Top 12 Most Unusual Sports in the World

1. Underwater Hockey

When it comes to bizarre sports, Underwater Hockey takes the top spot. Originating in the 1950s, it combines swimming and diving skills with the gameplay of hockey, making it a unique underwater experience. Participants, equipped with fins, masks, snorkels, and protective gloves, maneuver a weighted puck across the pool floor using small sticks, resembling a blend of ice hockey and basketball. Both men and women can compete, requiring endurance to hold their breath while navigating the underwater arena.

Matches are typically held in specially designed pools, with spectators watching from the poolside or via live broadcasts. The sport's global popularity has led to the establishment of two international governing bodies, the Underwater Hockey Commission (CMAS) and the World Aquachallenge Association (WAA), each organizing separate world championships since 2006.

2. Pillow Fighting

In Sri Lanka's water festival, there are numerous peculiar sports, but the most favored is Pillow Fighting. Two players sit atop swaying poles, each balancing by placing one hand behind their back, aiming to knock the other into the water.

According to AFP, the competition always brings joy and excitement as pillows fly wildly when torn. Participants, whether male or female, clutch pillows while perched on a stainless steel pole over 8.5 meters long spanning a muddy pond nearly 1 meter deep. After the referee's whistle, whoever uses the pillow to knock their opponent off the steel pole into the mud wins. Hence, participants must not only have strength but also excellent balance.

The match consists of 2 rounds, each lasting 2 minutes. Judges score points for accurate pillow strikes to the opponent's head and body, strictly forbidding biting, scratching, hair-pulling, turning away from the opponent, or dropping the pillow... to throw punches. With a scale of 10 points, if both pillow fighters tie, the judges will determine the winner based on style, endurance, and the 'eye of the tiger' (understood colloquially as the ability to dodge blows or remain vigilant when faced with flying fabric or pillow feathers).

3. Toe Wrestling

Every year, tourists and competitors from around the world flock to Bentley's Fenny village, Derbyshire county, England to witness and participate in the Toe Wrestling competition. Competitors must be over 18 years old and pass a foot hygiene test to ensure no odor or fungus. They are then divided into male or female pairs, competing in a maximum of 3 rounds to determine the winner. The first round begins with the right toe. Two wrestlers sit facing each other, placing their feet on a small square wooden frame on the floor, intertwining their big toes, and using the strength of their big toes to press their opponent's toe to the ground. The second round switches to the left toe. If there is a tie, the final round will continue with the right toe.

According to IBT, this competition started in 1976 at a pub in the town of Wetton, northern England. At that time, a group of walkers wanted to create a game that only the English could win. However, it wasn't until the mid-1990s that this unique sport began to be played annually, and there was even a Canadian champion.

4. Bossaball

Bossaball (or Bossaball Volleyball) originates from Spain and is currently thriving in Europe as well as in South American countries. Although still unfamiliar to many in Vietnam, Bossaball has begun to emerge in Dong Thap and has attracted a lot of attention. It is known that Bossaball was invented by Filip Eyckmans, a Belgian living in Spain. By 2004, Bossaball gained great popularity in Belgium and the Netherlands before becoming an indispensable recreational activity on beaches in Spain. Currently, Bossaball has appeared in many European countries and South American countries. Additionally, in the world, volleyball experts have formed the Bossaball World Cup, attracting many participating countries.

The Bossaball court is entirely designed with inflatable mats for athletes to easily bounce. In each court section, there is an additional canvas with springs placed close to the net to help attackers bounce up for finishing shots. In Bossaball volleyball, each team consists of 4 - 5 people, with the main attacker always stationed on the spring canvas to perform finishing shots. Playing this volleyball game involves using the feet, hands, and the inflatable court as the playing surface, making movement quite challenging. To play well, each individual must possess various skills, from volleyball and soccer to gymnastics or even martial arts. The basic rules are based on volleyball rules, but each Bossaball team has 5 touches to keep the ball in play. More uniquely, each player can have 2 consecutive touches if they make contact with the ball using different body parts. The attacker is likened to a sports artist because they must possess multiple skills and high sensitivity to bounce on the spring canvas to catch their teammate's passes.

The highlight of Bossaball is that players must continuously bounce during the game, resulting in significant energy consumption. Moreover, allowing the ball to be finished with various body parts has made players enthusiastic about this type of recreational activity. Furthermore, with the playing surface being inflatable mats, athletes feel safer performing movements without fear of injuries.

5. Toe Kicking

This sport originated in 1636 and was part of the Robert Dover Olimpick Games, where it was even more violent. In the early 19th century, villages here often challenged each other through violent matches by kicking opponents' toes with hammer-like devices.

Athletes wear traditional white shirts and straw-stuffed socks for protection, aiming to kick opponents' toes so they cannot stand up, thus winning the match. Typically, athletes leave the field with bruised toes, considering themselves lucky. In the 1950s, toe fractures were common, so rules strictly prohibited athletes from wrapping their toe ends with steel in subsequent years.

This sport was invented by the English and emerged in the early 17th century. There is now a world championship for this sport called Olimpicks Cotswold. In addition to the two players, there is also one referee to determine the outcome.

Today's rules stipulate that the opponent who kicks the other's toes twice will be the winner. To prevent injury, as opponents may kick too hard causing injury, there is always at least one ambulance stationed outside the field for timely emergency treatment.

6. Chess Boxing

Unusual and sometimes quirky, in just 15 years, chess boxing has created a strong allure and spread widely across the globe. The combination of strength in the ring and mental prowess on the chessboard creates an intriguing sport known as chessboxing. A professional chess boxing match consists of a maximum of 11 rounds, with 6 rounds of chess and 5 rounds in the ring. Similar to regular boxing, each round of chessboxing lasts for 3 minutes. The rest time for each round is typically 60 seconds.

A chess boxing fighter will win when:

• The opponent is checkmated on the chessboard or runs out of time. According to the World Chess Boxing Organization rules, each fighter has a total of 9 minutes to play chess and will wear headphones to avoid being influenced by surrounding commentary.
• Or they win in the ring by knockout or due to their opponent's violation, such as throwing banned punches like hitting below the belt, using kicks or elbows, attacking the neck area, etc.
• If after 11 rounds there's no clear winner, the match outcome will be decided by the referee's score based on the performance in the boxing rounds.

According to Rubingh, more than 500 million people worldwide know and understand the rules of chessboxing. This is a promising start for the future of this sport. To be recognized and included in regional or even global competitions like the Olympics, chess boxing certainly needs more time. If successful, who knows, legendary matchups may take place that nobody could have imagined.

When it comes to animal-related sports, horse racing may be the top choice in terms of pressure and speed. However, according to the Daily Mail, if we talk about uniqueness and skill, perhaps nothing can surpass the excitement of ostrich racing.

The ostrich racing track is similar to horse racing, and jockeys have to undergo training to ride on the back of these birds to... 'fly'. Each race usually involves 5 - 7 birds starting at a time, and the track length is similar to that of horse racing. The first bird to reach the finish line wins. Each ostrich is equipped with a special saddle and reins, while jockeys hold a whip, wear helmets, and undergo checks before competing. Despite similar 'accessories' to horse racing, ostrich racing always attracts and creates excitement and fun for the audience due to its peculiar and challenging nature. Additionally, some competitions involve ostrich racing with carts.

According to the evaluation of the American media, ostrich racing is more challenging than horse racing and other animal riding sports. This is because an ostrich can reach speeds of up to 70 km/h. Therefore, each ostrich jockey must undergo rigorous training to maintain balance on the backs of these somewhat unruly birds. According to The Sun, jockeys must train special skills to immobilize the ostrich wings to maintain stability on the saddle. More importantly, jockeys must diligently train the ostriches to obey them on the race track. This is considered the foremost factor determining victory or defeat in each race.

Most of the ostriches competing in races come from Africa. These flightless birds have the largest bodies among bird species. The necks and legs of ostriches are especially long and are considered the 'speed kings' on land in the bird world. Since the late 19th century, with their ability to carry heavy loads on their backs, ostrich racing has been developed for entertainment purposes at some festivals in South Africa and in states like Arizona or Florida (USA). Today, ostrich racing has not only become very popular in these localities but has also expanded to many places across the United States, being held alternately with camel and emu races. According to a recent statistic, the ostrich races in Chandler city during the Arizona ostrich festival last March attracted over 100,000 spectators and tourists from around the world.

Those who have read J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series are undoubtedly familiar with the game of Quidditch played by the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Now, it has emerged into real life. Of course, players cannot ride flying brooms like the characters in the books. Players do have brooms, they have to sit on them throughout the game, but instead of flying, they have to run. The ground-based version of the matches follows all the rules mentioned at Hogwarts, with one exception, the Golden Snitch - a golden ball with wings, which is held by a person dressed in yellow. Fans say that the ground version of Quidditch is a blend of soccer and rugby when 7 players from each team try to throw the ball through a small hoop at the opponent's end of the field.

This version of Quidditch was proposed by Xander Manshel, a British student at Middlebury College in Vermont, USA, and has been in competition since 2005. Currently, there are about 400 universities and over 300 high schools in the USA that have established Quidditch teams, and the Intercollegiate Quidditch Association - formed in 2007 - organizes tournaments. The annual Quidditch World Cup is a significant sporting event in the USA, with athletes from 16 states and 46 colleges gathering in New York to compete.

Bed racing was 'manufactured' in the town of Knaresborough in Yorkshire, Northern England in 1966. Initially, with the picturesque mountainous terrain of the locality, the organizers brainstormed hundreds of different ideas for events such as horse racing, boat racing, mountain climbing... But then, somehow, they decided to take the beds out onto the streets to turn it into a world-famous community sports event.

The first race was originally intended for the British military, the Royal Navy, and the US Marine Corps, but later expanded to all groups. However, expanding the groups did not mean that bed racing became an entertainment competition because participating teams had to face many challenges and dangers. According to the regulations, each racing team consists of 7 people, including 6 pushers (male team, female team, or mixed team from the age of 8) pushing or pulling the wheeled bed, and one 'passenger' lying on the bed. The racers of each team, if they want to become 'bed racing superstars,' must possess comprehensive skills: strength, endurance, marathon running, swimming, and teamwork. They will push the bed according to the competition rules (minimum size 1.75 x 0.75 m, maximum 3 x 1.35 m and maximum height 3 m; 4 wheels with a diameter not exceeding 250 mm; buoyancy...) over a nearly 4 km long course, starting from the town center. The tension and drama are always present throughout the race as the eye-catching beds glide through the park, landmarks with right-angle corners, climb steep rocky slopes, and wade through the icy Nidd river over 18 m wide, always flowing vigorously before reaching the finish line.

After the starting signal, the 6 main racers push or pull the bed with sweat dripping, striving to achieve the fastest speed towards the finish line. On the bed, the 'passenger,' although equipped with a helmet and life jacket, is always in a nervous state preparing mentally for the worst scenarios such as: overturning the bed, hitting the roadside and flipping into the air, colliding with the opponent's bed, sinking into the river, falling downhill... Therefore, not only with the task of cheering for teammates, the 'passenger' lying on the bed must also possess a 'steel spirit' and certain courage. The team completing the race in the fastest time will be the championship team, with the winning teams typically finishing in around 12 - 14 minutes.

According to Oddity Central, this peculiar competition unexpectedly came into being on a November evening in 1979. At that time, Mr. Gordon Green, a pub owner in the town of Llanwrtyd Wells (Wales), was arguing with a local resident, Mr. Glyn Jones, about the endurance between humans and horses.

Mr. Green believed that a man could beat a horse in a long-distance race, while Mr. Jones held the opposite opinion. Eventually, they both agreed to organize a race to verify the truth. Subsequently, 50 men and 15 horses participated in the 35 km race through hills and marshes. Mr. Glyn Jones emerged as the overall winner by riding the fastest steed in the Llanwrtyd Wells area.

From 1985 to 1992, cyclists were allowed to participate in the aforementioned race. In 1989, a cyclist crossed the finish line first. However, authorities later banned the use of bicycles because they believed that the wheels were damaging the forest trails. Therefore, from 1992 onwards, participants competed on foot as before. To date, humans have won against horses only twice, in the years 2004 and 2007.

In the race, participants start at around 11:00 am (local time), and 15 minutes later, the horses begin to run. In 2011, once again, the winning cup belonged to a horse named Shah ridden by a 21-year-old college student. She won a prize of $1,700.

The Wife Carrying Competition (or Eukonkanto) originated in Finland and is a traditional competition passed down through generations. The Wife Carrying competition has a legend and folklore from ancient times in the Nordic countries about a character named Herkko Rosvo-Ronkainen. Legend has it that Rosvo-Ronkainen was a notorious robber in the late 1800s. He lived in a forest, leading a gang of thieves that terrorized villages. The stories of Rosvo-Ronkainen's gang of robbers have many oral legends passed down from folklore to this day, all of which are believed to have contributed to the formation of the Wife Carrying sport later on. Some ancient Finns believed that the Rosvo-Ronkainen gang specialized in stealing food and women from villages and carrying off women on their backs when fleeing into the forest. Another legend recounts infamous thieves coming to a village near their hideout to steal another man's wife and carry her away, then turning the kidnapped woman into their own wife.

The regulations of the Wife Carrying competition in Finland do not have many constraints. The man just needs to lift the carried person off the ground. However, a peculiar thing is that participating couples often choose an unconventional carrying method that became popular in later competitions: the Estonian-style carry. In this carrying style, the woman is hung upside down on the man's back, legs crossed around his neck, buttocks raised to the sky, while she holds onto his waist. The man then uses his strength to sprint through obstacles to reach the finish line as quickly as possible.

In 1979, some members of the fishing community in Port Lincoln, South Australia, brainstormed ways to make their annual festival more appealing to larger crowds. They decided to introduce tuna tossing after noticing that fishermen often struggled to transfer fish from boats to trucks.

After experimenting with various sizes of fish, the organizers decided to use 10 kg tuna, attaching a rope to the head to make it easier to throw. From January 24-27, the 35th edition of this competition took place.

The Tuna Tossing Contest World Championship is held in Port Lincoln, Australia. This event has a history of 55 years and attracts local residents along with tourists. The rules are simple: throw the tuna as far as possible. The prize for the winner in each category, male and female, is $1000 Australian dollars. The achievement is measured by the first touch of the tuna hitting the ground. Each tuna for tossing weighs 9kg and is sponsored by restaurants around Lincoln Beach, which is rich in marine resources. The winner in the women's category is Shanell Staunton, while in the men's category, Michael Proude clinched victory with a throw 3 cm farther than his son.