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PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 8:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote


(video of a similar event in 1996)
Russian Volga city holds keyboard throwing competition
15/ 04/ 2009

NIZHNY NOVGOROD, April 15 (RIA Novosti) - More than 30 people participated in a rather bizarre computer keyboard throwing competition at a festival in the Volga city of Nizhny Novgorod on Wednesday, the organizers said.

According to competition rules, the participants have to throw the keyboard without making any body turns. Only keyboards with all keys intact are allowed to be used in the competition. "The workability and the brand are unimportant," one of the contest organizers said. The competition winner threw his keyboard more than 15 meters (49 feet).

Participants also displayed their skills in the "kicking a computer mouse" competition. The winner received a new mouse.

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 2:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote


Castrillo de Murcia, Spain. First staged in 1620, this strange event celebrating Corpus Christi sees grown men dressed as the Devil leaping over a row of babies lying in the street.


Now restricted to the Aegean region in Turkey, camel wrestling involves two camels butting each other until one gives in or is pinned down. Often the loser will run into the crowd of spectators causing panic as onlookers try not to get trampled.


Wife Carrying World Championships, Sonkajärvi, Finland. Participants in the seventeenth world wife carrying championships aim to win a relay race while carrying their wives. The winner receives their wife's weight in beer. Similar events have now sprung up around the world.
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PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2009 11:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote



'Lava' boarding in Nicaragua
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote


10. WORLD’S BIGGEST LIAR CHAMPIONSHIP

Boasting England’s deepest lake, smallest church and highest mountain within its reaches, one more notable feat is annually celebrated in Santon Bridge, if you believe what you hear; the World’s Biggest Liar. With a first prize of £100,000 and a lifetime supply of beer, entrants have between two and five minutes to convince a panel of judges that their lie sounds the most credible. The contest bans lawyers and politicians, but only if you own up, and if you think you have what it takes, make sure the chosen topic has local interest.

Swipes at the nearby nuclear power plant prove very poplar as do tales involving flatulent sheep, giant cod and mermaid farms. The contest in superlative fibbing began in honour of former publican, Will Ritson, who revelled in spinning yarns to the tweed-wearing climbers back in the 19th Century. Entry into the contest also includes a serving of the local delicacy, Tatty hot…just don’t ask what’s in it, you won’t receive a straight answer.

Location: Bridge Inn, Santon Village, Cumbria
Date: Thursday evening in late November
Further Information: www.santonbridgeinn.com


9. WORLD GURNING CHAMPIONSHIPS

The flip side to Miss World, where competitors work their way through a repertoire of extreme face pulling, contorting their everyday look into the grotesque, in the hope of impressing the panel of judges. Those naturally ugly should not bother turning up, it’s about transforming the face from the mundane to the monstrous, but don’t expect to garner cheers with a quick puff of the cheeks and going cross-eyed, a tactic for beginners only.

Grunting and performing ape like postures score extra points, which should hand the advantage over to male competitors. One former champion even removed some of his teeth to guarantee victory, but such radical steps are not encouraged nowadays. Gurning is not exclusively for the adults, with an earlier contest for children to show off their uglier side. To practice for the 2009 contest, take a bite out of a bitter apple, stand in front of a cheap mirror and gurn away!

Location: Market Hall, Egremont, Cumbria
Date: Saturday 19th September 2009
Further information: www.egremontcrabfair.org.uk


8. WORLD CRAZY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS

With a £1000 first prize, this is one wacky event to take very seriously. Semi-professionals and utter no hopers mingle over a hectic weekend, playing three rounds of both crazy golf and mini golf. The latter offers a teasing array of holes, which on first glance seem harmless enough, but once you peruse the bumps and grooves, soon realize why not even Tiger Woods dares to play here. You will be happy to learn that seven is the maximum number of shots a player can card at any hole. Unfortunately, for the novices, there is no maximum number of holes, at which you can score a maximum of seven!

Expect to lose your patience in the crazy golf with the usual silly hazards to negotiate, and where a lost ball is just as likely as a hole in one, after an ill-advised short cut through the windmill! The top 18 players after the six rounds play a final round of croquet style crazy golf to determine the overall winner but watch out for Tim ‘Aceman’ Davies, who has won the event five times in the last six years.

Location: Hastings, Sussex
Date: 24-25th October 2009
Further information: www.miniaturegolfer.com

7. WESTLETON BARREL FAIR

For many barrel races, brute strength in the arms and legs is a pre-requisite. But for this barrel race, which has taken place for nearly sixty years, the onus is less on power and more on dexterity. Armed with a six-foot oak stick, the idea is to prod the metal beer barrel down the village green and then back up (ladies only have to race downhill), covering a distance of around 50 metres. Ideally, the barrel should maintain a straight trajectory, but competitors will soon realize that this is nigh impossible as even the slightest skewed touch sends the barrel careering towards the spectators.

The opening race is a team race between the two rival pubs. Then locals and outsiders compete in separate individual competitions. Do locals fear beginners luck? Winners of each heat proceed through to the final. There are miniature barrel races for the children and during the day a succession of madcap sack and running races, with much amusement for the crowd when middle-aged men aspire to emulating Usain Bolt.

Location: Westleton, Suffolk
Date: Sunday 16th August 2009
Further Information: www.westletonbarrelfair.com


6. BRAMBLES CRICKET MATCH

The game of cricket can never be described as crazy or mad, but owing to a quirk of nature, there is one English cricketing tradition that definitely isn’t dull. Once a year a sandbank appears in the middle of The Solent, and two local yacht clubs take full advantage of this odd venue to play what is probably the world’s quickest cricket match.

Sailing to the venue at sunrise, the players waste no time in setting up the wicket once the water reveals the first grains of sand. Beyond the opening few balls when players maintain a modicum of etiquette, the game inevitably descends into a comic farce with diabolical bowling, rugby tackling and streaking dogs diverting play. Thirty minutes later, the sea rolls back in and the referee announces a waterlogged pitch prompting a hasty retreat back to the boats. Spectators are welcome, provided they have access to a boat, but only members of the two competing yacht clubs can play.

Location: Middle of The Solent. (50° 47′ 41″ N, 1° 17′ 15″ W)
Date: Saturday 22nd August 2009. 6am start (ouch!)
Further information: www.royal-southern.co.uk


5. WORLD BOG SNORKELLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Equipped with only a mask, snorkel and flippers, competitors must make their way up and down a 60-yard bog in the middle of a remote field in the middle of Wales. There’s just one snag…no recognised swimming stroke is permitted, so expect to see plenty of doggy paddle and belly flop crawl.

The world record is a blistering 1 minute 35 seconds, but the majority of competitors take a lot longer, a few lie stranded halfway back imitating beached whales and the odd one or two entrants fail to even finish. It’s considered de rigueur to wear wetsuits, but a few daring souls enter the bog in nothing more than a pair of Speedo’s…brrr. No matter what the sartorial choice, everybody exits the bog resembling a creature straight out of a horror film, so don’t forget the soap. At the same murky venue in July, the World Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling Championships take place.

Location: Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys, Wales
Date: August Bank Holiday Monday
Further Information: www.Green-events.co.uk


4. WORLD NETTLE EATING CHAMPIONSHIPS

‘Ugh…don’t nettles sting?’ Yes they do, but that’s the least of your worries once you’ve stubbornly devoured over thirty feet of nettles in one hour of competitive nettle scoffing…the weed is also a very efficient laxative. Around 50 competitors volunteer each year – surprisingly there’s no need to bribe entrants - and many begin with plenty of bravado, but soon learn the harsh reality of nettle eating as onlookers eagerly anticipate the first, of many disgorgements. To counter the bland taste alcohol is a popular antidote, but beware, leaving your seat to relieve your bladder will result in disqualification…thankfully for some!

The record is an impressive 76 feet of nettles. Luckily, it’s not all about eating nettles at the Bottle Inn, which hosts the championships. There is also live music, guest ales and a hog roast to entertain spectators and reward competitors, or at least take their mind off a dodgy stomach and a lingering stinging sensation in their fingers.

Location: Bottle Inn, Marshwood, Dorset
Date: Saturday before Summer Solstice
Further information: www.thebottleinn.co.uk


3. TOTNES ORANGE RACES

Every year during the Elizabethan celebrations in Totnes competitors participate in a fast and very furious running race down the town’s steep high street…chasing after an orange. The idea is to be the first person to cross the finishing line at the bottom, still in possession of their own orange, but with one tricky race rule: you can only kick or throw the orange as you run along, absolutely no holding allowed. Not as easy as it sounds.

The excitement of the race is back at the start where carnage ensues when competitors and oranges inevitably collide. Shouts of ‘Oi, that’s my orange,’ go unheard, as the quicker runners inevitably target the furthest travelled oranges. Not many oranges make it over the finishing line in one piece, and competitors are left genuinely baffled how a downhill race can leave them feeling so exhausted.

There are a series of age related races, and even toddlers get a chance, albeit on the flatter part of the street. The final race of the day sees local businesses taking part, usually a battle between the coppers and the butchers.

Location: Totnes, Devon
Date: Tuesday 18th August 2009. From 10am until Midday
Further Information: Totnes Tourist Information Centre - 01803 863168


2. WORLD WORM CHARMING CHAMPIONSHIP, CHESHIRE

For 364 days a year it’s an idyllic bliss for the worms that reside under a school field in Cheshire. But on one June afternoon all hell breaks loose as 144 teams of two spend 30 minutes on the charm offensive, attempting to lure as many worms as they can out of the ground. Without digging, or using water, it’s up to the imagination, cunning and fitness of the competitors to tease the worms up. Experienced worm charmers twang - rocking a fork in the ground back and forth - whilst their partner, clutching a worm pot, chases after the wiggling invertebrates.

Novices tend to look more ridiculous, jumping around or bashing the ground with mallets; meditation, bouncing on space hoppers and playing music are just some of the many other outlandish methods witnessed over the years. Officials will frown upon any children, or adults, caught doubling, or even tripling their worm tally with some cruel chopping up. The record is an astonishing 567 worms, with a separate prize for the heaviest worm. This is the perfect day out for families, and who knows, you could go home world champions, but you can’t keep the worms you catch.

Location: Willaston, nr Crewe, Cheshire
Date: Last Saturday in June
Further information: www.wormcharming.com


1. WORLD GRAVY WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

A paddling pool in a pub beer garden, alongside a bowling green, provides the incongruous setting for the prestigious Gravy Wrestling Championships. Forget any expectations of Lucha Libra or WWF style action, with bucketfuls of Bistro added this is less a combat sport and more a very muddy pantomime. The aim is to wrestle your opponent into submission however judges also award points for humour and penalize competitors for force-feeding. In past contests, hula dancers and French maids have come face to face with judo experts and Hulk Hogan look-alikes, setting up truly David and Goliath battles.

It all makes for an amusing spectacle, but the highlight of gravy wrestling is watching the competitors struggle to stay on their feet let alone perform a flat back bump. Whilst the action may not be authentic, the gravy certainly is, especially if you find yourself face down in the brown slop at some point in the day. Just don’t request extra gravy with your roast dinner if you hang around for lunch.

Location: Rose and Crown, Bacup, Lancashire
Date: August Bank Holiday Monday
Further Information: www.rosenbowl.co.uk

ALSO FUN AND WORTH NOTING:

WORLD BLACK PUDDING THROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS

No, this is not another gross eating contest, but a very odd throwing event. Inspired by the War of the Roses battle, or more likely, concocted after too many beers, competitors each hurl three black puddings, swaddled in ladies tights, at a target of twelve Yorkshire puddings. The winner is whoever knocks off the most Yorkshire Puddings, set on a plinth 30 feet high, with their three throws. Unfairly, women must throw at the same target as the men, but junior competitors have a lower height to aim for.

Competitors make their way through 300 black puddings during the day. For anyone with a propensity for eating the odd-looking northern delicacy, there are plenty of palatable puddings on offer where hurling is optional. To give you some inside information on winning the event, aim towards the underneath of the loosely secured plinth, in the hope of knocking all twelve puddings off at once and thus securing cult status in Ramsbottom.

Location: Royal Oak, Ramsbottom, Lancashire
Date: Sunday 13th September
Further Information: http://worldblackpuddingthrowing.googlepages.com/

WORLD STONE SKIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

‘Toss on!’ Everyone knows how to skim a stone, but purists will be disappointed if they expect to turn up and win the world championship based on their skimming prowess. With three attempts, competitors need only manage three skims whilst hoping their stone stays within the confines of a now flooded, disused quarry on Easdale Island. Then, it’s all about how far the stone travels that decides the winner. Intriguingly, the quarry is just 63 metres long, but anyone who manages to achieve the not impossible feat of hitting the back wall will probably become world champion.

The championships are open to everyone, even the smallest toddlers, provided they can stand up without too much assistance. The same applies to the men, who often perform abysmally, skimming with power instead of technique. Younger entrants demonstrate neither power nor technique, probably too weary of falling into the water. There is a pre-skim party on the Saturday night with BBQ and live music and much fervent debate amongst the locals on correct skimming technique.

Location: Easdale Island, near Oban, Argyll and Bute
Date: Sunday 27th September 2009
Further information: www.stoneskimming.com

Wacky Nation by James Bamber and Sally Raynes is published by Icon at £9.99
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 9:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote


Chessboxing popularity grows with London show

Chessboxing, the hybrid sport where contestants alternate between rounds of chess and boxing, has come to London.
By Chris Irvine
12 Oct 2009

The battle of brains and brawn, where the winner is determined by either knockout or checkmate, was contested at the Boston Dome, in Tufnell Park, northwest London.

Players Andy "The Rock" Costello, an English former cage fighter, and Italian Gianluca "Il Dottore" Sirci competed in the first European heavyweight championship final. And despite The Rock landing more punches during the boxing rounds, Il Dottore's chess game was the difference between the two, with the Italian defeating The Rock via checkmate in the ninth round.

As the name would suggest in Chessboxing, rounds of chess are alternated with rounds of boxing. They take turns over 11 rounds with four minutes of chess and three of boxing. The action takes place in the ring in full boxing gear, although the gloves are removed for the chess. The competitors also wear earplugs and headphones during the chess rounds to help with concentration. If there is no winner after 11 rounds of punching and castling, victory is awarded to the fighter with the most points in the boxing ring.

Chessboxing was created in 2003 by Iepe Rubingh, a Dutch artist. "I got the idea from a Serbian comic," he told The Times. "It looked great. I wanted to see if it would work." The first match then took place, in a church, in front of 800 people. The sport has now attracted more than 150 professional competitors.

Tim Woolgar, who founded The Chess Boxing Organisation in August 2008, said: "If you get a guy to box, it teaches him self-respect. But if you get teach him something like chess as well, you teach him a whole new set of skills. And those are skills which can be put to practical use when it comes to finding jobs."

boxing crazed wow
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dancer Laughing
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Anyone for breast stroke? Our writer loses her body hang-ups to compete in the naturist Olympics
Jessica Hatcher
13th November 2009

The International Naturist Federation is about as important as it gets in the nudist world. The global swimming championships were first launched in 1971. National teams from eight countries have come to take part: Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Holland, Belgium and Switzerland. Today, they are gathering at the Ken Marriott Leisure Centre in Rugby - oh, the glamour.

It's only the second time in 17 years that Britain has played host. They have hired an entire leisure centre because, as Andrew Welch from British Naturism tells me: 'We can't have "textile (clothed) people" wandering around.' It's a common misconception, I'm told, that naturists never wear clothes. It's just that they believe there is a time and a place to be naked, that's all.

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yee haw!
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 12:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote













'Tough Guy' contest: Eight miles of mud, barbed wire, broken glass and fire... the race that defies our 'elf and safety culture
1st February 2010


More than 5,000 people worldwide descended on a small corner of farmland today to brave mud, rain, ice and fire on a gruelling assault course dubbed 'the world's hardest endurance test'. Thousands of competitors, some in superhero fancy dress as Superman and Robocop, flocked to the 'Tough Guy' contest in Perton, Staffordshire, today to push their bodies to the limit in frosty temperatures.

The eight-mile long assault course features terrifying underwater tunnels, barbed wire fences and fire walks. It sees competitors stretched to their physical boundaries as they clamber over nets, walls and even an electrified fence dubbed 'The Tiger'. Brave Britons, Aussies, New Zealanders, Chinese and Japanese all took part in the rainy event - which saw its fair share of broken bones and bruised bodies. Among the competitors were serving policemen and military personnel - but some of the more daring wore costumes, including 25 people dressed up as Liquorice Allsorts.

Event organiser Mouser Wilson, said: 'We' didn't have much ground space, we had about 7,000 people here and we had to shut the doors to the public because everybody wanted to do it. 'We have had to turn at least a thousand away. There is nothing like this in the world, and that is why people from all over the globe want to come here. Every year there's something new - we have a zipline this year which takes you down a 1,000 metres very quickly and if you don't let go above the water you'll go straight into the wall.

We had a fair few broken bones. But people attempt the course as a journey of self discovery, if people break their legs, they don't come whining like many in our blame and claim culture - they ring up and apologise saying "Please let me come back next year". We've had more and more children asking to do it, so we're going to hold the first ever kids-only Tough Guy in October.'

One competitor, Liam Posthewaite, 32, from Bristol, said: 'This is the hardest thing I've ever physically done. Every single inch of you aches afterwards but the sense of achievement is so satisfying that it's worth the pain. This is the first time I've done it... but it won't be the last.'
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Roller derby takes Britain's women by storm
The fast, aggressive US sport of roller derby is going from strength to strength in the UK. Hilary Osborne finds out why we're so keen to get our skates on
Hilary Osborne
guardian.co.uk,
4 February 2010

At a school in Chalk Farm the London Rockin' Rollers are holding their second ever training session for new members. Women of all shapes and sizes are whizzing round on roller skates, learning how to pick up speed and how to fall over without doing too much damage. Eventually, if they're good enough, they will take on skate names like Shellfire or Margy Bargy and get the chance to smash into each other while travelling really fast. These are some of the increasing number of women who are signing up to roller derby.

Invented in 1920s America, roller derby has evolved into a predominantly female sport - and one that is fiercely aggressive. Teams take part in bouts and score points by getting their "jammer" - usually their fastest player - around the track ahead of opposition players. They earn a point for each one they lap, but while the jammer is trying to get round, the other team is trying to stop her, using almost any means possible. As a result, the list of injuries sustained by Rockin' Rollers since the club was founded in 2007 is fairly impressive: as well as the obligatory bruises players have suffered concussion, shoulder injuries and broken bones. But that isn't putting them off.

The Women's Flat Track Derby Association, which promotes the sport in the US, lists 77 clubs and says that across the world the number of flat-track clubs has grown from one to more than 400 in less than a decade. While four years ago the sport was virtually unheard of in Britain, there are now more than 24 established teams (or leagues, as they're known) from Perth to Plymouth, and more are starting up all the time. The Rockin' Rollers have been forced to set up a waiting list to cope with the influx of new players, and with a film based on the sport already out in the US and set for UK release in April, it seems roller derby is likely to get even bigger.

Around 25 women joined the Rockin' Rollers last autumn, and the club now boast more than 80 members. Their local rivals, the London Rollergirls, saw 90 women register for a tryout session at the end of last year. "We have seen a gradual but steady increase in interest over the last three years and have gone from accepting new skaters at any time in 2006/7 to limiting intake to monthly newbie sessions in late 2008 to our current procedure of holding tryouts every few months," says Rollergirl member Fox Sake, aka Jayne Mahoney. Other clubs across the UK are also reporting an increase in interest and participation.

In north London, budding Rockin' Rollers are put through their paces by some of the old hands at the club - although so new is the sport to Britain that even the veterans have only been playing for three years. Jayne Plackett, known on the track as Bloody Valentine, says all sorts of women in their 20s and 30s are signing up. "We get people who run their own business, we've got bankers, nurses, piercers, tattooists, people who work in advertising and digital media," she says. Some women are looking for a way to keep fit that isn't going to the gym, she says, while others are attracted by the social aspect. Despite the physical nature of the game the players insist you don't have to be tough to take part, and that many of them are "real pussy cats" off the track.

Most people sign up after seeing a bout or hearing about the sport through friends. "After you start it tends to be all you talk about," says Clare Jackson, whose roller derby name is Whip It. But Drew Barrymore's new film, also called Whip It, could change that. "We're looking for a bigger hall so we can take more people on," Jackson says.

Alongside customised kits, names are an important part of the game. Players register their chosen names in America, and no two in the world can choose the same sobriquet. As you might have gathered, they tend to be pretty spiky. "It's a kind of alter ego changing you from where you are normally to where you are on the track," says Plackett. "If you go out and you have a little bit of a hard name, it can give you confidence."
Roller Derby class The Rockin' Rollers' beginners' class. Photograph: Anna Gordon

Harriet Foxwell, a spokeswoman for the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation, says sports that attract women are very welcome. "As little as 3% of women play traditional competitive team sports - that's compared to 17% of men - so newer sports which are successfully attracting women are a real positive," she says. "With a sport such as roller derby, where there is a high level of women both in leadership positions and participating, they can help shape the way it's run in order to make the provision as female-friendly as possible."

As you watch women crashing into each other at full speed, you may wonder why anyone would want to strap on skates and throw themselves into the firing line. Dr Victor Thompson, a clinical sports psychologist based in London, says the answer is simple: "Adrenaline rush, physical stimulation, endorphin release (the feel-good hormones), the challenge, the camaraderie of working in a team, the common goal … feeling like you are alive. For many, the question isn't why would you play such sport, but why AREN'T you playing such a sport?"

Dr Thompson says aggressive sports are attractive both to women who take traditional roles but want a form of escape, and those who have broken the mould and want a hobby that fits with their day job. "For these women, sports like roller derby are a good fit to their challenging day job. Having a nice bath and reading a book just won't do it," he says.

Louise Esposito, 25, who joined the Rockin' Rollers in April 2008 - two months after giving birth to her daughter, Isabelle - says she likes the chance it gives her to be herself. "I heard about it when I was pregnant from a friend who had started playing and I thought 'as soon as I have the baby I've got to do that'. I came along and the next day I was out buying skates - I just fell in love with it straight away," says Louise, or Tanya B Hind as she's known on the track.

"I've always played sport, I like exercise, and I wanted something that made me feel like me again … I've stopped going out to the pub with friends but now I've replaced it with this. I wanted something different and something that wasn't being a mum. Here I can just be me."

• Find a roller derby league near you at www.ukderbynews.co.uk
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Topless sledging proves surprisingly popular
It's a controversial sport that's been threatened with bans in the past - but a topless tobogganing tournament in Germany went ahead and, you'll be astonished to learn, attracted thousands of spectators.

While the stars of the Winter Olympics busy themselves competing in so-called 'proper sports' (and figure skating), 30 male and female competitors, clad only in underwear, bounced their way down a 100 metre track on sledges to the approval of huge crowds. More than 14,000 spectators turned out to watch the rude, chilly event in Braunlage, Germany. Car parks were overflowing ahead of the popular event, a spokesman said.

26-year-old Christian Schmidt won the event, while one 70-year-old man got the biggest round of applause for stripping down to his long johns. 'It was very cold, and because of that some of those girls would definitely had a bit of an advantage in a photo finish,' said one gutter-minded fan.

The event came after officials in another German town tried to put a stop to Germany's first ever topless tobogganing championships, after the mayor said he was 'offended' by the spectacle. In that event, in Oberwiesenthal near the border with the Czech Republic, ladies competed for cash prizes of around 300 pounds, while being required only to wear a hard helmet and footwear.

Liberal party mayor Mirko Ernst had threatened a ban. 'The good name of Oberwiesenthal is at stake,' he said.

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"gutter-minded fan." Laughing
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Introducing 'Skyaking': skydiving with a kayak
Paddling across the sky, 13,000ft up in a kayak has become a new daredevil craze dubbed 'Skyaking'.
04 Mar 2010

Miles Daisher turned the extreme sport of skydiving on its head after deciding to jump out of a plane in equipment normally used only in water. Mr Daisher then swoops in at 50mph and lands on the water in spectacular fashion. His antics are showcased in a new 3D film on skydiving, BASE jumping, wingsuit flying and Skyaking.

The 40-year-old, from Twin Falls, Idaho, decided to put a twist into has favourite pastime when looking for new ideas to take it even more extreme. These pictures 13,000 feet Above Ground Level (AGL) over beautiful Lake Tahoe show his efforts. "It took us nearly a year before we could get our wish to come true as no-one was really looking to throw a kayak out of an aeroplane. To begin with we did it off a 600ft bridge on a static line, and landed in Feather River, California. A year later I got permission to jump out of an aeroplane and so since that time I have jumped out of four different aircraft, including a helicopter. We have taken it all over the world from Mexico to Abu Dhabi and I have been Skyaking for nearly eight years now."

Over the years the father-of-two and his team have slowly perfected the art of Skyaking. "There are a lot of things that can go wrong in skyaking and so you have to be prepared, in skyaking I usually put the chute quite high. With skydives I will pull at 2,000 ft above the ground whereas with skyaking I will pull at 5,000 ft above the ground incase anything starts to go a little crazy. That way I have a time to sort things out, get out of the boat and then pull the chute for the kayak."

He has noted some strong differences in regular skydiving. "The rate at which you fall is a lot different," he said. "Instead of falling flat on your belly you are sitting up right in an L position. I liken it to sitting on a space hopper, balancing front to back and side to side. It does take some decent balance skills. And because the boat has such a big surface area your fall rate is a lot slower. If you are lying on your belly, a normal sized humour will fall at 120 mph. If you go into a stand up or a head down then you can build the speed up to 160-180 mph. But with this boat, that has so much surface area and weighs 35 lbs, meaning that I fall at only 98 mph.

The reduced rate of Mr Daisher's descent through the clouds means that cameramen wishing to film him need to wear special wingsuits to increase drag and reduce their own fall rate. Wingsuits are specially adapted bodywear for skydivers and BASE jumpers. Flaps of material running across the gaps between arms and legs increase drag for jumpers and allow them to glide like a flying squirrel.

Mr Daisher has completed more BASE jumps than anyone in the world with 2,570 and has completed a whopping 3,000 skydives since he quit his job and took up the sport in 1995.

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