Unusual sports busting out all over
Wife carrying, chess boxing just two examples of offbeat competitions
 | Yes, wife carrying is a sport, started in Finland in the 19th century. |
Darren Mccollester / Getty Images |
The players stare intently at their chess board, the white rook stalking the opposing queen as the black bishop tries for a quick strike. Gazes ricochet from board to opponent and back to board as the pressure of the match builds. Though they’re not breaking a sweat, players are decked out in shorts and sneakers, a fashion choice that makes sense when they stand, don gloves, and start throwing powerhouse punches at each other. Welcome to the wacky world of chess boxing.
Strange? Well, yes. But offbeat sports are hardly rare — they just have bad PR reps. After all, the newer or smaller they are, the harder it is to compete with, say, basketball or soccer. But from the sandy beaches Down Under to the frozen tundra of Lapland, people have invented fascinating ways to compete. They may involve teams, animals or expensive equipment, but they all speak to the local culture, and experiencing them can make for an overwhelmingly authentic experience — or at least good cocktail-party fodder.
At its most primitive, odd sports usually involve throwing stuff. And there seems to be no end to the list of things people toss competitively: typewriters (Missouri, on Secretary’s Day), “cow chips” (Oklahoma), haggis (Scotland), rubber boots (Finland) and mobile phones (the Finns again).
But who the hell decided to combine chess and boxing? Its origins are a bit unclear. This odd hybrid appears to have its roots in the 1990s, and while its growth has been slow, there’s now a governing body (the Berlin-based World Chess Boxing Organisation) and a world championship, which started in 2003. Rounds alternate between two-minute boxing rounds and four-minute “Blitz game” chess matches when the gloves come off.
More publicly, Brits hold the annual event of “cheese chasing” in the Cotswolds, with participants running (but mostly tripping and falling) down a steep hill in pursuit of an elusive wheel of double gloucester cheese (which gets a head start). Or how about the Turkish tradition of camel wrestling, where spectators have to watch out for flying camel spit (and other bodily fluids).
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Of course, any sport must seem strange at first ... and perhaps long after. (Anyone up for running with the bulls?) In fact, the process of popularizing a sport takes a lot of effort, and even more money. But as the world shrinks, it’s easier than ever to get the word out.
In fact, the WCSN is a good place to start if you want to see some strange activities. Had you tuned in to the Asian Games last year, you could have witnessed the sport of kabaddi, which involves trying to “tag” members of an opposing team and making it back to your side of the court — all while holding your breath.
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