So the World Championships I have found for you all so far don’t exactly need much skill or sporting prowess and in your 2017 quest to be a world champion, it just may be your skills that might get you over the line.
Here are ten more absolutely genuine realistic opportunities, which do actually require some talent, strength and guts to become a legitimate 2017 world champion!
1. Yukigassen (snowball fighting)
Winter is coming. Apart from building a snowman, what’s the best thing about being in the snow? Surely it’s snowball fights, or Yukigassen as it is known in the highly competitive elite side of the sport.
The World Championships are held in Sonetsu, Hokkaido, Japan at the end of February. You will need six mates to go with you as it is strictly seven-a-side. Matches are split into two 90-snowball halves. Players are eliminated if they get hit directly with a snowball. The team with the last players standing wins!
Yukigassen. Image: Supplied
For all the up to date news about the 2017 event, head here.
2. Christmas tree throwing
It’s still winter in the northern hemisphere, but by the time this world championship rolls around, Christmas has come and gone. What would you normally do with your now-dying Christmas tree? In Weidenthal, Germany they throw them and host the World Christmas Tree Throwing Championships at the same time. It’s quite simple, throw it as far as you can by any means possible.
Image: Supplied
If you are keen to represent Australia (or any other country) at the 2017 event in January you can try the website, but it is in German!
3. Wife carrying
If the winter weather isn’t quite to your liking, then perhaps heading to a really cold country in the middle of their summer is more up your street. Would you like to win the weight of your wife (or partner) in beer? Could you carry her over a 253.3-metre long obstacle course? Finland’s now world famous Wife Carrying World Championship is held in Sonkajärvi on the last weekend in June.
Wife Carrying. Image: Supplied
For information on the 2017 edition (in English!) head here.
4. Swamp soccer
If you are staying in Finland then hang around a couple more weeks and get prepare to get muddy. It is football, but not as you know it. Played in a knee high mud swamp, skills are relatively irrelevant as these six-a-side teams from all over the planet slog it out for World Cup glory.
Swamp soccer. Image: Supplied
If you can get a team together to represent Australia (or any other country) in the 2017 Swamp Soccer World Cup, you can enter here.
5. Mountain bike chariot racing
If carrying your wife (or partner) isn’t that enticing, even though the beer prize is, how about towing him or her while channelling your inner Ben Hur? You will need a mate, though, to join in to enter the Mountain Bike Chariot Racing World Championships. Llanwrtydd Wells in Wales (also home to the Bog Snorkelling World Championships) hosts this Roman-themed bicycle assault. Elimination races feature four teams and it all ends up in a winner takes all grand final.
Mountain bike chariot racing Image: Supplied
2017 is the 10th edition of the World Championship and you can enter here.
6. Tin bath racing
Staying in the wild realms of the United Kingdom, Castletown on the Isle of Man has been the host for the World Tin Bath Racing Championships for the past 45 years! Tin baths of not more than five feet in length and 16 inches deep are propelled over the 400-metre long course in the harbour against 100 other paddlers.
Tin bath racing Image: Supplied
The race is held in July, although you do have build your own tin bath. You can join the Australian honour roll by entering here.
7. Coal bag carrying
Can you run or at least jog? Can you carry stuff? If you can do both at once then the Yorkshire mining town of Gawthorpe at Easter time is where you need to be. All you have to do is carry a bag of coal over the one-kilometre course. Here’s the catch: the course is slightly uphill and the bag of coal weighs 50 kilos (or 20 for the ladies). Apart from that, how hard can it be?
Coal carrying. Image: Supplied
You can find all the information about the race by clicking here.
8. Shovel racing
Winter is still coming, but if you can’t ski or board how else do you get down the mountain? How about sitting on the scoop of a shovel and riding it as fast as you can? Angel Fire Resort in New Mexico, USA hosts the Shovel Racing World Championship every February! Shovel Racing briefly appeared in the Winter X Games, but due to a competitor injury, it’s not been seen since.
Shovel racing. Image: Supplied
You can enter here.
9. Coal shovelling
If you don’t fancy riding it but rather use it for the reason it was intended, then much closer to home, in Tasmania, is the Coal Shoveling World Championship. It’s held at the Fingal Valley Festival (alongside the Roof Bolting World Championship) and the idea is quite simple. Shovel half a ton of coal into a skip as quickly as you can. I’ve no idea what roof bolting is, so let’s stick with dirty stuff!
Coal shovelling. Image: Supplied
All the information on the Coal Shoveling and Roof Bolting World Championships is on the Fingal Valley Festival website.
10. Tuna tossing
Is there anything more Australian than throwing a big Aussie fish as far as you can in Australia on Australia Day? Port Lincoln in South Australia is the home of the Australian Tuna Industry (as well as a big statue of Makybe Diva – a horse that never set hoof in South Australia, let alone Port Lincoln) and Tunarama is held across the holiday weekend. Competitors fight it out for the $1000 first prize by launching the ten-kilogram frozen fish, hammer style, as far as possible.
Tuna tossing. Image: Supplied
If you fancy taking on Australia’s (and the world’s) best tuna tossers, head here.
Beefy is the world’s foremost expert in weird and wonderful sports. You can follow his travels and exploits through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @365daysofsport
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