Starting off slow

For the curation that follows, I am hoping to enlighten you, the reader, about all those weird and interesting sports out there. The thing is, you have to take into consideration that somewhere, people have heard of these sports. I personally have not heard of most of them and I can imagine that most people have not heard of them either. However, that does not mean that they are not real sports and do not require the same amount of strength, reflexes, and agility. But some of them don't. Enjoy!

Water Polo


Water polo is not a fairly uncommon sport, I mean it is in the olympics, but I wanted to start with one that has the greatest chance of being known. Water polo is played in water, obviously, and many first-time onlookers are typically very confused because the main part of the game is the whistle blowing. It happens all the time because of many different things. Here's the gist of the game:

• Get the ball in the goal-duh
• There are four quarters, at the beginning of each there is a swim-off for possession
• There is a 30-second shot clock, not shooting results in a turnover
• You can only use one hand, goalies can use two
• You are unable to enter within two-meters of the goal without the ball
• You are allowed to press the person with the ball if they are holding it
• if you are aggressively going for the ball and the offensive player drops it, it's a foul
• If you get fouled outside of the five-meter, you can sutomatically take a shot
• if you wait to shoot the goal will not count
• You have to put the ball into play within five seconds otherwise it's a turnover
• putting the ball into play consists of a pass, swimming with the ball, or popping it (throwing it up into the air)

Those are the main points, there are many other rules but there's too many and listing them all would cause much more unneccessary confusion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlI-7ir36Vo only watch 10:00 to 10:17

Baseball and Lumberjack Competition

Baseball

http://mindforsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Mike-Sweeney-Baseball-Photos-080.jpg

A baseball/softball game is played by two teams who alternate between offense and defense. There are nine players on each side. The goal is to score more runs than the opponent, which is achieved by one circuit of four bases that are placed on the diamond. Each team has nine players in its batting order, and they must stick to that order throughout the game (players may substitute in for other players). A play begins with a batter waiting to hit a pitch from the pitcher. If the batter hits the ball into the field of play, the batter runs to first base and can run to as many bases as he or she deems fit without getting "out."
http://baseball.about.com/od/thebasics/a/basebasicrules.htm


Lumberjack Competition-Standing Block Chop

Time begins when the axe hits the wood and customarily ends when the block is severed or when it hits the ground. Block is to be fastened in an upright stanchion or dummy supplied by the contest organizers. It is the responsibility of the contestant to make sure that their block is properly secured to the top of the dummy. Running of a chip to the top of the block (slabbing), without proper precautions, will be grounds for disqualification. The first hit on each side should be in an upward direction.
http://www.starinfo.com/ljguide/events/rules.shtml




http://www.tubechop.com/watch/1215830

These lumberjacks are continuously making the same chopping motion as baseball players up to bat. But baseball players only have to try three times until they hit the ball. Lumberjack competitiors have to hit a trunk of a tree until they have split it in half. That's hard. They need to wind up again numerous times. We should commend them for their strength and determination.

Boxing and Chess Boxing

Boxing

 The Mandatory Eight (8) Count after knockdowns will be standard procedure in all WBF championship contests.  When a boxer is knocked down, the referee shall audibly announce the count as he motions with his right arm downward indicating the end of each sound of the count. A boxer shall receive a twenty (20) second count if the boxer is knocked out of the ring and onto the floor. You cannot hit below the belt, hold, trip, kick, headbutt, wrestle, bite, spit on, or push your opponent. A floored boxer has up to ten seconds to get back up on his feet before losing the bout by knockout. You cannot hit with your head, shoulder, forearm, or elbow.
http://www.worldboxingfederation.net/wbfrulesandregulations.htm
http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Rules_of_Boxing



Chess Boxing

In a chessboxing fight two opponents play alternating rounds of chess and boxing. The contest starts with a round of chess, followed by a boxing round, followed by another round of chess and so on.
A contest consists of 11 rounds, 6 rounds of chess, 5 rounds of boxing. A round of chess takes 4 minutes. Each competitor has 12 minutes on the chess timer. A round of boxing takes 3 minutes. Between the rounds there is a 1 minute pause, during which competitors change their gear. If the chess game ends in a stalement, the opponent with the higher score in boxing wins. If there is an equal score, the opponent with the black pieces wins.
http://wcbo.org/content/e14/






http://www.tubechop.com/watch/1215422

Chess boxing, can we all agree, is harder than regular boxing. They have the regular rules of boxing applied to them plus the fact that they also have to play a game in chess. I don't know about you but after having my face punched I would not be in the mood to play a game of chess. We should commend them for their strength, aggressiveness, and intelligence.

Hockey and Underwater Hockey

Hockey

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Ice_Hockey_sharks_ducks.jpg
A stick held by each player and used to retrieve, control, carry, pass and shoot the puck. The area where the goal net is located is the "defending zone" for the team defending that net. The middle of the rink, between two blue lines, is the "neutral zone." The area where the opposing net is located is the "attacking zone" or "offensive zone." Each hockey team has 6 players on the rink at a time: the goaltender, two defensemen, and three forwards (left, right, and center).
http://proicehockey.about.com/od/learnthegame/a/ice-hockey-rule.htm

Underwater Hockey


http://www.tubechop.com/watch/1215556

 It is played on the bottom of a swimming pool by two teams of six. Players wear fins, mask, snorkel, and a protective glove and headgear. The rules are "non-contact" and players generally cover "zones" around the puck. Play is solely on the bottom of the pool so your effectiveness is also governed by how much time you spend on the bottom ... the air is, of course, on the top. In the game, exertion usually shortens bottom time to less than 30 seconds. 
http://www.underwater-society.org/uwhockey.html

This is also just another sport with something added to it. Or should I say taken away? Air. Like I said, no air is difficult to handle. They are doing much of the same physical activity on top of holding their breath. They have to frequently resurface in order to stay at the bottom. Impressive. We should commend them for their lung capacity and skill.

 

 

 

Swimming and Bog Snorkelling

Swimming

The connection with swimming doesn't neccesarily lie in the rules. With Bog Snorkelling, it's more about the actual act of swimming that the rules. In swimming, you must propel yourself forward using your arms and legs. You typically breath to the side in freestyle and the goal is simply to get to the other side of the pool in back the least amount of time as possible.

 

http://loughboroughsport.com/swimming-pool/files/2012/08/swimming-10.03.05.loughborough.uk124.jpg

Bog Snorkelling

The gross get-together was held at Peatlands Park, near Dungannon, on International Bog Day. It was part of a set of events aimed at showing the beauty of bogs A turf cutter looks amused as one of the competitors makes his way to the race People taking part wear snorkels and flippers, but they're not allowed to use normal swimming strokes Other activities at the show included turf-cutting demonstrations and a puppet show   Next

Bog snorkelling is a sporting event that consists of competitors completing two consecutive lengths of a 60-yard (55 m) water filled trench cut through a peat bog, in the shortest time possible.

Competitors must wear snorkels and flippers, and complete the course without using conventional swimming strokes, relying on flipper power alone.

http://www.irishbogsnorkelling.com/rules.htm

 

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/1215528


Not only are these swimmers not able to do a normal swim stroke, they also have to swim through some nasty, thick water. Have you ever tried to doggy-paddle? And not just a kid doggy-paddle, and actual doggy-paddle that wil take you somewhere? It is much more difficult than doing any regular stroke. We should commend them for their adaptability and courage.

NASCAR, Street Luge and Bed Racing

NASCAR

http://www.hdwallpaperspk.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Bowyer-NASCAR-shootout-Daytona.jpg

There's not many rules in a nascar race. Start your engines, hit the gas when the checkered flag flies, go in for pit stops for gas and tires when needed, and yeah, not too many rules.

Street Luge

Street luge is an extreme sport involving riding a street luge board down a paved road or course. Street lugers ride modified skateboards in the supine position.  Race courses are usually held on mountain roads but have been held on city streets as well. Courses can range in length from half mile to three miles and vary in layout.
http://findsportsnow.com/learn/street-luge

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/1214054


Street luge is much like NASCAR racing in my opinion. It requires quite a bit of steering and the knowledge of turning at high speed. But to me, street luge is harder. They are not in the comfort of a seat with doors around them. They are lying down on a modified skateboard and flying over hills. There are points where being able to stay in quite a challenge. We should commend them for their balance, agility, and reflexes.



Bed Racing

A race team consists of 5 people. One member of the team must ride on the bed at all times.

Steering: Provisions must b e made to steer the bed. May include a mechanism to steer the front two wheels, or a combination of rotating caster wheels on the front and fixed casters on the rear. Motors or other special attachments which in the view of Race Officials give an unfair advantage or create safety hazards are not allowed. Beds may not be pulled by ropes or chains.

http://www.sweetsleep.org/getinvolved/OfficialRulesforSweetSleep.pdf

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p00M2KKOniA
http://www.tubechop.com/watch/1214028

 

 

Bed racing, although not as fast-paced, can still be compared to NASCAR. The racers are not in a sturdy machine but instead on a rickety bed that they have to push manually. The racers also do not get the privilege of simply pushing a peddle and accelerating. They need to run faster to be able to move any faster. We should commend them for their effort and determination.

Track and Man vs. Horse

Track-200 meter dash

http://www.polarleague.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/200Ryan.jpg

Like the marathon, the main goal is to run as fast as possible to get to the finish line. The race is halfway around a standard sized track. During the race, there are many other runners that a person races against. Since there are others racing against them, the runners have more drive to go even faster.

Man vs. Horse

The Man versus Horse Marathon is an annual race over 22 miles (35 km), where runners compete against riders on horseback. The race is a shorter distance than an official marathon road race. You probably think a foot race between a human and a horse would be pretty one-sided. However, that doesn’t stop the good people of Wales from pitting man against animal in a 22-mile marathon race. To even the playing field, much of the terrain involves trotting through thickly wooded areas -– a fact that helps man stay in the running for victory.
http://guyism.com/sports/10-strange-but-real-sports-you-havent-heard-of.html


http://www.tubechop.com/watch/1215977

People normally worry about the players running next to them. But man vs. horse takes that to the next level. Running against a horse is a much different experience. First of all, if you haven't noticed they have four legs. That's a huge advantage. However, they do get the terrain advantage because horses sometimes struggle through certain parts. We should commend tem for their courage and speed.