25 Weirdest Sports From Around the World

When we think about Sport, we usually think of the mainstream ones like football, tennis or swimming. But have you heard of boxing mixed with chess? Today we've gathered 25 Weirdest Sports in the World, these sports are all very strange and can be entertaining to watch if you're into it! Some of these Weirdest Sports look quite bizarre to outsiders, but in their home town where they're played, the sports are very popular. St back and have a read of these  25 Weirdest Sports From Around the World!

Shin Kicking

All you need for this game is 4 shins and a high tolerance for pain. Popularized by immigrants coming to the United States from the UK (where else?) it has found a niche in pop culture and become a staple of legendary manliness.

Underwater Hockey

Games played with curved sticks and a ball have been played for thousands of years. First there was field hockey, then there was ice hockey, and now? Underwater hockey, of course. In this sport, which is also called Octopush, two teams of six try to push a puck using a stick into the opposing team’s goal. Although this sport is played around the world, it has not gained a major following. Perhaps because a sport played entirely underwater is not very spectator friendly.

Quidditch

Its kind of like tag mixed with dogdeball mixed with a toy helicopter and its sweeping the nation by storm. Well, its actually been confined to college campuses mostly, but still, its a valiant attempt on behalf of muggle-kind to step beyond their limitations and do something more with their broomsticks than just sweep the floor.

Bossaball

Imagine a game of volleyball being played on the moon, and you’ve got the gist of bossaball. In this sport, each side of the court has a trampoline and each team of 3 to 5 players attempts to hit or kick the ball over the net to the opposing team’s side of the court. Like in volleyball, points are scored when the ball hits the floor.

Wife Carrying

Wife carrying, which originated in Sonkajärvi, Finland, is a sport in which male competitors race to carry their female teammate through an obstacle course in the shortest time. Not only does the winner of the Wife Carrying Championship in Sonkajärvi get the glory of being the number one wife carrier, he also wins his wife’s weight in beer. Although this sport would be very entertaining to watch, I can only imagine how funny it would be if the roles were reversed. Unfortunately, husband carrying hasn’t caught on yet.

 Dog Surfing

This sport is further proof that animals are capable of more than we might imagine. Who knew that dogs could do more in the water than just doggy paddle? While this sport began in San Diego, there are now many dog surfing competitions all over southern California.

Kite Tubing

This is probably one of the more dangerous sports on our list with several deaths and numerous injuries on record over the past 5 years. Its actually a variant of towed tubing wherein the tube becomes airborne. The danger arises from the fact that tubes are not specifically designed to be airborne, which means they are hard to control, which means the landings can be a little rough. Evidently wings serve a purpose, who’d of thunk it?

Unicycle Polo

As if just riding a unicycle didn’t look funny enough, add mallets and balls and you’ve got a truly wacky spectacle. I’m sure it’s a fun game for the participants, but just imagining unicyclists crashing into each other makes me burst into laughter.

Mountain Unicycling

As anybody who has hiked a mountain trail knows, it can be hard with two feet let alone one wheel. 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 Mid West.

Caber Toss

This sport is unique to this list, as it is the only one in which the participants wear skirts, err… I mean kilts. Caber toss is a traditional Scottish sport in which competitors throw large wooden poles called cabers. The object is not to throw the caber the furthest, but to have the top of it land near the thrower. This sport is thought to originate from the need to throw logs across gaps, in order to cross them.

Toe Wrestling

Once again, we can thank our friends in the United Kingdom for toe wrestling champions like Paul “Tomatominator” Beech. Something of a thumb war except with your toes, it is considered common courtesy for each player to remove the other players shoes and socks prior to the match.

Chess Boxing

The ultimate mash-up of brains and brawn, chessboxing is exactly what it sounds like. Competitors must be masters of both knocking out and checkmating opponents, as the sport involves alternating rounds of chess and boxing. I can only imagine that repeated blows to the head must affect their ability to develop chess strategies.

Pesapallo (Finnish Baseball)

As the national sport of Finland it has also gained popularity throughout Northern Europe. Essentially a variation of 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.

Cheese Rolling

Competitors take part in the Cheese Rolling event on Coopers Hill in Glouceste. Perhaps the only sport to involve food (besides competitive eating), cheese rolling is a tradition that is over 200 years old. Every year, on the Spring Bank Holiday, a round of cheese is rolled down Cooper’s Hill in Gloucester, England. Competitors race down the hill after the cheese, and the first one to the bottom wins the cheese. As silly as this event sounds, injuries are common, and the 2010 cheese rolling has been canceled due to safety concerns.

Buzkashi

Buzkashi or kokpar is the Central Asian sport in which horse-mounted players attempt to drag a goat carcass toward a goal. Traditionally, games could last for several days, but in its more regulated tournament version also has a limited match time.

Blind Soccer

Imagine how hard it would be to live life day-to-day without vision. Now imagine playing a game of soccer with the same impairment. While the visually-impaired are usually unable to participate in athletic activities, blind soccer is a truly inspirational exception. All of the players are legally blind, except for the goal keeper, and the soccer ball has pebbles in it so the players can tell where it is.

Moustache Growing

The World Beard and Moustache Championships is a biennial competition hosted by the World Beard and Moustache Association (WBMA) in which men with beards and moustaches display lengthy, highly-styled facial hair.

Bo-taoshi

Bo-taoshi (Japanese: ??? Hepburn: b?taoshi?, "pole bring-down"), is a capture-the-flag-like game, played on sports days at schools in Japan. The defenders begin in a defensive orientation respective to their own pole, while the attackers assume position some measure away from the other team's pole.

Extreme Ironing

Extreme Ironing (also called EI) is an extreme sport and a performance art in which people take ironing boards to remote locations and iron items of clothing. According to the Extreme Ironing Bureau, extreme ironing is "the latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt."

Ga-ga ball

Ga-ga (lit. "touch-touch") is a variant of dodgeball. The game combines dodging, striking, running and jumping with the object of hitting opponents with a ball below the knee while avoiding being hit. The game can be played by groups of individual players, teams and in one-on-one matches. The game may sometimes be referred to as "Israeli dodge-ball".

Snow Polo

This modified form of polo was started in Switzerland in 1985 but since then it has spread internationally. In the United States it is played exclusively in Aspen, Colorado (yes, its still a rich people sport).

Roller Derby

Dominated by women, this sport has witnessed a resurgence in the past 10 years. It is played by two teams, each of which are skating around a single 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.

Man vs. Horse

The Man versus Horse Marathon is an annual race over 22 miles (35 km), where runners compete against riders on horseback. The race — which is a shorter distance than an official marathon road race — takes place in the Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells every June.

Bog Snorkelling

Bog snorkelling is a sporting event that consists of competitors completing two consecutive lengths of a water filled trench cut through a peat bog, in the shortest time possible. Competitors must wear snorkels and flippers, and complete the course without using conventional swimming strokes, relying on flipper power alone. Wet suits are not compulsory, but are usually worn.

Cardboard Tube Dueling

The Cardboard Tube Fighting League (CTFL) is a global organization that hosts cardboard tube based events in Seattle, Washington; San Francisco, California; and Sydney, Australia. The CTFL hosts tournaments and battles where cardboard tube fighters go head-to-head in an attempt to break their opponent's tube without breaking their own. The events also focus on cardboard costumes and theatrics. These events are often held at public parks throughout the summer, are open to everyone ages 5 and up, and emphasize fun over competition. Cardboard tubes are provided and all events are free for participants.