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The World's Craziest Sports
Rich Beattie April 30, 2007
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The players stare intently at their chess board, the white rook stalking the opposing queen as the black bishop tries for a quick strike. Gazes ricochet from board to opponent and back to board as the pressure of the match builds. Though they’re not breaking a sweat, players are decked out in shorts and sneakers, a fashion choice that makes sense when they stand, don gloves, and start throwing powerhouse punches at each other. Welcome to the wacky world of chess boxing.
Strange? Well, yes. But offbeat sports are hardly rare—they just have bad PR reps. After all, the newer or smaller they are, the harder it is to compete with, say, basketball or soccer. But from the sandy beaches Down Under to the frozen tundra of Lapland, people have invented fascinating ways to compete. They may involve teams, animals or expensive equipment, but they all speak to the local culture, and experiencing them can make for an overwhelmingly authentic experience—or at least good cocktail-party fodder.
At its most primitive, odd sports usually involve throwing stuff. And there seems to be no end to the list of things people toss competitively: typewriters (Missouri, on Secretary’s Day), “cow chips” (Oklahoma), haggis (Scotland), rubber boots (Finland) and mobile phones (the Finns again).
See our slideshow of the world’s craziest sports.
But who the hell decided to combine chess and boxing? Its origins are a bit unclear. This odd hybrid appears to have its roots in the 1990s, and while its growth has been slow, there’s now a governing body (the Berlin-based World Chess Boxing Organisation) and a world championship, which started in 2003. Rounds alternate between two-minute boxing rounds and four-minute “Blitz game” chess matches when the gloves come off.
More publicly, Brits hold the annual event of “cheese chasing” in the Cotswolds, with participants running (but mostly tripping and falling) down a steep hill in pursuit of an elusive wheel of double gloucester cheese (which gets a head start). Or how about the Turkish tradition of camel wrestling, where spectators have to watch out for flying camel spit (and other bodily fluids).
Of course, any sport must seem strange at first…and perhaps long after. (Anyone up for running with the bulls?). In fact, the process of popularizing a sport takes a lot of effort, and even more money. But as the world shrinks, it’s easier than ever to get the word out.
One outlet doing just that: The new World Championship Sports Network, whose mission is to broadcast “non-primary” sports on TV and over the Web. “These are not frequently viewed sports, but they’re very interesting,” said Claude Ruibal, WCSN’s Chairman and CEO. “There’s a high curiosity factor, so we wanted to aggregate all this content to give a platform to these offbeat sports.”
See our slideshow of the world’s craziest sports.
In fact, the WCSN is a good place to start if you want to see some strange activities. Had you tuned in to the Asian Games last year, you could have witnessed the sport of kabaddi, which involves trying to “tag” members of an opposing team and making it back to your side of the court—all while holding your breath.
While some games seem to stem from childhood pastimes (or boredom), sports come about for all sorts of reasons. The World Series of Elephant Polo, for example, played over several days each in Thailand, Nepal and Sri Lanka, was created to raise money for elephant conservation.
Yes, this sport can look freakish. Elephants move surprisingly fast (remember that on your next walking safari), but they’re not exactly maneuverable. Mahouts sit on the neck to “steer” the creature while players swing extra-long mallets. Adding to the spectacle are local teams, which in Thailand has included “ladyboys” clad in pink shirts and Diesel shoes (there are even rules for stopping play if their “falsies” fall out). Sure, they get trounced by the pros, but the point is make money for elephants—and to have fun. Post-game drinking is mandatory.
Other sports are created for more commercial reasons. Australia’s Lion Nathan Brewery, for example, was looking to throw some marketing money into sports. Foster’s already had a lock on regular cricket matches, so Lion Nathan got in touch with Justin Ricketts at Octagon, a sports marketing company, about creating a new sport. Ricketts had actually been mulling just such an idea: beach cricket. The beer guys loved it. “Without them,” said Ricketts, “the idea would have just sat there or been rolled out in a small way.”
Just 14 months in the planning, with rules adapted from indoor cricket and equipment invented for the sandy field, beach cricket became a hot item, with 7.2 million Aussies tuning in to the tournament last year—pretty good for a country with 20 million residents.
Octagon now wants to take the game to other cricket-friendly countries, following a trend of sports border-hopping. One example: Wife-carrying (yes, you read that right), where a man negotiates an obstacle course with his wife (or any willing female) draped over his body. The Finns created this spectacle in the 19th century, and it’s proved popular in other cold climes, like Wisconsin and Maine.
Best of all, wife-carrying is anything but exclusive: Anyone can enter. Chess boxing takes a bit more skill, but right now organizers are looking for fighter/players to compete in Los Angeles this May. Interested? Chess boxers can win by checkmate or knockout. Just don’t forget which game you’re playing.
See our slideshow of the world’s craziest sports.
