Greasy pole climbing |
The Olympic Games are coming up fast.To celebrate
their near arrival, Cheapflights.co.au, the online travel deals
website, has announced its favourite picks of alternative Olympic sports.
With athletes competing in 39 disciplines from across 26
sports, audiences may think they will see it all in London this summer.
However, Cheapflights.com.au’s in-house experts, having spanned the globe in
search of sports that aren’t on the Olympic radar and can confirm there’s a
whole range of exciting competitions that would add some new dimensions to the
Games.
From camel racing in Dubai to bun climbing in China and even
Quidditch, the real life version inspired by Harry Potter – literally an entire
world of competition awaits.
These are Cheapflights.com.au’s top 10 picks, two of which can be witnessed and enjoyed from right here in Australia.
Greasy pole climbing
|
Greasy pole climbing: This messy and challenging
sport is a crowd favourite in a number of corners of the world including
Indonesia, Brazil, the UK and the Caribbean, where, depending on the local
tradition, competitors try either to shimmy up a vertical pole laden in grease
or to reach the end of a slickened horizontal pole without first splashing into
the sea. While grease-pole climbing made a one-time only appearance in the 1904
Olympics, the current the biggest stage for this sport is the Greasy
Pole Competition, which takes place every year during St. Peter’s Fiesta in
Gloucester, Massachusetts. Forty to fifty men aged
between eighteen and sixty test the slipperiness and attempt to be the first to
reach the end of the pole and grab the red flag. The pole is almost 14 metres
(45 feet) long and can be anywhere from 3-7 metres (10-25 feet) from the sea at
Gloucester Harbour. The pole is heavily greased
with biodegradable axle grease and to make it extra slippery; anything from Tabasco sauce to banana
peels are added. Due to the popularity of the contest, there are strict rules
regarding who is eligible to walk on the pole. The event is currently held on
Friday, June 29, Saturday, June 30, and Sunday, July 1 – always at 4:45pm.
Quidditch |
Quidditch: Yes we mean the sport of Harry Potter and
his friends. It’s played now in the “muggle” world with everything but the
flying. Imagine instead people running astride broom sticks, working to get a
ball through a hoop without getting smashed by an opponent aiming another ball
at their heads, dodgeball style. Or chasing a gold-suited player darting
around, carrying a sock stuffed with tennis balls, serving as the all-important
“snitch,” which must be captured to end the match. This low-flying version of
the game started at Middlebury College in Vermont in 2005 and now plays out at
more than 300 college and high school campuses across the US and 12 other
countries, according to The International Quidditch Association, Inc., which also
hosts the annual World Cup and is considering an exhibition match in London to
coincide with the Olympics.
Corn Hole |
Corn Hole: Basically a hipper version of horse shoes,
Corn Hole became the new standard for tailgating, barbecues and all other
styles of outdoors parties throughout the U.S.
after college students in the Midwest put it
on the map. A one-handed sport, Corn Hole can be (and most often is) played
without ever putting down your beer. However, true competitors of the sport,
which is thought to be based on a game created by Native Americans, play in
tournaments sanctioned by the American Corn Hole Association. There they vie in
two-person or two-team matches, looking to rack up 21 points by landing more of
their bean bags than their opponents on the raised board (1 point) or through
the 15cm (6 inch) diameter hole at its centre (3 points) from 8 metres (27
feet) away. Prize money has been creeping up over the years and now can be as
high as US$20,000.
Pumpkin Chunking |
Pumpkin Chunking: Champions of this autumnal sport
can send gourds more than 1,219 metres (4,000 feet) in the air. In fact, the
World Record pumpkin flight is over a km long (1,690.24 metres or 5,545.43 feet
to be exact). While Pumpkin Chunking happens, formally and informally,
throughout the U.S.,
the biggest competition is held annually by The World Championship
Pumpkin Chunkin Association (WCPCA) in Sussex County Delaware the first
full weekend in November. The competition features catapults, air cannons,
trebuchets and even human-powered categories for firing the pumpkins and also
has youth and under 10 kids divisions. For aspiring fans, tune into the Science
Channel, which airs the event on Thanksgiving Day proceeded by an hour-long
special about the preparation for the World Cup called the “Road to the Chunk.”
Camel Racing |
Camel racing: Forget the Melbourne
Cup. Camel racing in the United
Arab Emirates is now the place to be seen.
This famous sport, which is popular throughout the Middle East as well as Australia and Mongolia, takes place every year,
mostly from late October to early April. In the dusty desert, camels race along
a sand track up to 16km long, while their owners drive alongside shouting and
honking their horns to urge the camels forward. The louder the shouting, the
faster they run. But be careful not to get in their way as anywhere from 15 to
70 camels can be racing at once and onlookers will want to avoid the stampede!
Unlike horse racing, there’s no betting in camel racing, but, if the sport
tickles your fancy, owning a winning camel can be a lucrative investment worth
hundreds of thousands of dollars. The races usually take place on Thursdays,
Fridays and Saturdays and, while the morning races tend to be reserved mostly
for sheikhs, the afternoon races are open to all.
Cheese Rolling |
Cheese Rolling: If you’ve never heard of cheese rolling before, it may be
fair to say that you might assume it’s a civilised event. In fact, that
couldn’t be further from the truth. Cheese rolling is anything but civilised.
It’s a bone-crushing race where people run, stumble and slide down a steep hill
to catch a massive roll of cheese. The most famous annual event is Cooper's
Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake, held in Gloucestershire,
UK, where
competitors vie with massive Double Gloucester cheese rounds. The first person
to grab the cheese wins and gets to take it home. The race, which dates back at
least 200 years, traditionally takes place on the late spring bank holiday
Monday in May, though that holiday is being moved to 4 June this year to add to
the Queen’s Jubilee celebration weekend. Hundreds of participants, spectators
and media flock to Gloucestershire from around the world for this unusual event.
Tuna Tossing |
Dunny Derby |
Cheung Chas Bun Festival |
Buzkashi |
For the full Top 10, visit
http://www.cheapflights.com.au/travel-tips/top-ten-alternative-olympic-sports/
To search and compare flights to these or any other
destination, visit http://www.cheapflights.com.au/
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