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Weirdest Sports In The World

October 7th 2009 02:37
Humans love sport and competition and have done for many hundreds of years. There are plenty of common sports to choose from, however some select a more unusual endeavour for burning off those extra calories. Thanks to Time Magazine, here are some of the strangest sports and activities played today. See the full list here.

Underwater Hockey World Championships
Underwater Hockey
Also known as "octopush," underwater hockey involves pushing a puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into goals. Above, teams compete at the 2006 world championships in Sheffield, England.




PFL - Pillow FIght League
Pillow Fight League
The all-female PFL stages matches between fighters with names like Olivia Neutron-Bomb, Carmen Monoxide and Ursula Anvil at their home base in Toronto and elsewhere — like at Exxxotica Miami, above, an annual erotic festival. On its website, the PFL boasts, "We are women who are proud of our strength and not afraid to let loose. We fight with pillows because it lets us be creative, do something different and go a little crazy."



Giant Pumpkin Kayaking Race
Giant Pumpkin Kayaking
At the fifth Annual West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta, held in Tualatin, Ore., locally grown pumpkins weighing up to 800 lb. are hollowed out and used as vessels in a race around the lake.


Blind Soccer
Blind Soccer
Teams in this internationally sanctioned sport consist of four blind athletes and one sighted or visually impaired goalkeeper. Additionally, teams have a guide who stands behind the opponent's goal to direct the players where to shoot. The field is surrounded by a wall, which means no throw-ins, so the action remains fairly intense through each 25-minute half. The match above, pitting Argentina against China, took place at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games.


Bossaball - weird sports
Bossaball
Similar to volleyball, the Belgian sport of bossaball also includes elements of soccer, gymnastics and capoeira. Each side of the court has an integrated trampoline, allowing players to bounce high enough to spike the ball.
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World Face Pulling Championship

September 9th 2009 08:10
Gurning, also commonly called face-pulling is a rural English tradition. The World Gurning Championship takes place annually in Egremont, Cumbria with contestants traditionally framing their faces through a horse collar — known as "gurnin' through a braffin'. Below are some images from a recent world championship, sourced form BBC.com here.


gurn
Tommy Mattinson from Aspatria.


face pull
Gordon Blacklock, from Thornhill, Cumbria.


world gurning titles
Kath Taylor, also from Cumbria.


gurning
Anne Woods, from Egremont.


world face pulling championships



*This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article for Gurn.
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Pure Skateboard Images

August 26th 2009 07:00
Photographers have many tricks up their sleeves to enhance images. Photoshop and Fisheye Lenses to name a few.
However sometimes it's nice to cut out the additions and get back to raw photography.
These skateboarding images are just that.
See more at skateboardingmagazine.com here.


pro skateboarding
Magdalena Ecke YMCA - Encinitas, California


skateboarding gear
Lake Elsinore Skatepark - Lake Elsinore, California


skateboarding photography
Skate Street Skatepark, Ventura California


skateboarding pictures
San Jacinto Skatepark - San Jacinto, California


skate boarding images
Hollywood Skatepark, Los Angeles, California
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Wife Carrying Championships

July 29th 2009 02:47

In 2009 the 14th annual Wife Carrying world Championships were held in Sonkajarvi, Finland. Over thirty couples from all over the world attended the event and competed on a 235.5 metre long obstacle course. These images and information from the event sourced from news.com.au.

Wife Carrying Championships
Finns Joni Juntunen and Jaana Haavikko fighting with Petteri Rusi and Pia Salmela


The "wife" can be one's own or someone else's, no matter, but she must be over 17 years of age and minimum weight of 49 kg.

Wife carrying competition 2009.
Australians Anthony Partridge and Cath Whalan in the pool during competition.


Finish line. Wife carrying championships. Finland.
Finnish line ... James Kennedy and Ciara Crossan from Ireland flying with style to the finnish line


This year the Finns finally broke the 11 year stranglehold on the event by the Estonians.

wife carrying champions.
Taisto Miettinen and Kristiina Haapanen celebrate their victory at the 14th Wife Carrying World Championships.


Annual Wife Carrying Championships
John O'Shea and Aoife Desmond resting on the ground, Aki Ruohonen and Minttu Kauppinen from Finland have a few steps left to cross the finish line


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San Francisco Bay to Breakers

June 1st 2009 02:38
Bay to Breakers in San Francisco

The Bay to Breakers is an annual footrace which takes place in San Francisco, California. The name reflects the fact that the race starts at the northeast end of the downtown area a few blocks from The Embarcadero (adjacent to San Francisco Bay) and runs west through the city to finish at the Great Highway (adjacent to the Pacific coast, where breakers crash onto Ocean Beach). The race is 7.46 miles (12 kilometres) long, and is run on the third Sunday in May.
Bay to Breakers preferred runners

Started in 1912 as a way to lift the city's spirits after the disastrous 1906 San Francisco earthquake, it is the longest consecutively run footrace in the world (other races' courses and lengths have changed over time). During World War II participation sometimes slipped below 50 registrants, but the tradition carried on. With 110,000 participants, the Bay to Breakers race held on May 18, 1986 was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest footrace. That record number was partly the product of the running fad of the 1980s; currently the average participation is between 70,000 and 80,000.
Bay to Breakers costumes

Large numbers of participants walk the route behind the runners. Some participants dress in elaborate costumes or, though not technically allowed, wear nothing at all (except footwear), thus lending a party atmosphere to the event. One festive tradition is the tortilla toss, during which runners throw tortillas at one another to pass time.
bay to breakers fun

Other oddities are always on the scene, including traditional characters such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Spider-Man, as well as other unique characters spawned for the race. There is also a group of "salmon," runners who don fish-like hats and start at the finish line to run upstream through the participants.
Bay to breakers floats

The route is typically dotted with various local bands performing. At the end of the race is "Footstock", a gathering where participants and spectators can enjoy musical performances by various musical acts.
Bay to Breakers drinking

The images in today’s post were taken at the 2009 event and sourced from SFWeekly.com. See many more images here.

*This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article for Bay to Breakers.
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Ice Hockey Fights

March 27th 2009 06:47
Fighting is an established part of, and has a long history in the Ice Hockey Leagues of North America. Some fans even attend games just to witness the fighting. Thanks to the Chicago Tribune, here are some pictures from recent Ice Hockey fights. See many more photos here.


[ Click here to read more ]
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Wakeboarding in Venice

December 26th 2008 14:36
On December 2nd, 2008 flooding in Venice reached its highest point in 20 years. In Saint Mark's Square (San Marco) the water level reached an impressive 1.35m (4.5 ft). With the help of his sponsor Red Bull, Dutchman Duncan Zuur became the first to Wakeboard across the famous square.
How did he do it? Well, a team of friends hid a 20 horsepower winch on one side and one of them pulled the winch cable 120m across the square and handed it to Duncan. The motor was then fired up and Zuur made a few elegant turns right in front of a few surprised tourists. The team then vanished as quickly as they had arrived. The whole stunt was over so fast the police didn't even notice. Of course the pictures and clips have made it all over the web!
Duncan and the team then tried it once or twice more through a few canals in the famous old city


[ Click here to read more ]
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Dumped By A Massive Wave

December 5th 2008 02:45
As reported in the Daily Mail, massive 15m (50ft) waves struck off the coast of Cornwall due to extreme stormy conditions. Two brave souls tried to ride the waves, but they stood little chance with the massive amounts of white water, foam and turbulence out there.
Their friend was on hand to take a few photographs of them in action. I think they're lucky to survive!

[ Click here to read more ]
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Chess Boxing

August 13th 2008 02:09
Chess Boxing

Chess Boxing is the newest sport to hit the world circuit. Starting in Germany in 2003, the sport has grown exponentially ever since with Russia recently emerging as a new force.
The idea behind this hybrid game was simple, combine the best thinking sport with the best fighting sport for the ultimate contest of mind and body


[ Click here to read more ]
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Breakdown of Olympic Sports

August 1st 2008 13:35
The Olympics this year in Beijing will play host to 28 different sports, and will hold 302 events (165 men’s events, 127 women’s events, and 10 mixed events).
Which sport required the most skill, endurance, teamwork or other attributes? This chart may help you to break it down.

[ Click here to read more ]
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Xtreme Ironing

July 7th 2008 02:26
These are some hilarious pictures of the latest sport to become popular world wide - Extreme Ironing.

See more gold medal contenders at //STATIC here.
[ Click here to read more ]
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Record Scrabble Score

April 7th 2008 10:29
On October 12, 1996 in the basement of a Unitarian church on the town green in Lexington, Massachusetts, a carpenter named Michael Cresta scored a world record 830 points in a game of Scrabble. His opponent, Wayne Yorra, totaled 490 points. On that day three records were set for Scrabble in North America.
1. Most points in a game by one player - 830.
2. Most total points in a game 1,320


[ Click here to read more ]
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Port Adelaide Power

October 15th 2007 12:05
Well I guess when you dish it out...you gotta wear it when it comes back to bite you on the whatsit..!!


[ Click here to read more ]
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AFL Football Look A Likes

September 12th 2007 11:38
AFL Look alike - Matty Scarlett and Craig Lowndes
Matty Scarlett and Craig Lowndes


Damien Peverill and Roger Federer - Football look a likes
Damien Peverill and Roger Federer

[ Click here to read more ]
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