INSANE SPORTING EVENTS

COOPER’S HILL CHEESE ROLLING AND WAKE

Once a year, people living in the Cotswolds region of

England hold a racing event that involves rolling a Double

Gloucester cheese from the top of Cooper’s Hill and a crowd of

people race down to see who will catch the cheese first. The

Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake is now so famous all over

the world that there are also foreign competitors and spectators

that join in on the fun.

HURLING

Have you ever imagined what a combination of baseball, soccer,

and hockey would look like? If you do not have much of an idea,

then seeing how people play Hurling in Ireland would be the perfect

description. They play wearing soccer clothes and shoes, a

helmet, and fight over a baseball with wooden hockey stick-like

objects. The goal of the game is to hit the ball as fast and as high

as possible until it reaches the enemy goal.

EUKONKANTO

In Finland, there is an obstacle course game where men have to

carry their wives on their shoulders, with the head at the back and

the feet at front, while running over a 250-meter track

with two hurdle jumps and a shallow pool.

BUZKASHI

The national sport of Afghanistan, involves competitors riding a

horse with the objective of getting a dead goat from other players

and having it land on a circular goal line. It could be taken as a game

of polo without the sticks and balls, but as fierce as American football

with all the violence of kicking, bashing, and sometimes

even shooting.

ETON WALL GAME

There is one game in Eton College in England that has been

exclusively played for over 300 years now. It may look like

rugby or football to some, but it is a totally different game as it

involves a wall being the main field. Players of both teams must

pile up in order to fight over the ball. You will only be able to score if

you are near enough on one end of the wall and you could kick

the ball to anything that resembles a goal, such as a door or a tree.

The Eton Wall Game is not that simple as it sounds, especially when

you become aware that the last score was made back in 1909.

JAI ALAI

Seen by many sports fans as a mix of handball and badminton,

Jai Alai is a game that is commonly played by singles or doubles,

and it involves a racquet that looks more like a huge scooping basket.

The objective of the game is to shoot the ball into one side of the

wall towards the enemy area. The opponent must catch the ball either

right, or in mid-air or on the first bounce, which should also be

bounced off the wall towards the other end. If not, it would be a

deduction point against the failing team.

CHESS BOXING

Have you heard of two chess players that are wearing gloves

while moving pawns and rooks or of boxers that sit on a chair

and think of how to beat the opponent? While these scenarios may be

weird and strange to you, there is a certain game in Finland where

boxing and chess are mixed together. Chess boxing is unlike any

other sport you have ever heard of. Players play a round of chess,

then a round of boxing, and then chess again, until

11 alternating rounds have been played.

MOUNTAIN BIKE BOG SNORKELING

As if snorkelling in a bog is not enough to make you puke,

using a mountain bike to journey in the smelly water makes for a sport

that is known the world over. Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling has been

such a craze that this sport is not only played by natives, but it is also

attended to by foreign competitors from different countries. There is

even a world championship for this game. You need to go through the

Waen Rhydd bog near Llanwrtyd Wells in mid Wales twice on a

mountain bike with a helmet filled with lead, and you must have

the shortest time record for the win.

KABADDI

One member of a team goes to the opponent’s territory, acting as a

raider. If the raider is able to tag any of the opposing group and is

able to get out from the opposite area, then it’s one point. But if the

raider has been tagged or squished before freedom calls, then it’s

one point for the other team. Whoever is tagged on both scenarios

is out of the game.