HomeInfoBizarreWeird Sports: Top 20 Strange Sports Played Across The World

Weird Sports: Top 20 Strange Sports Played Across The World

Have you ever been to an ostrich race or a Fierljeppen or Yukigassen? If not, you are missing out on some great & weird sports in life.

In ancient times, sports were not only a source of entertainment but the training of young men for the battlefield. Wrestling, archery, boxing, and other such sports taught physical and mental prowess to young men.

Although physical and mental fortitude is still part of the sport, sports now serve one purpose: entertainment. With fun and competition being the prime motive, several unique, thrilling, and so-called weird sports have taken over. From Buzkashi of central Asia to Picigin of Croatia, people have developed unusual means of playing sports.

There are several popular sports, but weird sports have their own charm. They are present from around each region of the world. There are also those super popular and fun but very weird kinds of sports.

They come in forms of entertainment and also from professional leagues depending on the kind of extension. These sports have massive popularity, even confined within a particular region.

Some areas of the world do not even celebrate some popular and conventional sports. But they are pretty glorious with some rather strange ones. For instance, North Americans do not even know about cricket, while people of South America have no clue what hockey is.

Weird Sports That are Truly Strange

Humans have a very wild and weird side to them- a reckless, adventurous, and mysterious side. This weird obsession with adventure and thrill often leads them to weird sports.

Some of the dangerous sports, rejecting all boundaries of games and play, are as follows:

1. The Ultimate Test between Man and Horse:

Man vs. Horse Marathon
Source: Flickr

It is indeed a strange kind of sport that tests your stamina. You will learn how to be agiler while competing against a horse. The Man v Horse race was originated in the Wales town of Llanwrtyd Wells. has been held annually in Wales since 1980. This sport has all to do with strength; you need great agility and strength to partake in this. Marathon human contestants are tested against those mounted on horses. This is how marathon testing takes place!

2. Dog Surfing:

Dog Surfing - An extremely weird sport
Source: Flickr

You might have heard about weird animals, but have you ever thought of them playing weird sports. Well, some are, like dog surfing. It is exactly what you thought: cute dogs surfing around the crazy waves.

The sport originated in California and Hawaii in the 1920s. The World Dog Surfing Championship takes place every year in the San Francisco Bay Area. Participating dogs may go solo surfing or with their human partner.

These adorable surfers are judged as per their balance, ride length, and wave size. And the best dog wins!

These pups may not even know they are being the stars of the competition. Several have even appeared in newspapers and TV shows for their athletic prowess.

3. A Different Kind of Swim:

Bog Snorkeling Championship
Source: Flickr

This is a really interesting kind of swimming but pretty gross as you would have to go snorkeling in a marshy bog. The water-filled trench is cut through a peat bog. Participants must wear snorkels as well as flippers in order to wade through the peat bog.

Traditional swimming techniques are not welcome however but only through the use of snorkeling strokes and processes can one perform here. The sport has held an annual world championship in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales, since 1985.  

4. Toe Sport:

Toe Wrestling is in top 10 weird sports
Source: Flickr

This is yet another weird sport that welcomes you to use your toes. This is quite the same kind of sport that you used to play as a child which involved toe wrestling. This has now been turned into a major sport that even has a World Toe Wrestling Competition. It first originated in a pub in Derbyshire.

The locals took this sport with great enjoyment and then made this so popular that it soon had its own championship. The individuals who participate have only got to use their feet in locks but then this is tougher than it may sound.

5. Fistball:

Fistball game is included in weird sports
Source: Wikimedia

Though Fistball is quite a popular sport among those who practice it fistball is really not known worldwide. It is a lot like tennis and volleyball and definitely one has to have really strong fists in order to be a part of this game. One can pass the net and then have the ball contracted as best.

The bouncing is allowed only 3 times at a go. There have to be 5 players coming from each team. This sport has become really big with its league formation. Now it is featured in World Games as well.

6. Octopush or Underwater Hockey:

Underwater Hockey, a strange kind of sport
Source: Flickr

This is a non-contact underwater sport that has two teams participating in it. The teams maneuver a puck right across the bottom of the swimming pool which is supposedly the goal area. It is played quite like hockey but just under the water.

Underwater Hockey has become steadily famous in countries like the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa. There are large Octopush sessions all across these major countries which regularly arrange competitions in this game.

7. Adult Kickball:

Adult Kickball
Source: Flickr

Reinvent this childhood game with the new venture into adult kickball. The adult kickball league is quite fun and wild. This game has now become a very important popular sport that brings lots of creativity and fun for adults.

The World Adult Kickball Association has been developing really wonderfully with greater participation and involvement from different countries in this grand sport. There are now greater avenues for this once popular childhood game to be carried out into the world of greater weird sports.

8. Chess Boxing:

Chess Boxing
Source: Wikimedia

This is a combination of chess and boxing techniques involved in one single game that brings the power of the brain as well as brawn into the same board. Sports boxing and chess are alternated with every round in this rather strange game.

This is a great combination that invites you to check not only the physical strength but also the mental dexterity of the players at the same level. The points are thus divided according to both evaluations.

9. Competition between You and Cheese:

Cheese Rolling
Source: Flickr

Do you love cheese? who doesn’t! There is a strange kind of competition that goes with finding out who is faster, you or a ball of cheese rolling down a hill. This incredible sport has been rolled down the hill. Moreover, competitors chase after it. The first person who gets to be downhill in perfect toeing of the cheese ball and gets to finish first will be the winner.

This is how the person at the bottom wins. Competitors chase after the cheese but usually, this cheese ball rolls pretty fast making it quite a challenging task.

Hand-Picked Content: How Does Cheese Get Distributed?

10. Beard and Moustache Competition:

Beard and Moustache Championship
Source: Flickr

The world beard and mustache competition is a biennial competition that challenges males with high testosterone levels to have a go at their beard and mustache growing capabilities. This includes large mustaches, goatees, and full beard styles.

There are different sections to this competition which even includes a category called the Dali mustache.

11. Kaiju Big Battel:

This is a humorous sport originating from the Japanese anime Kaiju Big Battel. This brings maniacal villains and ominous alien beasts all together in a tough competition. But this is more like a show match than anything else. The monsters have been dressed and matched in their own way in big dresses.

12. Cardboard Tube Dueling:

Cardboard fight
Source: Flickr

This is yet another dueling competition that brings about members of cardboard dueling with league-fighting talents. This works in a great way for competitors with their fancy costumes and even cardboard tubes to fight with.

13. The Mud Pit Belly Flop:

Mud run Sports is included in weird sports
Source: Wikimedia

This is a kind of game where even the spectators get splashed in the mud. But, in fact, that is quite fun. The very annual Summer Redneck Games in East Dublin brings about this game and brings about some of the greatest hubcap discus throws with it. This is also a great sport to show the strength and dexterity of your feet.

14. Bossaball:

Bossaball within a trampoline
Source: Wikimedia

This is another sport that includes soccer, gymnastics as well as capoeira, all integrated within a trampoline that would allow players and high bounders to do great spiking of the ball. This is a great sport to be enjoyed and brings a variety of work into one single sport itself.

15. Snow Polo:

Snow Polo
Source: Wikimedia

Though it was popular among Turkish emperors of long-gone days, this sport has come back again in a new but quite weird avatar. With the modified version of polo taking place across the snow, this makes through shoddy terrains with horse riding players playing a dense shot of polo there.

16. Wife-carrying

It is also one of the weird sports in the world. The world championships of this game are held around the world throughout the year.

This happens between the number of couples in which male candidates have to carry their female partners on their backs. They have to go through different obstacles over time. In some leagues, there is also weight restriction or limit.

It would become more difficult to reach the endpoint with weight on the back. During this event, many funny and some dangerous things happened. And some deadly injuries also take place.

17. Lawn Mower Racing

Lawn Mower Racing
Source: Wikimedia

Lawnmower racing fools you with the comical name but doesn’t let it happen to you. The sport itself is equally intense as funny as the concept is.

Go-Karting is similar to this. The one major difference between lawnmower racing and go-karting is the type of vehicle itself. A lawnmower must maintain its engine and chassis (frame), unlike a go-kart. This mini-sized racing is organized in the UK. The idea of this new sport came up when a group of friends became fed up with the unavoidable cash vacuum and huge startup costs of auto-racing. Whether the event takes place on a flat track or off-road, lawnmower racing is a hit.

18. Pillow Fighting:

Pillow Fighting
Source: Wikimedia

The Pillow Fight League is a bona fide sport and this isn’t the game that uses to play at home between children or couples. Therefore, we can thank the Canadian entrepreneurs for this who managed to turn this slumber party pastime into a competitive challenge.

This fighting game apparently gets pretty intense. And have resulted in lost teeth and even more bad concussions. This makes a lot more sense upon examining the rules. That allows punching and submission holds. This sport may be intense, but is this still not the most Canadian thing ever?

19. Extreme Ironing:

Extreme Ironing Weird Sport
Source: Flickr

Iron a shirt, but make it thrilling, fun, and weird! Extreme ironing is one of the weird sports ever played. As per the Extreme Ironing Bureau,

Extreme ironing is the latest dangerous sport that combines the thrills of extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt

Born in Britain, this sport is now played in several countries, including Germany, Australia, and Japan. The first Extreme Ironing Championship was held in 2002.

Since then, people have managed to find the most bizarre locations to press their shirts. Mountains, caves, frozen lakes, cars, and the top of strange buildings. You name it, and extreme ironing players have ironed their clothes there!

20. Buzkashi:

Buzkashi is the National Sports of Afghanistan. It is one of the weirdest sports.
Source: Flickr

Buzkashi- literally, ‘goat dragging’- tops the list of the weird sports ever played. It is practiced in several countries of Central Asia, including Afghanistan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

A group of men roams around the field- three times bigger than a football ground- on a horse. The aim is to throw a goat carcass (not your average ball!) at the opponent’s goal. Add in a whip to get things more nasty and brutal!

Ending Thoughts!

Humans have time and time again proved that they are the most mysterious creature alive. And these sports are one perfect example of it. Some of the above strange sports are played internationally, while some are confined to particular regions. However, they all have a cult following that does whatever it takes to win the game!

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Saad Shafiq
I love to understand, emphasize and describe facts and characteristics that surround us.

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