It is being said that Las Vegas is becoming the “Sports Capital” of the world. So what about this sport?
In a recent poll, 25% of Americans said they’re “not a fan” of sports in general. But that probably depends on how you define “sports.” Sweden is the first country to register SEX as a sport, and this month (June), they’ll host the first-ever European sex championship. Seems like a sport Las Vegas would embrace.
There will be 16 disciplines, including seduction, massage, and the big one – inter****se. And it’s a lot more structured than you’d think. The championship is being organized by the Swedish Sex Federation, and it’s open to anyone from any European country. This year’s competitors have already been chosen.
Twenty representatives from different European countries will take part. The championship will last a few weeks, with daily competitions lasting for six hours. Each individual participant will engage for up to one hour daily, depending on, well – you know.
According to the organizers, the focus of sex as a sport is on maximizing pleasure, so the more pleasure your partner experiences, the more points you get. Participants will be judged on creativity, strong emotions, imagination, physical fitness, endurance, and – workability?
The final scores will be determined from a panel of judges – as well as AUDIENCE votes. It’s unclear how you can qualify for the audience, or if there are bleachers, or if you can bring your own Portable folding sports seat – you know, in case a friend was wondering…
“Challenges” are grouped into 16 disciplines. Things like the above mentioned massage, and seduction – but there’s also a lot of other “challenges, Stuff like pose performance, creativity in position change, increased blood pressure and heart rate during competition, and the most beautiful and difficult pose.
Will this “sport” be coming to Las Vegas nest? Why not?! Sounds like a sport that everyone can enjoy, if they do it right – OR wrong.
Here are some “sports” from other countries, that you probably didn’t even know existed.
Yukigassen
Yukigassen – or SNOWBALL FIGHTS – began in Japan in 1989. It combines dodgeball with snowball fighting. Seven-person teams compete with 90 premade snowballs each, trying to eject opposing team member.
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Basque Pelota
Basque pelota is the name for a court sport played with a ball using one’s hand, a racket, a wooden bat or a basket, against a wall or, more traditionally, with two teams face to face separated by a line on the ground or a net. Similar to Jai Alai.
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Sepak takraw
Sepak takraw, or Sepaktakraw, also called kick volleyball, is a team sport played with a ball made of rattan or synthetic plastic between two teams of two to four players on a court resembling a badminton court.
Michel Steele
Kabaddi
Played between two teams of seven players. The objective of the game is for a single player on offense, referred to as a “raider”, to run into the opposing team’s half of the court, touch out as many of their players and return to their own half of the court, all without being tackled by the defenders in 30 seconds.
Michael Steele
Fierljeppen
Who hasn’t looked at a large puddle or stream and thought they could jump over it, only to fail miserably? Damn – if I only had the help of a pole! With fierljeppen (“far leaping”), that’s exactly what you get: the pole vault combined with your childhood love of jumping over (sometimes into) puddles. Born as a practical way to navigate the swampy canal of Friesland in the Netherlands, competitors pole vault a canal or stream and attempt to climb atop the pole before jumping as far as possible onto the other bank.
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Bossaball
Spain broke the mold with bossaball. It’s a hybrid of volleyball, soccer, and gymnastics played on an inflatable court with a trampoline on each side. Invented by Belgian Filip Eyckmans in 2005, bossaball pits two teams of four against each other. Each volley has complicated rules but boils down to this: Players from each side can hit the ball up to five times but only once with their hands or arms; the other four hits must happen with their feet, chest, head, or legs.
Skijoring
Long before the snowmobile, getting around Norway required a pair of skis. It likely didn’t take long for Norwegians to figure out they could move much faster if their working dogs or horses pulled them. Thus, skijoring was born. No longer just a mode of transportation, skijoring is now a competitive sport where skiers are pulled behind a horse, dog, or motorized vehicle down a snowy course. Some mountain communities in America and Canada host equestrian-based competitions with events in Steamboat Springs and Leadville, Colorado, among North America’s oldest.
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Palla
Considered a forerunner to modern tennis, the Tuscan sport of Palla pits two players or teams against each other on a rectangular court similar to a tennis court without a net. Players hit the ball with their hands, serving and returning volleys until it bounces more than once on a side, earning the other player a point. Courtside elements, like parked cars, walls, spectators, even unsuspecting pedestrians, are all considered in play.
Basse
A ball-bag game from Norway first appearing after World War I, five to nine players use any part of their body except their hands to keep the ball from falling inside their zone, which can be a circle or square. Americans would probably compare this to the playground game four square.
