Top 10 of Mad World Championships

Mark Pawlak    Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts     Chess Boxing, Freestyle Ironing, hot dog eating, mad sports, maddest sports, mountain biking, Windsurfing, world championships

With the Olympics drawing ever closer and the summer nights lasting longer, people are again taking their sports very seriously – well, some people…

For every regular, popular sporting championship, such as windsurfing or mountain biking, there’s an odd one: a sport that defies sense, logic and sometimes plain good taste – and they often have world championships of their own.

Here are the top 10 mad world championships featuring the ten nuttiest, oddest sports around. Trust me: we are not making this up!

Poohsticks

Held in March this year in South Oxfordshire, this age old game was featured in a children’s book about Winnie the Pooh. Contestants drop sticks off one side of a bridge; the winner is the person whose stick that passes out under the bridge first – extreme!

Bog Snorkelling

Swimmers race through muddied water canals in some of the UK’s dampest and least hospitable areas. Muddy, thick and gibberingly cold, the world championships are held in Wales.

Gurning

Specific to a crab fair in West Cumbria, this is an ugly world championship sport. In fact, the uglier you can make your face by contorting it, the better your chance of a medal.

Photo: flickr/ Space Pirate Queen

Hot Dog Eating

These weiner munchers can put away up to 50 sausages at a time. Now that there’s a separate woman’s event this year in New York, we’ll really see the power and might of the world’s best hot dog munchers.

Chess Boxing

Smart moves and swift hooks meet up in this the oddest hybrid sport. A round of chess followed by a round of boxing. Beaten on the board or battered round the ring, you’ll lose by checkmate or knock out: crazy!

Tiddlywinks

Almost as violent as the chess boxing…this sport traces its history back to 1890 and has similarities to pool, as you need to flip your winks either into a container, or use them to cover your opponent’s.

Freestyle Ironing

A chance for climbers to flex their domestic muscles. Freestyle ironing world championships sees climbers carry their ironing board and a shirt to an extreme part of the rock face and get on with pressing a shirt. There are even several styles: from urban to rocky, to freestyle.

Worm Charming

Charming. To take top prize competitors need to get a set area of land, then use whichever method they prefer to get worms to come to the surface. The charmer with the most worms, wins.

Swamp Soccer

Everyone struggles when the goalmouth gets boggy, although these footy fans seem to love the rain as it guarantees what this sport needs: lots of mud! Finland is home to the real championships; finals last more than 50 minutes and by the end of it everyone is in a right state.

Underwater Rugby

Forget the tactics you’ve learned, this is all about getting the ball into a bucket not over a try line. It’s not even played with the same ball, and it’s underwater. You’ll need to hold your breath, pass on the conversions, and go easy on the tackles (you’re wearing flippers and a mask) or you’ll really end up in the deep end…

About the author

Mark Pawlak wrote 194 articles on this blog.

Editor at Adventure Sports Holidays, Mark's love affair with travel and the challenges of adventure sports continues... "You could save all year for a two-week, all-inclusive, doss by the pool, booze and buffet binge. Or, with a little planning and some good equipment, get off your arse and plan an adventure!"

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