Extreme Pursuits: Unbelievable Sports From Around the Globe

Dog Surfing

The cutest sport. In it, dogs ride surfboards with their owners. These talented dog surfers show off their balance and agility by catching waves and riding them to shore.

Chess Boxing

Chess boxing is a hybrid sport that combines elements of chess and boxing. Competitors alternate between rounds of chess and rounds of boxing, requiring both physical and mental skills to excel in the sport.

Kabaddi

Kabaddi is a traditional team sport originating from South Asia, where two teams compete to have one of their players (raider) invade the opponent’s field, touch one or more opponents, and then return to their half of the field while avoiding capture. This fast-paced and contact sport requires endurance, strength, and tactical thinking.

Toe Wrestling

Toe wrestling is a quirky sport in which two competitors, sitting across from each other, attempt to pin down each other’s foot using their toes. The objective is to force the opponent’s foot to touch the wooden board between them, making it a unique and amusing form of athletic competition.

Wife Carrying

Is a humorous and unusual sport in which male competitors race while carrying their female partners on their backs. The objective is to complete an obstacle course or track in the shortest time possible, adding a fun and challenging twist to traditional racing events.

Bed Racing

An exciting sport where teams of participants race modified beds with wheels through the streets of a town or city. Each team typically decorates their bed and dresses up in costumes to add a fun and colorful element to the race.

Hot Pepper Eating Contest

At this unusual competition, a real spicy show takes place, where participants risk not only with the sharp taste but also with their endurance, attempting to overcome the fiery challenges of peppers in hopes of claiming the title of the king or queen of spiciness.

Underwater Hockey

Underwater hockey, also known as Octopush, is an exciting and unconventional sport played on the bottom of a swimming pool. Players equipped with snorkels and fins use small sticks to push a puck into the opposing team’s goal while holding their breath, combining elements of hockey and snorkeling for a challenging and dynamic underwater experience.

Kaiju Big Battle

Kaiju Big Battle is a unique fusion of WWE-style wrestling, sci-fi cinema, and performance art. Participants don elaborate creature costumes, enter a “cage” adorned with miniature skyscrapers, and engage in entertaining battles.

Milk Carton Regatta

Participants build boats using empty milk cartons or other recycled materials. These boats are then raced in a body of water, such as a pond or a pool. It’s a fun and often lighthearted competition.

Sepaktakraw

It originated in Southeast Asia and combines elements of volleyball, football and martial arts. It is played with a rattan ball, and teams of three players each take turns kicking, kneeing, and heading the ball over a high net without using their hands.

Ostrich Racing

Is a unique and entertaining sport where jockeys ride on the backs of ostriches, which are large, flightless birds known for their speed and agility. Ostrich racing originated in Africa but has gained popularity in other countries as well.

Skijoring

A competitive sport in which skiers are pulled behind a horse, dog, or motorized vehicle across a snow-covered track. A popular winter activity in many cold climate regions.

Cycleball

Two teams of two players each ride bicycles within an enclosed area and attempt to score goals by maneuvering a ball into the opposing team’s net using their bikes.

Quidditch

Is a fictional sport from the Harry Potter series created by J.K. Rowling. The fans loved the game so much that they turned it into a real sport. In it, teams of seven play with brooms between their legs and throw balls into hoops.

Fireball Soccer

Is an extreme and thrilling sport that involves playing soccer with a flaming ball. The ball is typically soaked in a flammable substance and set on fire, adding an exciting and dangerous element to the game.

Cheese Rolling

Is a traditional and quirky sport held in the United Kingdom. The judge rolls down a piece of cheese and the contestants race down the slope to catch it.

Zorbing

Participants roll downhill inside a large, transparent, inflatable ball, typically made of plastic.

Ferret Legging

In it the participants compete to see who can endure having two live ferrets placed in their trousers for the longest time. The goal is to endure the discomfort and bites of the ferrets without showing any signs of pain.

Hornussen

Traditional Swiss sport. Two teams of between 16 and 20 players take turns hitting the ball called a “nouss” at each other. Defenders try to keep the ball from landing in their zones using a “schindel,” like a big shovel.

Shovel Racing

Unconventional winter sport where participants ride a snow shovel down a snow-covered hill. He first appeared at the Winter X-games in 1997.

Poohsticks

Poohsticks is a simple and whimsical sport inspired by A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh stories. Participants stand on a bridge over a stream, drop sticks into the water, and then race to the other side of the bridge to see whose stick emerges first.

Bossaball

It is typically played on an inflatable court with trampolines on each side of the net. Players use a combination of acrobatic moves and ball-handling skills to score points.

Yukigassen

Yukigassen is a competitive snowball fighting sport that originated in Japan. Each team is provided with 90 snowballs to eliminate players from the opposing team. When the snowballs are depleted, the team with more remaining players wins.