1. OIL WRESTLING
TURKISH OIL WRESTLING
This is one of the most popular sports in Turkey. Yagli gures means literally oiled wrestling. The wrestlers wear tight short leather trousers called "Kispet", made of water buffalo leather weighing approximately 13 kilograms, and they cover themselves with olive oil. Matches take place throughout the country but the most famous and most important tournament takes place in Edirne by the end of June and beginning of July. In 2014 the 653rd edition was held a little earlier, by the end of June 2014, due to upcoming Ramadan month. In 2015 the matches of the 654th edition were held between 20/26 July, after the Ramadan month. The wrestler Mr. Orhan Okulu won the final match and holds the title of "bas pehlivan". In 2016 the 655th edition will be held between 18-24 July.
The winner at the Edirne Kirkpinar gains around 100.000 US Dollars along with the title "Champion of Turkey." The winning wrestler in this category receives The 'Baspehlivan' of the Year award. The wrestler that obtains this award for three consecutive years receives 1.5 kilograms weight and 14 carat Golden Belt, alongside his gold and cash awards. Banks, companies or individual people that want their advertisement also give cash awards to the wrestlers. The organizer, Municipal Government of Edirne, distributes both gold and cash awards to the top three's and pays cash to the ones that could not get an award for their travel expenditures. This is called 'yolluk' (for the road). The "baspehlivan" is invited to various wrestling championships. In Turkey, the oil wrestling season continues for 8 months of a year.
Any wrestler from a traditional upbringing has an apprentice. The master trains with his apprentice: "cirak," and teaches him the art of oil wrestling. After the master wrestler quits the "arena of the brave," his apprentice continues his tradition.
The wrestlers attend other wrestling championships before coming to Kirkpinar. The referees closely know the technique and mastery of each wrestler. The categories are divided into groups called "boy." In this arrangement, weight is not a deciding factor. A wrestler weighing 120kg might not be allowed to wrestle in the "bas" (head) category. To wrestle in the head category, one must have had a final in "bas alti", one step lover than the "bas" category. A successful wrestler in regional championships might be allowed to wrestle in the "bas" category if he is found to be superior to his competitors.
In Olympic wrestling, holding from the wrestling suit is regarded as a foul. In oil wrestling, most games are made on the kispet. The wrestlers try to put their hands go through the kispet of their opponents as much as possible. To a kispet tied well, it is not possible to put a hand or arm through. The pehlivan that can achieve putting his hand through his opponent's kispet, can control him this way and hold from the lower end of his pants, 'paca', and this way can beat his opponent with the game called 'paca kazik'. A younger wrestler defeating an older wrestler would kiss the older wrestler's hand.
Until 1975, there was no time limit to wrestling in Kirkpinar. The pehlivans would wrestle sometimes one, sometimes two days, until they could establish superiority to one another. Wrestling games would go on from 9am in the morning until dusk and the ones that could not beat each other would go on the next day. After 1975, wrestling was limited to 40 minutes in baspehlivan category. If there is no winner within these limits, the pehlivans wrestle for 7 minutes with scored recorded. The ones that can score points in this last part are accepted as the winners. In other categories, the wrestling time is limited to 30 minutes. If there is no winner after 7 minutes of score wrestling, then at the final stage the first pehlivan who scores a point is the winner, this is called as "golden point". In 1999 doping control was introduced during the Edirne Kirkpinar.
The final wrestling matches are held on the last day of Kirkpinar, usually the President of Turkey arrives at Edirne on this day to watch the finals. The baspehlivan's prize is given by the President, the "aga" (sponsor), and the mayor.
Just before the finals, the municipality organizes an auction. The bids are placed on a ram. The highest bidder becomes the "aga" of the next year's Kirkpinar and is the number one sponsor. He welcomes his guests and puts them up at the hotel, has big dinners, and organizes festivities. Also, he hands out the medals to the winners in their categories. In Edirne he is able to stop a match, disqualify wrestlers if necessary, and even to cancel the wrestling events all together. A Turkish businessmen from Trabzon, Mr. Seyfettin Selim, paid 361.000 Turkish Lira as the highest bid (approximately 120.000 Euros) and became the "Aga" of Kirkpinar in 2016 for the 7th time in a row. The "aga of all agas" means the "sultan" of the country. Presidents like Ozal, Demirel and Gul have been among the spectators of Kirkpinar.
WHY DO THEY APPLY THE OIL?
For many years the practitioners of the sport of wrestling have prepared in religious settlements. The first wrestling sketches were found in Egypt in Beni Hasan temple which was built five thousand years ago. In Central Asia, religious men called "shamans," and "dai" have been involved with wrestling. In the Ottoman Empire wrestlers were brought up in religious environments called "tekke" for seven hundred years. Just like five thousand years ago, Japanese Sumo Wrestling and Turkish Kirkpinar carries over the religious motifs of the past. Man is not simply made of matter, the other half of the human equation is our spirit and spiritual being. Wrestling without the spiritual relationship has been accepted to be harmful for the improvement of the human character. The wrestlers oiling each-other is a signification of the importance of "balance" in such competitions.
According to English thinker Bertrand Russel, the Roman Empire collapsed due to the infected mosquitoes that spread Malaria. In those times, living at sea level, to 400m above sea level was close to impossible. Even mosquito nets, burning animal feces, standing in smoke during sundown were not sufficient for complete protection from mosquitoes. The oil extracted from a vegetable particular to the Mediterranean region: "the olive," was used in cooking and for protection from mosquitoes. When humans learned to mix a specific ingredient "kafur" with olive oil for full protection from mosquitoes, the Roman Empire was long gone. The people of Anatolia who spent day by day applying olive oil on to their bodies, continued to wrestle with their bodies oiled, and a new style of wrestling surfaced from this condition: "oil wrestling."
2 . POOHSTICKS
Pooh had just come to the bridge; and not looking where he was going, he tripped over something, and the fir-cone jerked out of his paw into the river. 'Bother,' said Pooh, as it floated slowly under the bridge, and he went back to get another fir-cone which had a rhyme to it. But then he thought that he would just look at the river instead, because it was a peaceful sort of day, so he lay down and looked at it, and it slipped slowly away beneath him, and suddenly, there was his fir-cone slipping away too.
'That's funny,' said Pooh. 'I dropped it on the other side,' said Pooh, 'and it came out on this side! I wonder if it would do it again?' And he went back for some more fir-cones. It did. It kept on doing it. Then he dropped two in at once, and leant over the bridge to see which of them would come out first; and one of them did; but as they were both the same size, he didn't know if it was the one which he wanted to win, or the other one. So the next time he dropped one big one and one little one, and the big one came out first, which was what he had said it would do, and the little one came out last, which was what he had said it would do, so he had won twice ... and when he went home for tea, he had won thirty-six and lost twenty-eight, which meant that he was - that he had - well, you take twenty-eight from thirty-six, and that's what he was. Instead of the other way round.
And that was the beginning of the game called Poohsticks, which Pooh invented, and which he and his friends used to play on the edge of the Forest. But they played with sticks instead of fir-cones, because they were easier to mark.'
Mike Ridley, owner of 'Pooh Corner' in Hartfield, wrote a very nice booklet about this game, including these rules below. This booklet 'The official Pooh Corner Rules for Playing Poohsticks' was written in 1996 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the publication of 'Winnie-the-Pooh.'
'The official Pooh Corner Rules for Playing Poohsticks'
First, you each select a stick and show it to your fellow competitors. You must agree which stick is which - or whose, as it were.
Check which way the stream is flowing. Competitors need to face the stream on the side where it runs in, under the bridge (upstream). Note: If the stream runs out, from under the bridge you are standing on the wrong side! (downstream).
Choose someone to be a Starter. This can be either the oldest or the youngest competitor.
All the competitors stand side by side facing upstream.
Each competitor holds their stick at arms length over the stream. The tall competitors should lower their arms to bring all the sticks to the same height over the stream as the shortest competitor's stick.
3. BED RACING
The sport of Bed Racing has been embraced by the people of the North Yorkshire Town of Knaresborough, who hold the annual Knaresborough Bed Race. The first race in 1965 was only open to Army, Navy and American Marines, but now the competition is open to anyone.
The competitors race in teams of six, plus one on the bed. Each team must provide their own bed, decorated in the theme for the year. The bed runs on four wheels, but also need to be able to float, as explained below.
The 3km run race begins and ends at Conyngham Hall. About halfway through the run, the teams face the one-in-five gradient climb to Castle Top before it’s back down the hill and toward the final challenge – crossing a river.
BED RACE RULES
Each team must have 5 people to a team who actually race (4 runners, 1 rider and 1 alternate, just in case).
Rider must wear helmet.
Races course is almost 1/8th of a mile.
Two beds will race at once for a time trial. Top 10 times, race in pairs of two, for the single best time.
All beds must be decorated (keep in mind there is a contest for best decorated and a great prizes for this.).
Any size wheels are permitted.
No breaking devices allowed.
No steering devices allowed.
Pushing the bed only during the race, no pulling.
All 5 team members must pass finish line (with the bed) in order to win.
BED CONSTRUCTION
Twin bed size only. Mattress or padding (minimum of 4 inches thick) must be part of design and design must mimic a bed with headboard and footboard. Parade bed is race bed!
Beds must have minimum of four wheels one in each corner, all must touch the ground, wheels can be any size.
Beds can be decorated in any way but must have a headboard and footboard as part of the design – be creative!
Bed cannot have any means of propulsion other than the team pushing it. No motors. No steering mechanism. Human power only. No brakes.
Bed may have push bars not extending more than 4 inches out. Nothing sharp may be part of the bed.
Any violations in bed design will have penalties (up to and including disqualification). Beds that are not constructed according to the rules will be required to be modified to adhere to the rules.
Participants are encouraged to dress along with the bed theme decoration to win prizes.
No sharp items, glass or obscene items on beds. Beds will be disqualified for any of these violations.
4. ZORBING
Although it’s one of the stranger extreme sports out there, zorbing is actually pretty simple: Climb inside a big inflated ball and roll down a hill. If it sounds strange, you’re right. If it sounds like fun, you’re definitely right.
The plastic ball is double walled, so the rider (sometimes harnessed in, sometimes not) bounces around and gets the thrill of speed, but is protected from the full impact of hitting the ground repeatedly.
Zorbing has been around since the mid-1990s, when David and Andrew Akers came up with the idea in Rotorua, New Zealand. Since then, they’ve expanded the business globally, opening locations in seven countries, including the United States. Of course, they’ve generated lots of competition, with names like globe-riding, sphering, orbing, and the more generic hill-rolling.
As to the question of whether it’s really fun if you’re more than 20 years old, zorbing is more limited by novelty than by the age of the zorber (although I think my brother would enjoy it more than my grandmother). The first few times, it’s bound to be a ton of fun, but after a point rolling downhill is bound to lose its interest.
On the other hand, zorbing is more of a one-time experience than a hobby you pick up, much like zip lining. But the best zip lines are set up in exotic locations and combine the thrill of speed with gorgeous panoramas. Maybe zorbing could take that route: imagine bouncing down Mount Kilimanjaro.
5. EXTREME IRONING
There are lots of non-traditional sports out there, but one that takes competition to a new level is Extreme Ironing. Basically, people compete for records by ironing in the most extreme conditions. For instance, there are records for the most extreme ironing under water, ironing while skydiving, and more.
The History of Extreme Ironing
The sport of Extreme Ironing was created in Leicester, England, in 1997 by Phil Shaw (Nicknamed “Steam”). Phil was tired of coming home to a pile of ironing after working all day in a knitwear factory and wanted to enjoy the sunshine. That’s when he got the idea to combine the two — ironing and outdoor recreation.
Phil recruited his housemate Paul (Nicknamed “Spray”) and the pair embarked on creating new records and recruiting participants. The growth rate was slow, but in 1999, Extreme Ironing was picked up by a group of Germans and Extreme Ironing International was established. Since then, Extreme Ironing has become recognized around the world as an extreme sport.
How to Participate
All that’s needed to participate is an ironing board and an iron. Participates are encouraged to begin the same way as “Steam” and “Spray” — in the safety of a garden under the sunshine — and then move on to mountainsides and other extreme areas. The possible records are left up to the imaginations of the participants (You need to contact the Extreme Ironing Bureau for official approval).
Of course, participants need to remember to always wear the proper protective gear when pursuing new records in Extreme Ironing, such as helmets and pads. The ironing needs to be extreme to count, and ideas can be found on their official website.
You can check out the official rules of the Extreme Ironing Bureau and browse some of the records and photos at www.extremeironing.com.
Source: http://www.sewingandcraftcorner.com/have-you-heard-about-extreme-ironing/
6. WIFE CARRYING COMPETITION
History
Wife Carrying originated in Finland, and its history is based around the 19th century legend of Herkko Rosvo-Ronkainen, or “Ronkainen the Robber.” There are three stories as to how the sport was created. First, Ronkainen and his thieves were accused of stealing food and women from villages in the area he lived in; then carried these women on their backs as they ran away. Second, it has been said the men would go to villages near their own to steal other mens’ wives, and then have the woman become their own wife. Third is the story that Ronkainen trained his thieves by carrying big, heavy sacks on their backs, which could have eventually evolved to a sport.
The first modern day wife carrying event was held in Finland in 1992 and foreign contestants were admitted in 1995. This event is now held annually in Sonkajärvi, Finland as the World Championship. A North American Championship was started in 1999.
North American Wife Carrying Championship
The North American Wife Carrying Championship was founded in 1999 at Sunday River Resort in Maine and has been held annually in mid-October at this location ever since. Winners of 13 U.S. state events and two Canadian provincial events have competed in the North American Championship. Winners have the option of competing in the World Championships and have placed as high as fifth.
The North American Championship holds registration spots open for winners of any sanctioned state, provincial or regational wife carrying events and provides entry to these competitors at no cost, then opens any remaining spots for public registration. The winning team brings home the wife's weight in beer and five times her weight in cash.
North American Rules & Regulations
The North American rules and regulations for wife carrying vary slightly from the World Championship rules on several points. The list below is the official set of rules and regulations for the North American Championship and are followed by most state and regional qualifying events.
Competitors
1) Teammates are not required to be legally married.
2) Helmets are not required for the carried competitor. (The Worlds requires a helmet.)
3) The only special equipment allowed to be worn by the carrier is a belt, which is optional.
4) There is no minimum weight limit for the female competitor. (The Worlds set a weight limit of 49 kilograms / 108 pounds, and weight belts are used to make up any difference in weight.)
Competition
1) Competitors run the course two at a time in initial heats, with each team being timed. The two fastest teams qualify for a final heat, which may be timed or untimed, with the winner of the final heat being the winner of the event. Because the final heat is determined by time, qualifying teams do not necessarily have win their initial heat. Additional heats may be run for third place, and on.
2) If a competitor drops his teammate, thire team will be penalized with five seconds added to their time.
3) Teams may not advance on the course without the wife being carried, and will be disqualified if they do so.
4) There is no restriction on how the female teammate is carried. Several types of carry are commonly used including the Piggyback and Fireman's Carry (over the shoulder), but the most popular is the Estonian Carry (the wife hangs upside-down with her legs around the husband's shoulders, holding onto his waist).
Course
1) Length of course is 254 meters / 278 yards. North American courses are typically run on uneven ground with some level of elevation chang.e (The Worlds are run on a flat track).
2) Course design includes of two dry obstacles and one water obstacle. Specific obstacle designs may vary by course and by year.
Contacts & Event Sanctioning
Sunday River Resort owns the North American Wife Carrying Championship and serves as the sanctioning body for the sport in the U.S. and Canada. To sanction a wife carrying event in the U.S. or Canada and pre-qualify winners for the North American Championship contact Caroline Ochtera at Sunday River.
For media inquiries regarding the North American Championship including photos and video of past events, and press access for future events contact Sarah Devlin at Sunday River
7. WORLD GURNING CONTEST
This British term — much better known in Britain and Commonwealth countries than in the US — refers to the pulling of grotesque faces and has often been applied to that action as a competitive activity.
A surviving example is from the Lake District, where the Egremont Crab-Apple Fair has an annual contest, which they call the World Championship Gurning Competition and which they say dates back to 1266. There is also an Australian national competition that I know of, and there may be others, too.
At one time, such face-pulling contests were a common entertainment at fairs and gatherings around Britain (before the days of radio and television you had to get your fun where you could). The rules at Egremont are simple: competitors put their heads through a horse collar and then have a set time in which to contort their faces into the most gruesome, scary or daft expressions possible. False teeth may be left in or taken out, or even turned upside down if desired. The winner is the person who gets the most audience applause.
The word seems to have been originally Scottish, in the form girn, which — appropriately enough — may have been a contorted form of grin. It has had several meanings, of which the oldest — from medieval times — is still current in Scots and Irish dialect, and which is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as: “to show the teeth in rage, pain, disappointment, etc; to snarl as a dog; to complain persistently; to be fretful or peevish”. These days only the losers in the World Championship Gurning Competition do much of that
.
8. CHESS BOXING
Chessboxing is a new “hybrid” sport that combines the elements of chess and boxing to create a sport that tests both the physical and mental makeup of competitors. It may sound like a joke, and at first, it was meant to be more of an artistic statement than a legitimate sport. But years later, the sport has grown in popularity throughout Europe, with several dozen events having taken place over the past decade.
HISTORY OF CHESSBOXING
The concept of combining combat and mind sports doesn’t have any one single source, as several fictional works had depicted similar ideas for decades. But it was the work of Dutch artist Iepe Rubingh that brought the game to life.
In 2003, the first ever world championship of Chessboxing was held in Amsterdam, and was won by Rubingh himself. Before long, events were sprouting up in other cities – the most notable being Berlin, which hosted the first ever European Chess Boxing Championship on October 1, 2005.
As the years went on, chess boxing began to gain more attention in the world of chess. In 2008, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov played a friendly match in Elista, while a World Chess Boxing Organization soon appeared to provide oversight and regulation for the new sport. In recent years, Berlin and London have each hosted numerous Chessboxing bouts, while others have taken place throughout Europe, the United States, and in Japan.
CHESSBOXING RULES
A Chessboxing match consists of 11 rounds, provided the match does not end before the completion of all 11 rounds. Each round, the players will either play chess or engage in boxing. The rounds alternate, starting with a round of chess.
During the chess rounds, the players play chess for four minutes each. Each player is given 12 minutes on the clock; this ensures that at the end of the 11th round, both players will have used the entire time allotted. Players aren’t under any strict rules for how they should use their time, but officials do watch the game for signs of obvious stalling. If an official believes a competitor is stalling in order to avoid competing during the chess rounds, they may issue a warning and force a player to move within ten seconds or potentially forfeit the match. If at any time a player is checkmated or resigns, they lose the match.
Each boxing round is three minutes in length. Boxing rounds are scored as normal for boxing, usually using the “ten-point must” system that results in scores such as 10-9 in each round. A competitor can win in the boxing portion of the match if they should score a knockout (including by technical knockouts such as a stoppage by the referee).
Should all eleven rounds be completed – meaning the chess game has ended in a draw, usually due to a stalemate or a lack of mating material, since players will typically continue playing to attempt to run their opponents out of time – the boxing scores will be used to determine a winner by decision. In the rare case that this also results in a draw, most versions of the rules give the win to the player who played black during the chess game.
QUALIFICATIONS TO PARTICIPATE IN CHESSBOXING
It may surprise many people to find out that simply being a good boxer isn’t enough to get you a spot in a chessboxing event. Given the fact that players are forced to keep a reasonable pace during the chess portions of the event, and the fact that each match begins with a round of chess, a novice player could easily lose in the first or second chess round, making it difficult for them to win if they were a one-dimensional boxer.
With that in mind, most chessboxing competitions ask for players to show experience in both boxing and chess. While the boxing portion of this is somewhat subjective, most chessboxing organizations have set the bar for chess experience at an 1800 rating – ensuring that even the weakest among their chess players will have a fighting chance in a blitz game against most opponents (especially if they can get the best of their opponents during the boxing rounds).
9. BOSSABALL
Bossaball is a relatively new sport and was derived from Spain in 2004. Since then the sport has gone on to have international acclaim with countries such as Brazil, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Kuwait, Ecuador and Saudi Arabia all have very successful Bossaball teams. Whilst international competitions are limited, teams from respected countries travel the world to try and raise awareness of the sport.
OBJECT OF THE GAME
The game is a slight variation of volleyball and requires you to hit a ball over a net in order to win points. You can use any part of your body (head, feet, hands) to get the ball over the net and into your opponents section. The games take place on a massive inflatable with a trampoline found on each side for added bounce. The team with the most points at the end of the game is deemed the winner.
PLAYERS & EQUIPMENT
The number of players in a team often ranges from 3 to 5. The teams can be mixed of males and females with no restriction on gender per team. One player will be designated on the trampoline section of the arena at all times with players rotating after every point. All that is needed is a Bossaball court and of course, a Bossaball (very similar to a volleyball, in fact a volleyball will be suffice).
RULES OF BOSSABALL
Teams consist of 3-5 players and a mix of male and female players are permitted.
Serves can be made using any part of the body as long as they are ‘creative’.
You can hit the ball once using your hands and twice using your feet or head when the ball is on your side of the court before a team mate must then hit the ball.
A team can hit the ball up to 5 times before they must try and get the ball into their opponents half.
Games have no time limit and can only be won by reaching 25 points and by two clear games. Best of 3 or 5 sets are usually in operation.
After each point teams rotate their positions clockwise so that a different person is on the trampoline section each time.
The court can be of any size but are usually around 50 yards in length and 30 yards in width. In the middle of each court must run a net around 3 metres high. On either side of the court must be a trampoline section, an inflatable scoring section and an inflatable out of bounds section.
Scoring
Points are scored by successfully hitting the ball over the net into your opponents section and for them being unable to return the ball. 3 points are awarded for hitting the trampoline section of the court and 1 point awarded for anywhere else inbounds on the court. If the ball touches the Bossa (the ring around the trampoline) then the game continues as normal.
Winning The Game
In order to win a game of Bossaball your team will need to reach 25 points first. If the games get to 24-24 then a team must win by two clear points to win that set. Games are generally played out over the best of 3 or best of 5 sets.
Source: http://www.rulesofsport.com/sports/bossaball.html
10. SPORTS WITH NO CLOTHS
Sports Desk: Naked sport deals with engaging in sports without any clothing. It is a social custom in most parts of the world for athletes to wear some clothing, at the very least, sports clothing covers the athletes' crotch, and for women their breasts.
Besides being regarded as a matter of modesty, clothing also provides some measure of protection for the athlete.
Today, the main exception is in naturist-organised events; but there are other events, such as the World Naked Bike Ride, in which people take part in the nude. There are also some cultures in the tropics today in which sports are played in the nude or partially nude.
Recently, female players showed off their ball skills at the first-ever naked European Championships held in Germany.
But this is not the first time that there has been a sporting event where players have represented their sides without any jersey or say any clothes for that matter.
LINGERIE FOOTBALL LEAGUE
The Lingerie Football League popularly known as LFL is a women's 7-on-7 tackle American football league, created in 2009, with games played in the fall and winter at NBA, NFL, NHL and MLS arenas and stadiums.
UNDERWEAR RUN
This event is organised in the Arizona University in United States of America
NAKED CYCLING
The first World Naked Bike ride took part in 2004.
The first buff bikers hoped to promote positive body image, as well as promoting cycling as a means of environmentally-friendly transport.
NAKED SLED RACE
A naked sled race is held in Germany and crowds turn up in huge numbers for this event.
MUD WRESTLING
A wetsuit clad contestant mud wrestles against a woman wearing thong backed one piece swimsuit.
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