The Weirdest Sports From Around The World

1. Dog Surfing

Image source WikimediaDon't be surprised, although you probably will be, to hear that dogs love surfing.  The sport originated in California and Hawaii back in the 1920s.  These adorable canines are judged on their balance, ride length and wave size.  They can surf sola or with a human partner!

2. Ultimate Test Between Man And Horse

Image source FlickrIt is a strange sport that tests your stamina to the limit.  You are literally racing against a horse and the race originated in Wales and has been held annually since 1980.  Marathon human contestants are tested against those on mounted horses.  Best man or horse wins!

3. Different Kind Of Swim

Image source WikimediaThis is a gross type of swimming as you go snorkelling in a marshy bog.  The water-filled trench is cut through a peat bog and participants wear snorkels and flippers to wade through the bog.  Only snorkelling strokes are permitted and no traditional swimming (as if that would be possible!)

4. Fistball

Image source FlickrThough fistball has become a popular sport, it is not known worldwide.  It's a mixture of tennis and volleyball and you certainly have to have strong fists to participate.  There are 5 players on each of the two teams and only 3 bounces in one go are allowed.  It now features in the World Games!

5. Toe Sport

Image source WikimediaThis is yet another weird sport that welcomes those with toes to have a go!  It's similar to toe wrestling you might have done as a kid but is now a major sport, believe it or not, involving a World Toe Wrestling Championship.  It's origins started in a pub in Derbyshire and is tougher than it looks.

6. Octopush or Underwater Hockey

Image source FlickrThis is a non-contact underwater sport that has two teams participating in it. They manoeuvre a puck across the bottom of the swimming pool which is supposedly the goal area!   It's played like hockey but under the water and there are large Octopush sessions all across these major countries and they arrange regular competitions.

7. Chess Boxing

Image source FlickrThis is a combination of chess and boxing techniques and brings the power of the brain into the brawn of boxing.  Sports boxing and chess are alternated with every round in this rather strange game.  It tests mental dexterity (with a cut lip) and physical strength - what a match!

8. Beard and Moustache Competition

Image source WikimediaThe world beard and moustache competition is held every 2 years so plenty of time to grow that facial hair!  It's a competition that challenges males with high testosterone levels to test their beard and moustache growing capabilities.  Don't be put off if you can't grow a 3 foot long beard as there are different classes, large moustaches, goatees and full beard styles!

9. Competition Between You And Cheese

Image source FlickrIf you love cheese then read on. There is a strange kind of competition that goes with finding out who is faster, you or a ball of cheese rolling down a hill. The first person who gets to be downhill in perfect toeing of the cheese ball will be the winner - prize is 2 kg of cheese (only joking)!

10. Kaiju Big Battel

Image source WikimediaThe weird sport, kaiju big battel, originated in Japan and features villains and alien beasts fighting it out in the ring.  It's more of a show than a competition but the crowds love it, especially the monsters who turn up in big dresses.  It hasn't yet made the Olympics but who knows for the future!

11. The Mud Flip Belly Flop

Image source FlickrThis is a kind of game where even the spectators get splashed in the mud.  The annual Summer Redneck Games in East Dublin includes some of the greatest hubcap discus throws.  The sport shows the strength and dexterity of your feet and it's damn hard!

12. Cardboard Tube Duelling

Image source WikimediaThis is yet another duelling competition that is quiet safe for kids as the shields and swords are made from strong cardboard and the only injury they may incur is a paper cut.  Sometimes, the duels are carried out with a fancy dress theme and it's great for parties.  Fun competitions take place annually if the parents can be bothered to organise them!

13. Bossaball

Image source WikimediaThis is a sport which includes soccer and gymnastics, integrated within a trampoline and it's a case of getting the ball over the extremely high net.  Besides being a lot of fun, competitors end up taking it very seriously and the winners start jumping around and doing somersaults on the trampoline!

14. Wife Carrying

Image source Daily MailThere really is a World Championship Wife Carrying competition, held all over the world every year!  The men, with the women on their backs, go through different obstacles and minor injuries are commonplace by the time they reach the end of the circuit.  The race is based on body weights of both the carrier and his wife.

15. Snow Polo

Image source FlickrThough it was popular among Turkish emperors in days gone by, this sport is back again after being modified.  It takes place across the snow through shoddy terrains with horse riders playing a dense shot of polo along the way.  If there's been a heavy snow shower, visibility can mean that the ball gets lost!

16. Lawn Mower Racing

Image source WikimediaForget cutting the grass with your lawnmower.  Use it to race against others, much like go-karting.  The difference between the mower and the cart when speeding along is that the lawnmower must maintain its engine and chassis.  Not sure how it would fare going up a steep hill!

17. Extreme Ironing

Image source WikimediaMot people hate ironing so think out of the box and make it more thrilling.  Use the ironing board as a kind of ski and zip along, pressing your shirt at the same time.  The sport was devised in Britain by someone who had too much time on their hands and is played in Austria on the mountains and frozen lakes.  Where would you plug in the iron though?

18. Pillow Fighting

Image source FlickrThe Pillow Fight League is a bona fide sport and certainly not the game you used to play as kids!  A Canadian, with an obvious fetish for feathers,  devised the slumber party pastime into a nitty gritty competitive challenge.  Hard to believe people have actually lost teeth in the competition!

19. Buzkashi

Image source FlickrBuzkashi- literally, ‘goat dragging’- tops the list of the weirdest sports ever.  It is practiced in several countries of Central Asia including Afghanistan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.  The aim is to throw a goat carcass at the opponent’s goal. Add in a whip to make it nasty and brutal!

20. Adult Kickball

Image source FlickrThis childhood game has been re-invented to suit adults who take it seriously enough to join the World Adult Kickball Association.  It has become so popular with grown ups that they have leagues and competitions and discuss tactics much as on the soccer training pitch.

21. Lumberjack World Championship

Image source Paul L WalshThe annual lumberjack world championship is held at the Lumberjack Bowl in Hayward, Wisconsin.  Played by both sexes, it involves, sawing, chopping, log rolling and climbing.  One of the 100 competitors can call themselves the lumberjack world champion for an entire year and America is the only country to ever win.

22. Hotdog Eating

Image source Wiki CommonsThere are many types of eating contests that mainly take place in the States. The epitome of these contests is the hotdog eating contest which takes place Independence Day, 4th  July.  It's so popular that big money prizes are on offer.  The world record holder is a Japanese named Takeru Kobayashi who has won the world championships six times and is described as the 'Godfather of competitive eating.'

23. Shin Kicking

Image source David StowellThe traditional sport of shin-kicking (ouch) started in the 17th century in England. It simply revolves around two men kicking each other’s shins until one of them falls to the ground.  I suppose it's the English martial art equivalent to judo and is more popular than you would imagine.

24. Giant Pumpkin Kayaking

Image source Verne EquinoxEvery year since 1999, the Windsor Pumpkin Regatta takes place on Lake Pesaquid in Windsor, Nova Scotia.  The pumpkins are decorated in bright colours and off they go on the half mile race for a bit of pumpkin kayaking.  Makes a change from scooping one out for Halloween!

25. Unicycle Hockey

Image source FlickrUnicycles have always looked a bit odd but what is stranger is playing hockey whilst balancing on one!  Must be great for the core.  It's not known when some bright spark came up with the idea but there are a set of rules by the International Unicycling Federation that were published in 2015.

26. Gaga

Image source WikimediaHitting each other with a ball is always good fun and that's why dodgeball is so popular. Gaga (not named after Lady Gaga) is a gentler form that's suitable for kids as it's played with a softer ball.  The idea is the same where you try to hit as many opponents as possible with the ball until you’re the only one in the pit and become the winner.

27. Quidditch

Image source FlickrJ.K. Rowling, inventor of Quidditch, never expected this to be an official  recognised sport played by loads of people.  It started in 2005 and only 2 years later, in 2007, youngsters were playing in the Quidditch World Cup.  It could end up as popular as the author's books!

28. Competitive Worm Rolling

Image source WikimediaUnless you are a worm lover (is there such a thing?), this may not be for you.  The World Worm Charming Championships started in 1980 in Willaston, Cheshire and the skill is to get as many worms out of the ground as possible.  The world record is held by 10 year old Sophie Smith who raised 567 worms in 2009!

29. Gurning Competition

Image source The MailFor those of a sensitive nature, look away now. Gurning contests are an old English rural tradition dating back to 1267.  King Henry III even granted it a royal charter!  The best male gurner of all time is Tommy Mattinson with 15 wins and the best female is world champion Anne Woods who won the world title 28 times - something to smile about.

30. Caber Tossing

Image source Wiki CommonsA caber is a Gaelic word that simply means a big wooden beam. Caber tossing is a Scottish traditional sport in which men try to toss over a big piece of wood.  It's usually made from a large tree trunk and the idea is not to throw the piece of wood as far as possible but to flip it so it ends up straight ahead of the thrower (tosser!!), preferably in the 12 o’clock position.  The world record stands at 16 tosses in 3 minutes.