolling

Cheese Rolling is an annually played event held on the Spring Bank Holiday at Cooper's Hill, near Gloucester in England. As per  The Guardian newspaper, it is a "world-famous event", with winners coming from the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Nepal.

In this game a round of Double Gloucester Cheese having a weight of 7-9 pounds (3-4 Kgs)is rolled and a herd of competitors chase it. Although they are theoretically supposed to catch it, the cheese can reach speeds of up to 70 mph (110 Kmph), so generally speaking, whoever crosses the finish line first that wins the cheese.

5) Snow Polo

Snow Polo modified form of original polo was started in Switzerland in 1985. but since then, it has spread internationally. Every year the World cup is held in Saint Moritz, Switzerland. In the United States, it is played exclusively in Aspen, Colorado. (Yes, it’s still a rich people sport)

6) Kaninhop (Bunny Jumping)

Kaninhop started in Sweden early in the 1970s. This game is modeled after horse show jumping, on a scale to suit rabbits. Competitions have been held in the United States and several European countries.

7) Underwater Hockey (Octopush)

Underwater Hockey was started in the United Kingdom by Alan Blake in 1954. As the name implies, it’s hockey, except the puck is on the bottom of a pool. So, as you may have guessed, lung capacity plays a significant role in it and Also, you don’t use a stick but rather a “pusher” which almost resembles a small blade.

8) Roller Derby

Dominated by women, Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members roller skating counter-clockwise around a track. One member of each team is called a “jammer”, and it is their job to lap the players on the other team in order to score points. And yes, injuries are common.

9) Fireball Soccer

Fireball Soccer is a game of football (soccer) except the ball is on fire! Known locally as Sepak Bola Api, it is a unique game played by Indonesian students to welcome the month of Ramadan. The ball is made from a coconut from a palm tree soaked in kerosene.

10) Bog Snorkelling

Bog Snorkelling is a sporting event in which competitors Not only swim 120 meters through a bog, they are not allowed to use conventional swimming strokes, relying only on the power of their flippers. And just like most of the contenders on this list, this odd sport was started in the United Kingdom in 1985.

11) Korfball

Korfball is a ball sport, with similarities to netball and basketball. The sport was invented by Dutch school teacher in 1902.

It is played by two teams of eight players with four female players and four male players in each team. The objective is to throw a ball into a netless basket that is mounted on a 3.5 m (11.5 feet) high pole.

12) Belly Flopping

Belly Flopping is probably one of the most painful solo-player sports out there, but hey, you can win a lot of money for those couple of seconds of torture. May the best (biggest?) man wins.

13) Shin-Kicking

Shin-Kicking is a combat sport, also described as an English martial art, originated in England during the early 17th Century.

In this sport  there are two contestants attempting to kick each other on the shin (the front of the leg, below the knee) in order to force their opponent to the ground.

14) Chess Boxing 

Chess Boxing, Born in the mind of a cartoonist near the turn of the 21st century in Dutch, is a hybrid that combines two traditional pastimes: chess, a cerebral board game, and boxing, a physical sport.

There are alternating rounds of chess and boxing, you can win with either a knockout, a checkmate, or a judge’s decision. Chess Boxing is particularly popular in Germany, the United Kingdom, India, and Russia.

15) Buzkashi

Buzkashi is a Central Asian sport in which horse-mounted players attempt to place a goat or calf carcass in a goal. it is the national sport of Afghanistan.

16) Pesapallo (Finnish Baseball)

Pesapallo is a fast-moving bat-and-ball sport, slightly varies from baseball, the primary difference is the vertical pitching. This makes the ball a lot easier to hit and changes the dynamics of the game somewhat. 

It is the national sport of Finland and has some presence in other countries including Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, and Canada's northern Ontario.

17) Ferret Legging

Do you think ferrets are cute? How about ferrets in your pants? How about two ferrets in your pants? The goal of this sport is to actually hold them down there for as long as possible. As harsh as it may seem, the world record was in fact over 5 hours, without underwear. Ferret Legging sport has been popular among coal miners in Yorkshire, England. You must challenge this game to your best friend.

18) Toe Wrestling

Toe Wrestling  was invented by four drinkers in Ye Olde Royal Oak Inn in Wetton, Staffordshire, United Kingdom in 1974.

It’s like a thumb war except with your toes. It’s considered common courtesy for each player to remove the other player’s shoes and socks prior to the match.

19) Mountain Unicycling

Mountain Unicycling is an adventure sport that consists of traversing rough terrain on a unicycle. Not only this, but unicycles are not equipped with a gear system like mountain bikes, so they require a little bit of extra skill to maneuver. If you’re up to the challenge, however, the sport is rapidly growing in the MidWest.

20) Kite Tubing

Kite Tubing is probably one of the most dangerous sports on my list with several deaths and numerous injuries on record over the past 5 years.

This sport is a recreational activity where an individual rides on top of an inner tube, either on water, snow, or through the air. The tubes themselves are also known as "donuts" or "biscuits" due to their shape.

21) Bossaball

Bossaball is a team sport that originated in Spain. This sport  is a ball game between two teams, combining elements of volleyball, football and gymnastics with music into a sport. It is played on an inflatable court featuring a trampoline on each side of the net, you can hit the ball with any part of your body as long as it clears the net by the 6th touch.

22) Camel Wrestling

If you’ve gotten this far in the list, you’ve probably realized that humans love to wrestle. Camel Wrestling is most common in some regions of Turkey, but is also practiced in other parts of the Middle East and South Asia.

It is a sport in which two male Tülü camels wrestle, typically in response to a female camel in heat being led before them. It's all about Motivation. 

23) Wife Carrying

Wife Carrying is a sport first introduced at Sonkajärvi, Finland. The same game you might have seen in ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’ movie. 

As per the Wife Carrying Competition Rules Committee, the wife to be carried “may be your own, the neighbor’s, or you may have found her further afield; she must, however, be over 17 years of age” through various obstacles. So, you don’t even need a wife to compete. Some other poor soul’s wife will do just fine, ROFL.

24) Quidditch

Quidditch is a sport of two teams of seven players each mounted on broomsticks and tries to dodge the ball thrown by any opponent, and it is played on a hockey rink -sized pitch. It is based on a fictional game of the same name invented by author J.K. Rowling, which is featured in the Harry Potter series of novels and related media.

25) Egg Tossing

Egg Tossing is a team game with basically one member of a two-person team tossing an egg to another. If the egg does not break on their head, they step apart and the toss is repeated.

Source: Google.com, Wikipedia & tiebraker

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