Each week I always try to focus on sports topics that local sports enthusiast love to hear about, but this week I wanted to take a step back and maybe bring a chuckle to our readers as we head into one of my favorite weekends of the year—Easter.
This week I am dedicating my Sports Chatter to some of the most outlandish sports that are actually being participated in worldwide.
I couldn’t help but put on a wide grin as I read about some of these sporting events, and I hope that will happen to you because sometimes we get so caught up in the stress of life we forget to smile.
There is a saying that laughter is a good medicine, so this week I hope I can give you a big old dose of laughter as you read over the following list of unusual sporting events.
No. 11—Oil Wrestling
Yes, that’s right. It’s not the WWE or Southern Championship Wrestling, but oil wrestling actually dates back to 1357 celebrating the Ottoman victory. One of the oldest competitions is held each June in Kirkpinar, Edirne Turkey.
The contest features competitors covered in olive oil trying to wrestle the other to the ground. These festivals can also be found in the Eastern Macedonia and West Thrace.
Amazingly, this sport has become very popular in other countries like the Netherlands and Japan.
No. 10—Poohsticks
For all the Winnie the Pooh fans, this sport was actually first mentioned in The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne.
This sport is very, very simplistic and I can imagine a place or two in Carter County where this would be an awesome sport to host.
Each player drops a stick on the upstream side of a bridge, and the player whose stick first appears on the downstream side is the winner. It sounds fun, doesn’t it?
Since 1984, the annual Poohsticks Championships have been hosted in the United Kingdom at Day’s Lock on the River Thames.
No. 9—Bed Racing
The first bed race was held in 1965 and was only open to Army, Navy, and American Marines, but now everyone loves to hop in the bed and take off on a run.
This sport has highly been loved and adored by the people of the North Yorkshire Town of Knaresborough.
Each bed runs on four wheels but also must be able to float as the competitor’s race in teams of five, plus the one teammate on the bed.
The teams provide their bed of choice, which is decorated with the year’s theme.
Beginning and ending at Conyngham Hall, the race is 3km long, and the teams face the one-in-five gradient climb to Castle Top before heading back downhill and toward the final challenge—crossing a river.
I can see the wheels turning in somebody right now here in the county and can’t wait until we see the first annual Carter County Bed Race.
No. 8—Zorbing
This sport involves rolling downhill inside an orb usually made of transparent plastic. I believe that the Gentry’s used to have one of these orbs at their corn maze in the Siam community.
Zorbing is generally performed on a gentle slope. Many people refer to the sport as an extreme sport, but there really is anything that extreme about it as there really isn’t much competition about it unless competing with your friends to see who would be willing to do it.
No. 7—Extreme Ironing
Aw—this is a new sport for our lovely Watauga Lake or any other of the great places we have available in our community.
Extreme Ironing is considered an extreme sport and a performance art.
Players of this game consider themselves to be ‘ironists’ and get a thrill from taking their ironing board, unplugged iron, and some of their wrinkly clothes to extreme places and photograph themselves doing it.
Some of the wild places this sport has been played at include extreme altitude, underwater, hanging from cliffs, and on top of vehicles.
The official website says that extreme ironing is “the latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt.”
No. 6—Wife Carrying
Now, here is a dandy sport. Imagine picking your wife up and carrying her through a variety of obstacles.
Yes—this is real. The competition is held annually in early July in Finland and requires a man to negotiate a 253.5 m course while carrying their wife on their back.
The course itself contains various surfaces and getting through dry land and water-based obstacles. The prize—a mobile phone and the wife’s weight in beer.
No. 5—World Gurning Contest
What in the world is Gurning one may ask? It is a contest where the ugliest face wins.
Gurning competitions originated in 1297 at the Egremont Crab Fair in the United Kingdom. It makes sense that as part of a ‘Crab Fair’ that a sport is held to see who can make the ugliest face.
No. 4—Chessboxing
This is a hybrid sport combining chess with boxing in alternating rounds. Chessboxing was invented by French artist and filmmaker Enki Bilal in his comic book Froid Equateur in 1992.
The first real event of chess boxing was held in 2003. The sport is picking up speed and alternates between games of boxing and chess after each round with the object of waiting for either a checkmate or knockout deciding the match.
A chess boxing match between two competitors lasts up to eleven rounds beginning with a four-minute chess round and followed by two minutes of boxing.
No. 3—Bossaball
Bossaball is one of the hottest growing sports and was invented by Filip Eyckmans of Spain who developed the sport in 2004.
Similar to volleyball, the sport also includes elements of football, gymnastics, and capoeira. It is played on a specially designed inflatable court with a circular trampoline on each side of a net. The game is a ball game between two teams consisting of three to five players.
No. 2—Sports with no clothes
I will say from the get-go that you will never find me participating in this sporting spectacle. People today are participating in such events as the World Naked Bike Ride and the International Nudist Swimming Gala.
Definitely wouldn’t be a favorite of mine to cover as a journalist if you know what I mean.
No. 1—Peters Hollow Egg Fight
That’s right, the number one unique sporting event has to be without hesitation the Peters Hollow Egg Fight held annually right here in Carter County which brings a ton of smiles to young and old alike.
Entering its 194th year, the egg fight began in the early 1800’s with best estimates being around Easter of 1820.
The first egg fight was the result of a dispute between the residents of Rome Hollow and Peters Hollow centered around whose chickens laid the hardest eggs.
Starting with a certain amount of eggs, the competitors go around and tap the ends of their hardboiled eggs on someone else’s trying to crack their opponents shell.
It is said that back in the day that the fights used to go long into the night, but limitations have been set to eliminate that from happening in current fights.
—-
On that note, I would like to take time to wish everyone a safe and happy Easter weekend. This to Christians is one of the most important holidays that we celebrate as it is time to celebrate a risen Savior.
Christmas was a wonderful event as Jesus came into the world, the cross was a bloody reminder of His love for a sinful world, but if not for Easter morning and the resurrection, He would have just been another man and my faith would have been in vain.
Enjoy the weekend and be mindful of why it’s celebrated.