Cooper's Hill cheese rolling race ()
It’s easy to forget that American national pastimes can look a little odd to our brethren in other countries. Take, for instance, American football—a bunch of burly players throwing and chasing a ball down a field, all while attempting to avoid getting hit and knocked over by the other team. It hasn’t quite caught on around the world; however, some rather strange sports are found in Europe that aren’t exactly mainstream in other parts of the globe. Here are six athletic events that may leave you scratching your head.
Chess boxing. Founded in Berlin in the early aughts, this sport is simply chess and boxing. Contestants begin by squaring-off in the ring across a chessboard. They have six minutes to complete as many moves as possible to try and reach a checkmate. At the end of the chess round, the table disappears and the ring is cleared. Next, they don their boxing gear and have a go for two minutes. If there is no checkmate or knock-out declared, they move to the next round. A winner is announced by checkmate or knock-out.
Bossaball. If you’ve ever dreamed of combining mad soccer skills with volleyball in a bouncy castle environment with a trampoline and thumping dance beats, your dream has come true. Invented by a Belgian man in Spain in 2008, bossaball is like volleyball played on an inflatable court with a built-in trampoline near the net stretching across the court. Teams consist of five players and each team gets five touches to get the ball over the net. However, at least one of those attempts has to be a soccer touch. So, expect a lot of flips, twists and bicycle kicks.
Cheese rolling. Deep in the Cotswolds in the U.K. is a group of thrill-seeking runners. Their goal is not to run an ultra-marathon but to chase a sizeable wheel of Double Gloucester cheese down the treacherous ridge of Cooper’s Hill. Unlike quirky sports, which have cropped up within the past 30 to 40 years, cheese rolling in Gloucestershire goes back to the 1400s. It may sound simple, send the wheel down the hill and run after it. However, the steepness and natural objects jutting out of the ground prove challenging to participants. As a result, injuries such as broken collarbones, arms and legs are pretty common. Although it’s been canceled for the second year due to COVID-19 restrictions, the annual Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling takes place the last weekend in May.
Wife-carrying competitions. Yes, this is a real thing. Invented in Finland, this competition is all in good fun. A man must carry his wife through a 253.5-meter obstacle course, including sand, gravel, grass, water and at least two hurdles to climb over. Whichever team clocks in the fastest wins the event. The rules are simple: the “wife” doesn’t have to be your wife (it could be a neighbor, friend or random person from the street). She must weigh at least 108 pounds (artificial weights can be added if she is smaller than that) and must be 17 or older. What do the champions receive? The woman’s weight in beer.
Bog snorkeling. Snorkeling through the azure waters of the Mediterranean sounds terrific. But, snorkeling your way through a foul-smelling muddy swamp in the middle of Wales, not so much. Although, for foolhardy adventurers, bog snorkeling is great fun. Each August, a 60-meter-long trench is carved into the Welsh countryside and filled with water. Competitors dive into the muddy bog and snorkel (swim, really) their way down the length of it. Whoever has the fastest time is declared the winner. There are also more grueling events, such as the Bog Snorkeling Triathlon and bog snorkeling mountain bike races.
Boloencierro. What is 10-feet-wide, weighs more than 400 pounds and is let loose through the hilly streets of a normally quiet village in Spain? Think running of the bulls, but with no bulls. In 2011, the town of Mataelpino found its coffers running empty for the annual running of the bulls. Rather than cancel the event, the council came up with Boloencierro—"Running of the Balls"—which proved so popular, it has become a new tradition. While participants no longer fear being gored by an animal, having a massive ball come careening down a hill at 20 mph can still inflict injury.
While mainstream sports such as soccer, rugby and lacrosse are growing in popularity worldwide, it’s worth it to check out some of the lesser-known and more amusing events here in Europe. If nothing else, it’s great entertainment and makes for hilarious conve
