Bizarre Sports Around the World

 Mobile phone throwing


Mobile phone throwing is an international sport that started in Finland in the year 2000. It is a sport in which participants throw mobile phones and are judged on distance or technique.


There are usually four categories in the sport:


Original (also called ‘Traditional’): an over-the-shoulder throw with the farthest distance winning (best of 3)


Freestyle: contestants get points for aesthetics and creative choreographics


Team original: up to three competitors have one throw each with their scores added together


Junior: for children aged 12 or younger


The phones used vary not just between events but between competitors, with any phone that weighs over 220 grams being acceptable


At some events the choice is down to personal preference from those provided by the event organisers, while others provide only one model of phone.





Wife-carrying contest

A ­wife-carrying contest is actually a lot like it sounds. Men, carrying

wives, race through an obstacle course that includes sand, water and fences. The prize for winning the race is the wife’s weight in beer. It’s really all very civilized.


The sport — yes, it’s a sport — originated in Finland, and was most

likely inspired by a duo of historical tales. A 19th century legend has

it that men stole wives from neighboring villages. In a second tale, an

outlaw named Rosvo-Ronkainen made potential soldiers prove themselves in

a race where they carried heavy sacks. 

Cheese rolling


Cheese rolling is an exercise in simplicity – the event literally

entails rolling a wheel of cheese down a hill and chasing it. The

official event takes place in Gloucestershire

on Cooper’s Hill, a rather steep incline. The event, not surprisingly,

attracts plenty of drinking, which can lead to injuries when combined

with a high-speed chase down a steep hill. One year, two thirds of the

contestants got injured and in 1998, the police shut down the event for

public safety. Cheese rolling has a rich history, having combated food

rationing (contestants instead chased a wooden wheel with a small piece

of cheese inside) and a ban on rural activities due to the

foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.  

Midget Throwing


The Midget Throwing, or Dwarf Tossing, originated in Australia in the 1980?s.


A bar attraction in which dwarves wearing special padded clothing or

Velcro costumes are thrown onto mattresses or at Velcro-coated walls,

participants of the contest compete to throw the dwarf the farthest.


Dwarf tossing is widely considered to be offensive to the dignity of

dwarfs, and some legislators have considered bans. Proponents of the sport have criticized such moves, with some arguing bans deny dwarfs a   possible source of income.

Tuna Throwing


The Tunarama festival is arguably the highlight of the year in Port Lincoln, South Australia.

Even though the festival has such attractions as a slippery pole

competition and camel rides, nothing can top the tuna throwing

competition. For a grand prize of $7,000, contestants have to launch a

full-grown tuna like a hammer throw. For those who were concerned, the

competition only uses only spoiled fish, so the event is even somewhat

Peta-friendly. 

AirKicking


This human catapult launches individuals over 26 feet in the air into a swimming pool or foam pit.


Describing the AirKick’s functionality, Jochen Schweizer explains,

“it propels participants through the air in a pre-calculated parabolic

trajectory using a special combination of air pressure and water

recoil technology. The participant sits in a specially constructed seat

at the back end of the catapult arm and 3,2,1…Liftoff. He sets the

device in motion himself by pushing a button. Approximately 60 Liters of

water are then forced through a rocket nozzle under the seat. This pressurized water

(8 to 10 bar of air pressure) propels the participant 8 meters though

the air for a cool and refreshing splash down in a swimming pool.”