This is the first in a two part feature from SC1 Sports, bringing you 10 of the most outrageous and unusual sports played around the world. In this first part, we bring you some sports consisting of inflatables, trampolines, and even a headless goat carcass. Also, the most physical and mental sport there is…
According to the British Octopush Association, “Octopush is underwater hockey and is a supreme aerobic game. It was invented in the early 1950s by sub-aqua divers in Southsea who got bored just swimming up and down pool lanes to get fit. The game is now played worldwide. Underwater hockey is fast, furious, and fun ...”. Players wear basic underwater gear, and then with their small stick, the size of a spatula, they hit the 1.2kg puck into the opposition’s goal. A 25 metre pool is used where each team has 10 players, although 6 players enter the pool at a time. A big part of the game is to judge when to dive underwater to make a play, as players come to the surface for air. Teams can be mixed or single sex.
The ultimate physical and mental challenge they are describing it as. The UK is currently the home of ‘chessboxing’, with London hosting the international tournaments since 2008. The game is made up of eleven alternating rounds. Starting with four minutes of chess, the competitors take to the ring for two minutes of boxing, before going back to the chess board again. You can win through knockout, checkmate, the judges decision or if the twelve minutes of chess time is exceeded. During the rounds of chess, players wear headphones so the crowd can’t influence them. In the result of a tie in the boxing, the players with the most black pieces from the chess wins. If the chess ends in a stalemate, the points from the boxing game are used to determine the winner.
The Basque government call this sport the fastest sport in the world because of the speed the ball moves at. It is known as “zesta-punta” in Basque. The court for a game of Jai Alai is similar to a squash court, except the walls are on the back, left and front. Players use their ‘xistera’, or ‘cesta’ to catch the pelota (Spanish for ball) and in one fluid motion, swing the ball back against the wall where their opponent must reply. As there is no wall on the right, all players must be right handed, or wear their cesta on their right hand. Because the ball travels at such high speeds, there have been many injuries in the game, and even some fatalities. The game is becoming a bit more popular after appearing in an episode of 'Mad Men'.
Buzkashi (or ‘goat-grabbing’) is a sport originating from central Asia, played on horseback. The aim of the game is to grab the carcass of a headless goat or calf and throw it into the scoring area at each end. There aren’t really any other rules, and is quite possibly the most aggressive game there is. Players can even use whips on opposition players and horses to gain possession. There are ten players in a side, each with a horse to ride on. The game can be dated back to the 13th century, in the days of Ghengis Khan, and is the national sport of Afghanistan.
Moving on from the dangerous and quite scary game of Buzkashi, I bring you Bossaball. It can be described as a mix of football, volleyball and gymnastics. Any fans of Slamball may be interested in this also. The court consists of a trampoline in either half, with a player positioned on it. There are four players in a team. There isn’t much else to explain, as the teams aim to score just as they would in volleyball, except they can kick the ball. It looks really fun to play, and the video shows some outrageous overhead kicks to score after bouncing up from the trampoline.
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