Strange sports and pastimes.....

[matriarch]

Just been watching a weekly BBC TV programme called 'Countryfile', which focusses on life and leisure in the country. Today's programme seemed to be focussing on leisure pastimes.......there was Hill cycling in Yorkshire....pony trekking in North Wales.....surf-kiting in Wales........coasteering (dressing in a wet suit, life jacket, crash helmet and jumping off a cliff into the sea, swimming to rocks, climbing on to them.......no thanks).........absailing, hurling, and my favourite..........the world championship of stone skimming......!!!

It got me thinking about unusual sports........I know in the UK, we have wellie throwing, the annual conker championships, Min showed me the site for the annual Rock, Paper Scissors Championships (honestly), and the Norwegian Sport of Wife carrying) so I looked up on Wikepedia and found these..........

Bog Snorkelling
Conger cuddling
Chess Boxing
Dwarf Tossing
Extreme Ironing
Squirrel Fishing........

I was laughing so much by the time I reached this one.....I decided to let you all add your own.

Let the imagination fly.

 

[Liar]

the Norwegian Sport of Wife carrying

Not Finnish? The Finnish Wife Carrying championships are steadily gaining reputation. Sponsors, national tv coverage, international guest celebs... it's a minor industry.

 

[minsue]

Not Finnish? The Finnish Wife Carrying championships are steadily gaining reputation. Sponsors, national tv coverage, international guest celebs... it's a minor industry.

I think she meant Nordic, not Norweigan.

 

[StrixVaria]

Hashing

The Atlanta Hash House Harriers and Harriettes, (AH4) is a Social Running Club that emphasizes fun (beer) more than competition. Our goal is pretty simple - get a little exercise, drink some beer, give each other a hard time, and bitch about stuff with four-letter words.

At one of our fine hashes, which generally meet each Saturday at 1:30PM, you can expect to find a somewhat challenging cross-country trail, which will be marked in biodegradable flour - you know, the stuff Grandma uses to make cookies. You follow this fine trail through all sorts of slop, muck and prickly-briar-filled bushes for four to five miles until you get to the end.

Why, you might ask, would anyone do this?

Simple Answer - BEER. The Complicated Answer - More beer! (We like beer, the people who make beer, and the people who like to drink beer.)

Yep - heaps of beer. All waiting for you... Sounds good, doesn't it?

If you're new to Atlanta hashing you may have some questions about our hash, and how we do things. Here are the answers to some Frequently Asked Questions to help you get started.

Q. When does AH4 hash?

A. Every Saturday at 1:30PM, except for special events.

Q. I only have Internet Access at work - do you guys have a phone number?

A. Yes, Mr. 21stCentury, we have a phone number - it is (770) 455-6952 (69, 52 weeks a year is how Barf Bag remembers it. He's what we like to call "clever".)

Q. What does it cost to hash with AH4?

A. We charge everyone $6.00 per hash except for Virgin hashers, who get in for free unless it is a special event. We charge a big ol' pile of money for some events, such as Camp Hedon, but it is worth is. (So says our Accountant, Arthur Anderson)

Q. How long are your trails? What kind of terrain can I expect?

A. Our trails are generally 4-6 Miles in length, and roughly 75% of them take advantage of woodsy, non-road, terrain. Alas, you may get a blacktop death-march from some less-inspired hares, but thankfully those are the exception and not the rule.

Q. But how will I know where the trail is?

A. LUUUCCYY! You got some 'splainin' to do! If yer lucky, we'll do "chalk-talk" and show ya all the marks...but you might want to do some studying ahead of time. Check out our Trail Marks.

Q. What should I bring with me?

A. Always bring a gym bag with a change of clothes - warm DRY shoes and socks are worth their weight in gold, especially after a couple of November river crossings. Sweats, gloves, sandals, etc. will make you a happy sort, dependant upon the weather. The bag car will bring your gear to the ending spot. Bring some rubbing alcohol to get rid of poison ivy. Also bring a small towel to apply it without making a mess. Sandals in the summer are nice to let them stanky feet breath, and hopefully not stink too much. If you have one of those cool camping chairs, you can bring that too, if you're so inclined.

Q. What is the crowd like?

A. A mixed bunch - we draw folks from their late teens to their early 70's. Folks come from all backgrounds, and we have many differing political viewpoints. For the most part, this is a rowdy group usually numbering from 30-45 people. Expect profanity - lots of it. We all have to be nice and polite at work - this is when we make fun of one another and fart in each other's general direction. If this sort of behavior disgusts or offends you, tough titty - we ain't changin'.

Q. When can I tell my husband/wife I'll be home?

A. Heck, we say bring them along, but if you have to go it alone, a typical hash trail has us shuffling off at 2PM, hashing a 4-6 mile trail for between 75 to 120 minutes. Then we socialize over beer and munchies as the stragglers come in. About an hour later the down-downs begin, and can take up to an hour to complete. Then it is back to the cars and on to an optional post hash meal called an "On-On". If you do all of this, you could be home after 8PM. Skip the On-On, and you could be home as early as 6PM.

Q. What is a Down-Down? What is the Down-Down ceremony?

A. If you do something stoopid, like show up at a hash for the first time, wear new shoes, call someone by their nerd name, or have sex with your dog, you're likely to have to do a down-down as penance. Essentially, this means you have to chug a beer while we sing a song. Don't worry, we won't sing "Feelings". Whatever you do during a down-down, NEVER wear a hat, and NEVER take the cup away from your mouth until you're finished, even if we start singing Christmas Carols. If you do, the rest of your beer goes over your head. Try to explain this to the cops, why don'tcha?

Q. What is the deal with the stooopid names? What's wrong with real names?

A. Uh, that's a good question... Have you ever seen Dragnet? The names have been changed to protect the innocent. Yeah, that's it. Honestly, the dopey names have been around since the dawn of the hash way back in 1938. We guess it is so people with famous parents don't have to be worried about embarrassing them. Just ask Newt Gingrich's kid, "Not My Fault". Suffice it to say, that after hash number five, we will name you something stooopid, so we suggest having some semblance of a personality unless you want to be called "Maytag Repairman" or something equally dull. We're still looking for "Rodeo Sex", so if you ride a horse, be warned....

Q. What is Shiggy?

A. Shiggy is our word for the slop and muck that we may hash through on a trail. For example if you are hashing in a muddy construction site, that mud is "shiggy". Shiggy can also include thick bushes, swamps, streams, sewers, etc. In a nutshell, shiggy is pretty much anything that you'd normally avoid on a regular "run". (This doesn't include the "Magnificent Seven", but we'd like to think it should.)

Q. Who/What are the Magnificent Seven?

A. A group of guys who tend to hit on any female - living or dead. We won't name them here, but trust us, if you are of the female persuasion, you'll pretty much figure out who they are on your first hash or so... They are harmless - just say no, unless you wanna, well, you know - that might freak 'em out... At any moment, their number could blossom until we refer to as the "Dirty Dozen"... And then we have the Mag-Lites, who wanna-be Mag-Seven...

 

[Guest]

extreme ironing!!!

BWAHAHAHA!!!!!

 

[Guest]

extreme ironing!!!

BWAHAHAHA!!!!!

i see a picture of this huge chick with a wrestling outfit on ironing away very aggressively

 

[matriarch]

The Atlanta Hash House Harriers and Harriettes, ......

Oh, I know ALLLLLLL about hashing. My ex and both sons were heavily into it here in UK for years. They even used to take the dog. I had more sense, but did occasionally go along for the beer and socialising at the end, and usually more often than not to be the taxi driver with dry clothes.

If anyone's interested - in the UK - take a look here

 

[matriarch]

extreme ironing!!!

BWAHAHAHA!!!!!

Honestly. Take a look here

 

[Guest]

Honestly. Take a look here

good gawd




i might get zade to do some actual ironing cause it has a board involved

 

[scheherazade_79]

good gawd




i might get zade to do some actual ironing cause it has a board involved

I'd do it on the old board... but nothing hot gets to come anywhere near the new one... unless she's female, of course

 

[StrixVaria]

Extreme Ironing. You know, I just don't get it.... it's like that whole Skipping thing. I'm left wondering WHY?

 

[oggbashan]

Just been watching a weekly BBC TV programme called 'Countryfile', which focusses on life and leisure in the country. Today's programme seemed to be focussing on leisure pastimes.......there was Hill cycling in Yorkshire....pony trekking in North Wales.....surf-kiting in Wales........coasteering (dressing in a wet suit, life jacket, crash helmet and jumping off a cliff into the sea, swimming to rocks, climbing on to them.......no thanks).........absailing, hurling, and my favourite..........the world championship of stone skimming......!!!

It got me thinking about unusual sports........I know in the UK, we have wellie throwing, the annual conker championships, Min showed me the site for the annual Rock, Paper Scissors Championships (honestly), and the Norwegian Sport of Wife carrying) so I looked up on Wikepedia and found these..........

Bog Snorkelling
Conger cuddling
Chess Boxing
Dwarf Tossing
Extreme Ironing
Squirrel Fishing........

I was laughing so much by the time I reached this one.....I decided to let you all add your own.

Let the imagination fly.

You've reminded me of my mis-spent youth when I'd try anything not actually illegal as long as it didn't frighten the horses. (Not that much humans do frightens horses)

I've done:

Hill cycling in Yorkshire before mountain bikes were invented.

Fell running in Yorkshire.

Pony trekking - except they gave me a horse because I was never a pony-sized rider - on Dartmoor and in the Brecon Beacons.

Coasteering except it wasn't called that - I was part of South Devon's cliff rescue team and usually ended up in the waves because I was a qualified Surf Lifesaver as well. Wetsuit, helmet, lifejacket? What are those for?

Abseiling before abseil equipment. All I needed was a rope to wrap around myself and a cliff to jump off. It used to ruin my anoraks with rope burns.

Caving although I'm the wrong build.

Welly-hurling preferably with a mud filled boot.

Tug of war across rivers or ponds - much more fun when the losers get wet and muddy.

Cliff racing - moving sideways along cliff faces against the stop watch.

Pancake racing through beach mud.

Mud wrestling, unfortunately not a mixed sport in my time.

And other sports involving motorcycles.

No wonder my back is damaged.

Og

 

[scheherazade_79]

Cow turning.

Around where I live, people make a pastime out of turning cows over as they sleep.

I don't know why

 

[minsue]

Cow turning.

Around where I live, people make a pastime out of turning cows over as they sleep.

I don't know why

It's called cow tipping across the pond.

 

[FallingToFly]

When we were kids we used to take the horses out swimming. It started as an accident, and then we discovered that most of them actually enjoyed it (Any time a horse automatically starts cantering so they can get into the water first we consider that liking it, lol) we went every day we could in the summer. Not so much in winter, obviously.

Crazy sports- butt-kwan-do. I've seen a few people doing it, and it's funny as hell.

 

[Guest]

It's called cow tipping across the pond.

why?
because they're there.

i'd watch.

 

[minsue]

why?
because they're there.

i'd watch.

Ditto. I'm still not sure it's possible. I'm curious. Offended for the poor cows' sake, but curious just the same.

 

[FallingToFly]

Ditto. I'm still not sure it's possible. I'm curious. Offended for the poor cows' sake, but curious just the same.

Take it from someone who has done it- a lot-

It's possible.

 

[oggbashan]

Fun with cow pats...

1. Collect dry ones and use as frisbees. Some people are reluctant to catch them.

2. Find fresh ones and jump in them to see how far you can splatter them. Splattering your friends earns extra points.

3. Try to start a fire with dried ones and then cook on the fire without tainting the food.

4. Try to build a stack of them. The highest stack wins.

Rewards for winning are paid in beer at the local hostelry IF they'll let the cow-pat scented winner in.

Og

 

[MaeveoSliabh]

Awwww... Ogg, you already took my cow pie flinging!

Pumpkin Chunkin - How far can you throw the darn things?


Or, fer the ul-tee-mat list: The Annual Summer Redneck Games!!!

 

[Liar]

Pancake racing through beach mud.

How do you race a pancake?

 

[oggbashan]

How do you race a pancake?

Normally it's an event for Shrove Tuesday aka Pancake Day. The race participants run holding a frying pan with a pancake on it. The pancake must be tossed and caught at least once before the finishing line.

Doing a pancake race through thick mud is rather more difficult. As with normal Pancake racing, dropping the pancake results in instant disqualification.

Og

 

[gauchecritic]

Egg throwing which I think has a Guiness record.

And a sport which involves running and then grabbing hold of a really long pole which is entrenched in some sort of stream or ditch, and the aim is to ride the pole to the other side of the ditch.

And I'm nearly sure I saw a few years ago, Cornish Pasty Throwing.

 

[oggbashan]

Justification

In the UK, many of these strange sports are invented to publicise an event or a location.

Most of them also involve the sale of large quantities of beer which explains why they are often sponsored by brewers.

Og

 

[Grushenka]

Cornish Pasty Throwing.

I know what a Cornish pasty is, but this made me laugh because I immediately thought of the pasties strippers used to wear on their nipples (in the good old days ).