It’s not everyday that you come across one of these strange sporting activities. Believe it or not you might just find them in the Guinness World Records or on some sports channels. Here are three of our favourite weird sports that you may want to add to your bucket list.

 

Wife carrying

 

Wife carrying…yes you read correctly, has its roots in Finland. A sport in which male competitors carry a female team member through a series of obstacles in the fastest time possible. There are several ways in which you can carry your team mate: the well known piggyback; fireman’s carry (over the shoulder); and the Estonian style which involves the female hanging upside-down with her legs around the male’s shoulders, holding onto his waist. Obstacles usually include at least two dry obstacles and one wet obstacle of 1m deep.

The winner of the annual competition that takes place in Sonkajärvi, Finland is apparently awarded the weight of their ‘wife’ in beer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bossaball

 

A sport originated in Spain where teams consisting of 4 or 5 players use elements of volleyball, soccer, gymnastics and capoeira to score points against the opposing team. An inflatable court,including trampolines on either side of the net, adds to the excitement as players bounce to ‘spike’ the ball using any body part. Teams cannot use more than 5 contacts with the ball before passing it to the other side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bum skipping

 

Bum skipping involves rotating a skipping rope while sitting on the floor instead of jumping on your feet.  Also known as butt bumping, it involves lifting the whole body off the ground from the bum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few more fun facts…

 

• In wife carrying, the wife competitor can be your own wife, your neighbour’s, or someone you may have found elsewhere, she must just be over 17 years old.
• A bossaball key game ingredient is a  ‘samba referee’. This person controls the game  and acts as a Master of Ceremonies that handles the whistle, a microphone, percussion instruments and most importantly an exotic samba style DJ music set.
• The current Guinness World Record for bum skipping stands at 82 bum skips in 30 seconds and is held by an 11 year old boy.

While some may see these as really weird sports, all three have an interesting history and provide an alternative way to keeping in shape and getting the blood pumping.

 

Which sport would you give a try?