Everyone knows all about the major sports and events in the world, but if you look behind the money and the shiny veneer, there is a world of sport just waiting to be explored.
From the weird to the wacky, and from the sublime to the ridiculous, the world of alternative sports offers an entertaining and engaging mix of fun and competition.
Here, we’ve picked out 10 such sports and events for you to get stuck into:
1 – ROCK PAPER SCISSORS
This year’s UK Championships takes place in November at a pub in Poultry, London, so don’t chicken out of the chance to take part. There are seven knockout rounds and it takes just three hours for the winner to be crowned. With money, a trophy, champagne and kudos to be gained, it’s all about psyching out your opponent.
2 – INTERNATIONAL CHESS BOXING
Mixing speed chess and boxing, the top level isn’t for the faint-hearted, but it’s a sport anyone can get involved in. Combining brains and brawn, the sport has grown out of performance art and alternates between three minute rounds of chess and boxing.
3 – MARBLES
You could consider marbles a hand-sized version of golf! Your tee shot is your first attempt to throw the marble into a hole and, if you don’t succeed with a hole-in-one, then you have to flick the marble into the hole. It’s just like match-play, you need to get the marble in the hole in fewer flicks than your opponent. A world championship is held in the Czech Republic every two years.
4 – WATER BOMBING
Finally, you can dive-bomb into a swimming pool without the fear of being told off by a lifeguard or kicked out. It’s all about the presentation, splash and style for scoring points and there is a World Water Bombing Championships which is held to raise money for charity.
5 – EGG THROWING
Soft hands are essential in this sport. Working in pairs, it’s a case of who can throw an egg the furthest to their partner, who has to catch it without it breaking or hitting the ground. Official status has been applied for so that egg throwing can be recognised as a sport.
6 – PEA SHOOTING
Once the main sport of the classroom where you targeted the kids in the front row, there’s now a much more serious element to pea shooting. If you want to reach the top of this sport, then you’re going to need to put in the hours of practice and dedication. It also may be handy to have a laser-guided shooter as well.
7 – GRAVY WRESTLING
It’s fun, it’s entertaining and, above all, it’s messy. The annual World Gravy Wrestling Championships is now in its sixth year and the aim is to beat your opponent in a two-minute wrestling contest in a ring filled with gravy. Entertaining the audience is key to your chances of success.
8 – STONE SKIMMING
A favourite pastime of beach holidays, stone skimming is a sport open to people of any age. The World Championships are held in the Inner Hebrides in Scotland and, for a skim to be registered, it has to bounce at least three times. It’s then measured on which stone skimmed the furthest before sinking.
9 – PRAM RACING
Being pushed around in a pram, drinking beer, what’s not to like? The Pagham Pram Race is held on Boxing Day every year and this year will be celebrating its 70th event. No spillages and no running are the two key themes to accompany the beer drinking.
10 – BOG SNORKELLING
Not something for the squeamish to get involved in, but snorkelling 60 yards in a peat bog twice in a time quicker than 90 seconds could see you become a world champion. There’s even a bog triathlon to get involved in for the really hardcore.