Some competitions take the cake for being the wackiest and most absurd challenges to exist. Here are 12 of the weirdest and most exciting championships out there!
1. World Slapping Championships
One of the strangest competitions in this world is the World Slapping Championship held in Russia. This is the ultimate slap bet, as participants cannot wear head protection or gloves. And if there’s a tie, the one with more composure bags the money. Some competitions, like The Power Slap League, can even have prizes as high as $10,000 per match.
2. The Neptune Festival
The annual festival in Virginia Beach hosts a range of activities, featuring arts along the boardwalk at the beach while hosting a wine tasting and a surfing competition. But what really attracts the crowds is the ultimate sand sculpture competition. The Pro Level section of the competition offers pro sandcastle builders the chance to show off their eye for detail and intricacy.
3. Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake
If you didn’t think of cheese and extreme sports in the same breath, think again. The Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake is an annual contest in Gloucestershire where the hosts roll the cheese, and the person who catches it wins. But the real challenge is that the cheese block can go up to a speed of 120 km/h, bringing forth the risk of bruises and dislocated shoulders.
4. Barkley Marathon
Held in Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee, legend has it that only 15 people have completed it since 1986. But what makes this marathon interesting is the history of it.
After the 1977 escape of James Earl Ray, the assassin of Martin Luther King Jr., who covered only 12 miles after running for nearly 55 hours, the inventor of this race mocked Ray’s mileage, saying, “I could do at least 100 miles”. Now, we have the ultramarathon, arguably the most challenging race on the planet, with a distance of more than 100 miles.
5. The World Gurning Championships
This contest is an annual event at the Egremont Crab Fair in the Lake District. Gurning refers to making a strange expression. In this event, participants wear a head collar and do anything from snarling like a dog to making the most distorted face. Tommy Mattinson, the 16-time winner, has even met the Queen!
6. Kudu Dung-Spitting Competition
This isn’t for the ones who are easily grossed out. As the name suggests, the competition involves spitting small, hard dung pellets from the kudu antelope. The shots that are spat the farthest distance qualify for the win. Imagine that this ordeal is popular enough to spark the formal beginning in 1994 with an annual world championship.
7. Wife-Carrying Competition
Here’s another absurd competition where male competitors must cross obstacles while carrying a female teammate. Variations of carrying include piggyback, Estonian-style, or fireman’s carry. The teammate, however, doesn’t have to be one’s wife; that’s some good news for the bachelors!
8. Swamp Soccer World Championship
Forget regular soccer when you can play soccer in a swamp or bog. Though the sport began as an exercise routine for soldiers, it became popular among ordinary folks. Hence, the sport is formally played on Vuorisuola Bog in Hyrynsalmi in Finland.
9. Extreme Ironing
Are your ironing skills good? Well, put them to the test with this competition where participants take an ironing board to remote locations. It all started when an Englishman wanted to go rock climbing instead of doing chores, so he killed two birds with one stone!
10. Mobile Phone Throwing
Do you know that one person who throws their mobile phone in a fit of anger? Well, this competition is for them. Originating in Finland in 2000, the competition involves users throwing mobile phones heavier than 7 oz as far as possible.
11. Air Guitar Championships
You don’t need an actual guitar to play it. The Air Guitar World Championships are hosted in numerous countries where competitors are judged on a 6-point scale. Contestants perform for 2 rounds, one minute each. They are then judged on technical merit, mime skills, stage presence, and artistry.
12. International Cherry Pit Spitting Contest
We aren’t done with spitting yet. The annual International Cherry Pit Spitting Championship is held in the Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm in Eau Claire, where winners spit cherry pits at incredible distances. The recent winner went as far as 69 feet!
Source: Quora.
This article was initially published and syndicated by The Cents of Money.
