Top 10 Strange and Bizarre Sports

October 3, 2022

Sports are played all around the world and are influenced by environment and culture. We have all played or at least heard of sports like soccer and basketball, but there are plenty of weird sports that you probably haven't heard of. Here are 10 of the most strange and bizarre sports that actually exist.

10. Kabaddi

Kabaddi originated in ancient India and essentially consists of a game of tag and wrestling. In a game of Kabaddi, the “raider” will run across a center line that divides the two teams to tag a member of the opposite team before they return to their side. Seems simple right? Well, the “raider” must do all of this while they chant “Kabaddi” on their way back to their side.  If they are able to do this, the "raider" will score a point for their team. On the other hand, if the defending team is able to stop a "raider" before they return to their side, they score a point for their team.


9. Wife-Carrying

Many people have run marathons, but how many have run a race whilst carrying their wife. Wife-carrying originated in Finland and consists of a group of men that carry their female counterparts through a rouged obstacle course. The winner is the couple that can finish the race the fastest.



8. Zorbing

One of the newer sports on this list, Zorbing consists of getting into an inflatable ball and hurtling yourself down a big hill until you come to a full stop. The ball is lined with a double-layer plastic and is inflated to ensure the person in the ball does not get injured. There is no competitive play to this ‘sport’ so it’s more of a fun activity.


7. Chess Boxing

Chess boxing is a hybrid sport between, you guessed it, chess and boxing. Players start by going head to head in a 4 minute round of chess, then the players hop in the ring for a 3 minute round of boxing before returning to the chessboard. Chess boxing consists of 11 rounds (6 rounds of chess and 5 rounds of boxing) with 1-minute breaks in between rounds. A player may win through a knockout, checkmate, a judge's choice, or if the opposing player runs out of chess time.


6. Yukigassen

This sport is every kid’s dream. Yukigassen, in a nutshell, is a giant snowball fight between two teams of 7 players. In order to win a game of Yukigassen, a team must capture the other team’s flag, eliminate each of the enemy players by hitting them with a snowball, or have the most amount of players on the field when time runs out.



5. Bossaball

Bossaball is a unique sport that combines the movement of volleyball, football, and gymnastics. The game started in Spain, and the goal of the game is to get your ball over the net and onto the opponent’s side. The arena is similar to a bouncy castle with a net across the middle and two trampolines on either side of the net. Two players on the trampoline must hit the ball over to the other side, if the ball goes over the trampoline the defenders have 5 hits to return the ball over to the opponents side.



4. Ferret-legging

Probably the weirdest sport on our list, ferret-legging is a sport where one puts a live ferret down their pants. Whoever can keep the ferret in their pants the longest, wins! The rules of ferret-legging are, the competitors cannot be drunk and ferrets cannot be sedated. The most important rule is you cannot wear any underwear beneath your trousers. Weird right?


3. Cheese Rolling

Cheese rolling is an event held on the Spring Bank Holiday at Cooper's Hill in England. People who participate run down the 200-yeard-hill after a round wheel of Double Gloucester cheese. This race originated by locals but now has participants from all around the world.


2. Bo-taoshi

Probably the most entertaining game to watch on this list, Bo-taoshi is a capture the flag-like game where players fight for a central point. In order to win a game of Bo-taoshi, your team must be able to lower the pole of the opposite team to a thirty-degree angle by climbing to the top. Defenders protect their pole from the rushing team by pushing and pulling on the enemy team!


1. Sepak Takraw

This sport is a very unconventional version of volleyball, in fact, Sepak Takraw is also known as kick volleyball. It is played with a rattan (small plastic ball) and a net devising two sides of a court, similar to badminton. Teams are made up of two to four players and they can only use their feet, knees, chest, and head to try and score a point on the other team. If your team gets the ball over and it touches the ground, you get a point!


With sports being played all across the world and influenced by different cultures and environments we are bound to get some more, unconventional games. I hope you enjoyed our list of the weirdest and bizarre sports that actually exist. Would you try any of them?

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