By its very definition, a sport is geared towards mass entertainment, and organisers across the world are pushing the boundaries of this definition to the very limits. Whilst elite sports are unattainable for many people, local sports provide a fun, and often hilarious way, to come away with a world championship. Let's take a look at the world's weirdest sports and the people crazy enough to take them on:
Man vs Horse
In 1980, a pub landlord in the Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells overhead two of his punters arguing about whether or not a man could beat a horse in a cross-country race. The landlord decided to put theory to the test by setting up the Man vs Horse event, which pits human contestants against mounted horse contestants in a marathon across the local countryside. In 2004, Huw Lobb was the first man racing on foot to win the race in 2 hours, 5 minutes 19 seconds, picking up ?25,000 for his efforts.
Toe Wrestling & Shin Kicking
What started as popular childhood activities, are now full-fledged competitive sports. The World Toe Wrestling Competition first started in a pub in Derbyshire in 1976, where locals devised an event where individuals would lock toes together and force their opponent's foot to the ground. Despite many efforts by the organisers, it is not yet an Olympic sport.
Shin Kicking is part of the four hundred year-old Cotswold Games, and it does what it says on the chin. Two fighters see how can knock one another to the ground first simply by kicking shins. Luckily plans early in the sport's history to strap knives to contestants' shoes were scrapped.
Bossaball
Originating in Belgium, but popular in Brazil, Germany, Spain and Kuwait, Bossaball is similar to volleyball, with elements of football, gymnastics and capoeira thrown in. Best of all, it's played on an inflatable court and with a trampoline in front of the net to allow serious height when spiking the ball. The name comes from a style of Brazilian music and the referees are also in charge of providing a soundtrack to the game, with drums, turntables and microphones.
Wall of Death
It takes strong nerves just to watch contestants ride India's Wall of Death, as they rev their cars and motorcycles over the near vertical 30-diameter barrel, to within inches of the crowd's faces. Despite the obvious danger, the sport is popular throughout many small Indian towns and offers its champions a huge amount of status.
Pumpkin Regatta
Danny Dill was content just breeding Atlantic Giant pumpkins in Nova Scotia Canada, when he hit upon the idea of the Pumpkin Regatta in 1999, during which contestants must race across half a mile of open water in the brightly coloured vegetables. The event now draws 10,000 spectators and even has celebrities interested; Martha Stewart tried to compete in 2005, however was unfortunately denied permission to enter Canada following her recent release from prison.
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/6221196
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