Zorbing
It was created in 1990 in New Zealand and is the brainchild of Dwane van der Sluis and Andrew Akers, two freaks who imagined a plastic sphere in which the “driver” Zorbonaut sits and rolls down the slope securely strapped.
A similar sport is nurtured on the hills of Zagorje and includes a team of drunken Zagorje people who, after an enviable amount of acidity, mostly go crazy from low-quality alcohol and climb down the hill, calling it brenčica. But unlike Zagorje folk sports, Zorbing is safe and popular all over the world, and is officially listed among the many extreme sports of today, and NASA is considering using the Zorba principle as a basis for creating vehicles tasked with exploring Mars.
Bossaball
It is an interesting combination of volleyball and dance, with the whole circus taking place on a trampoline with the enchanting sounds of Bossa Nova. It is clear to you that adults are also just children with a little longer experience, so it can be assumed that this sport from Belgium soon spread to the whole world and today is played on beaches, in schools and at various music festivals.
To avoid confusion, the entire playground is insured against more serious injuries so don’t expect brutal mutilations caused by falls as this is simply not the case. They just jump and play volleyball. The game is up to 30 points, arms, legs and head are used and those who have tried it claim that it is a concentrated essence of fun.
Curling
A nation that talks like pirates from cartoons has indebted us not only with haggis (entrails crammed into more entrails - a tripe-style specialty), Trainspotting and Sean Connery, but also with its national sport curling.
As you may have already figured out for yourself, these are Scots, and Curling is something closest to our bowling, just on ice. The old Scots knew how to gather (probably drink op.ur.), grab a smooth stone, go to a frozen lake and push the stone as close as possible to a certain, pre-drawn marker. They probably didn’t think they were going to create a national sport known around the globe that since ’98. it also becomes one of the official sports of the Winter Olympics.
So, let's repeat and further clarify these complex rules. The curling track is 45.5 meters long, and the competitors must throw the granite goulash as close as possible to the specific goal. After the stone has been thrown, the other members of the team use "brooms" to ensure the safest possible path by throwing in front of the sliding stone. It is interesting that curling is also called "ice chess" because of the strategic element.
Rolling cheeses
Who's rolling whom?
Khm… Khm… Before you ask yourself "why in God's name would someone roll cheese?" ask yourself what a roll of cheese can offer you… The answer is: some people just aren’t normal.
Residents of Gloucester, England, gather every year and roll a roll of cheese as if it has done them some harm. Although this sport has not spread beyond the borders of Gloucester, due to its long tradition it is placed among extreme sports because the slopes are often extremely steep and a man without coordination could end up broken, and believe me, none of you would want to tell your grandchildren how he remained motionless hunting cheese. But you must be wondering what the goal of this mindless sport is. Is there a reward? Of course, the winner takes the cheese and takes it home. Wow!
Sepak Takraw
If it was designed by Asians you can guess what it is about. Namely, it is a combination of football, volleyball, badminton, and we can freely say that one of the predispositions is certainly the knowledge of martial arts.
So, two teams (regus) of three players on each side try to keep the ball in the air without using their hands. As the picture shows high-kick is welcome because not every badger really can do such stunts, and just try to imagine what it means to nail the ball without using your hands.
There was a long struggle over the choice of name (the sport was appropriated by many countries) and in the end it was decided that it would be called Sepak Takraw, under which this sport is known in the world.
The ultimate frisbee
Ultimate Frisbee was conceived in 1968 at a New Jersey high school. In short, it is a group sport that functions as a netball with frisbee, but players are not allowed to hold it for too long or run around with it.
It is not a contact sport because the creators themselves were not some exceptional athletes. The goal is to intercept the Frisbee of the opposing team. The frisbee must be added within 10 seconds, and if the time limit is exceeded, the frisbee belongs to the opposite team. The winning team is the first to score 15 "goals".
Championships have been held regularly since 1979, which gives the game an official tone, but that doesn't mean it's not a stupid combination, because if you're bored, you'll come up with the "ultimate chess" that will be a combination of traditional chess and Indian fire.
Capoeira
You’re guaranteed to hear about this one if you’ve ever followed Pride or if by any chance you’ve played Tekken and picked Eddy. Interestingly, this African-Brazilian martial art has been presented as a dance for centuries and banned even though the ultimate goal is, first and foremost, to show the skill rather than hit the opponent.
African slaves transferred this sport to the Brazilian colonies under Portuguese rule. Due to its brutality, it was banned from 1892 to 1932. Participants form a circle (genus) in which they take turns dancing, playing and fighting. Kicks, kicks, and head blows are allowed, and elbow kicks, slaps, and foot kicks are less common.
Capoeira is divided into 3 main styles: Angola (basic style), Regional (newer style) and Contemporanea (the latter was created and spears are most often broken around it due to the abolition of some traditional views of the sport). A trivia you may not have known - the song in the Mazda commercial “Zoom, Zoom, Zoom” is a Capoeiraist song.
Polo on elephants
So the name reveals everything. Polo, which is traditionally played on horses, was modified by British aristocrats in the early twentieth century and replaced by horses with elephants. Let's think about this a little…
You have colonized India, you have been biting your balls all day and you are forcing slaves to feed you grapes - you get bored. Leisure destroys you and you start making up pranks. Luckily the British didn’t colonize Lika because they would be playing polo on the bears today. But back to the elephant pole. Two riders ride an elephant, one plays while the other controls the elephant, kicks the ball with mallets until they hit a goal, and the rules are almost the same as in the classic variant.
At the end of the day, the players enjoy the rest, and the elephants retreat to the stables and think about how many people are horses…
