Often borne out of local traditions, fundraising events, or just from plain crazy ideas.
So for our list of the world’s weirdest today, I’m presenting you the 10 of the world’s more bizarre sporting events which, with good timing, it’s just possible to see on an Audley trip.
8. ) Homeless World Cup; Brazil
Brazil is the number one country when it comes to football. Every year hundreds of football events are held there.
This includes the Homeless World Cup. It is an international football tournament that exists to raise awareness about the one billion homeless people in our world today.
To qualify players must be homeless or have been in the past year. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil will host the 2010 tournament in September. Incidentally, many participants go on to find a job, get an education, or generally improve their situations. This is so nice of Brazil because everybody wins in this event. 🙂
7.) World Rock, Paper, Scissors Championships
A game you might have played in grade school can now be enjoyed into adulthood and on the world stage.
Held in Toronto each year in late October for Professional Athletes of RPS, The World Rock Paper Scissors Association is the only place for Championship Level Rock Paper Scissors Tournaments.
6. ) Vertical Marathon; Thailand
Each September, fitness fanatics around the world gather at the Banyan Tree Hotel in Bangkok to race up the 1,093 steps to the finishing point on the 61st floor.
As the name suggests it’s a race but not like you might know it but vertically up one of the tallest hotels in Bangkok. 61 floors are waiting to be conquered.
You can run alone or in teams. For yourself or for a charity. As long as you participate
5.) Henley On Todd, Waterless Regatta; Australia.
Held annually in the Allice Springs, a desert town in the east of Sydney, the Henley on Todd Regatta is not your typical Regatta.
The fact that there’s little or no water there doesn’t stop the people from holding their own regatta every August.
Watching people race in bottomless boats through the sand of the Todd River sounds rough but definitely fun!
4.) Laughter Yoga, India
Well, not really a sport and certainly, no training is needed for laughter yoga, which is said to improve health and promote inner peace. Mumbai in India has hundreds of ‘Laughter Clubs’ where people gather in public parks, factories, and offices and laugh their hearts out. Why not join in — it should be a laugh.
3.) Iditarod, Alaska
If you love winter — or dogs this sport is definitely for you. The annual Iditarod is a trail sled dog race over 1,850 km (1,150 miles) of Alaska’s mountain ranges, frozen rivers, forests and windswept tundra.
It takes place in the dead of winter in midst of sub-zero temperatures and gale-force winds and blizzards, where wind chill can go down to about minus 75 C (167 F). Yikes.
2.) Sumo Wrestling, Japan
With a history spanning many centuries, sumo wrestling is Japan’s most popular traditional sport. The idea of sumo is to force your opponent out of the ring or to throw him to the floor using one or more of the 82 legitimate techniques. Sumo wrestlers are much revered and are the equivalent of our footballer stars, albeit with slightly bigger waistlines as they weigh in at an average of 150 kg (330 lbs)
1.) Buzkashi, Kyrgyzstan
‘Buzkashi’ sounds like Japanese food but in fact, it’s a form of polo, except instead of using a ball they use a headless goat.
You definitely won’t see this played by the Hurlingham Polo Association, so you’ll need to visit somewhere like Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, or Kazakhstan and these parts of the world.
