10 Strange Sports Around the World

Popular sports may call to mind rackets, bats, and balls—but what about bathtubs, mashed potatoes, and mullets? In Scotland, Chile, and Florida, local communities are redefining sports. From the world’s most remote triathlon (involving bird eggs, a volcano, and bananas) to state-line fish tossing, check out these niche and exciting sports around the world, where spectating is just as thrilling as participating.

On the last weekend in September, people from around the world head to a tiny Scottish island, each hoping to earn themselves a world champion title. Winning the championship is no easy feat, as competitors must follow a set of strict rules. Each contender, who must use stones made of naturally formed Easdale slate, only has three attempts, and the skimmed stone has to bounce on the surface of the water at least two times to be considered valid. Fortunately, there are several categories for entrants to compete within, including one for “old tossers.” It’s a joyful, at times whimsical, event. People don all sorts of costumes, so scanning the crowd is just as fun as skimming the stones.

Sailing is a gentleman’s sport, and rowing attracts world-class athletes, but a waterborne race where one can do whatever they want? That’s where the real challenge lies. At least that’s the mentality behind Belgium’s International Regatta of Bathtubs—a refreshing mix of sun, surf, and beer in the tiny city of Dinant.

Compared to Jell-O or spaghetti, mashed potatoes might not be one of the most popular foods to fill a wrestling ring. Most potato wrestling events take place in a pool constructed from hay bales and a tarp that gets filled with hundreds of pounds of potato flakes, factory scraps, and water. When the competition has come to a close, local cattle usually get to dine on the leftovers, making this wonder waste-free.

Tau’a, the world’s most remote triathlon, comes from a competition that’s around 300 years old. The demanding sporting event honors Rapa Nui’s ancestral tradition, where competitors would climb perilous cliffs to retrieve a bird egg. Over the years, the event shifted to include swimming across a volcanic lake and carrying a heavy bunch of bananas while running. While European colonizers opted for oppression, war, and slaughter to enforce power, the Rapa Nui Indigenous people used tournaments and challenges to determine pre-colonial governance. Today, the triathlon begins with the rafting, called Vaka Ama; followed by the banana-weighted run, the Aka Venga; and ends with a bodyboard-type paddle race: Natación con Pora.

One of the more extreme unusual sports, Japanese log riding—known as kiotoshi—in Suwa, Japan, is held every six years and draws over half a million spectators in celebration of the Onbashira Festival. The ancient tradition goes back centuries. Men and women cut down preselected trees, ride them down a mountain, and parade them through town to eventually replace the pillars of Suwa Shrine, a complex of four Shinto shrines. And yes, it is about as dangerous as it seems, but people love it.

The Battle of the Oranges, as it is known, has become a deeply rooted tradition that brings visitors from around the world to the town in northwest Italy. While no one knows its true origins, one of the stories behind the festival is that it is a reenactment of an actual historic event. Allegedly, the three-day festival held before Lent is a restaging of “bloody uprisings by the townspeople,” but exactly who their oppressors were is in question. During the festival, the town erupts in a mock battle, with nine teams made up of orange throwers—representing the revolters—and riders in horse-drawn carts defending the castle. Naturally, each group wears its own elaborate costume.

Professional wrestling has a place among many cultures in Latin America, with masked luchadores taking to the ring from Mexico to Argentina. In La Paz, the most celebrated fighters of the night don’t wear spandex and masks, but bowler hats and frilly skirts. The Cholitas are the main event of the wrestling matches held at the Coliseo. The venue sits within a rapidly growing city filled with recent immigrants from rural Bolivia and the largest Amerindian population in the world. “Cholita” was traditionally a derogatory name for lower-class women of mixed Indigenous heritage. These wrestlers reclaim the term while poking fun at themselves, wearing the traditional costume of peasant women and playing up their feistiness.

In Uganda, one magical sport has cast a spell on adults and children alike—Quidditch, the game popularized in the Harry Potter book series. But here, the sport is more than just a game pulled from the pages of a book. It’s an activity that embraces inclusivity, welcoming all to a sport that’s reshaping how players see the world—and each other.

At the Llama Rama race in Fairplay, Colorado—part of the historic “Burro Days”—it’s all about how well-behaved your llama is. Participants run three miles while leading a llama on a tether. Despite its strange approach, this run (or walk) with llamas is all for charity. The Llama Rama is the longest-running organ and tissue donation awareness event in Colorado, and is sponsored every year by Rocky Mountain Rural Health Donor Alliance. The event is currently in its 74th year, with 32 years of llama racing.

In late April, excited beachgoers flock to the Flora-Bama Lounge in Pensacola. Everyone is there for one reason: to see a dead fish get thrown across the state line from Florida to Alabama. Not to be confused with the hairstyle (though you will see plenty of wigs worn by participants and spectators), the mullet is a plentiful fish along the Gulf Coast. It’s often eaten fried, coated in cornmeal, and served alongside the likes of hush puppies and coleslaw. But at the Flora-Bama Mullet Toss, this fish doesn’t fry. It flies.