Weirdest Competitions You’ve Never Heard Of

There’s nothing like the thrill of competition—if you’re athletic, that is. For the rest of us, we have to live our lives consigned to the bleachers. But there’s still hope for all the people out there who want to get into a competition who aren’t great at dribbling, hitting, throwing, or catching a ball. And believe me, these are some of the weirdest competitions you’ve never heard of.

Gurning Contest

The phrase “age before beauty” is an apt expression for our first choice on the list. Age-wise, this is one of the oldest weird unheard-of competitions here, originating in 1297 at the Egremont Crab Fair in Egremont, Cumbria in the UK. As for beauty, well, one need look no further than the nature of the game. Gurning means to “pull a face.” In this competition, men and women take turns making the ugliest most distorted faces after putting their heads through a horse collar, called a baffin.

Forklift Rodeo

A normal rodeo requires people to demonstrate their knowledge of a large creature and their ability to ride and perform tasks on it. In a sense, that’s exactly what a forklift rodeo is. Except, instead of a 1,500lbs horse, you are riding a 9,000lbs forklift. Forklift rodeos were created to demonstrate safe forklift skills in a fun environment. Forklift drivers get to show off their operating skills by performing tasks like picking up a basketball between their forks and going through an obstacle course—or their knowledge of their forklift maintenance checklist by racing to find what’s wrong with a disabled forklift.

Rabbit Hopping

If you’ve ever seen a dog agility contest or a horse-riding competition where horses jumped over barrels, imagine that, but replace all the dogs and horses with rabbits being led around on harnessed leashes. Rabbit hopping, or kaninhop, originated in Sweden in the 1970s and has since migrated across Europe, even crossing over to the United States. The goal is to get rabbits through obstacle courses as quickly as possible, as well as to see how high they can jump. In one competition, a rabbit jumped as high as three feet!

Bog Snorkeling

This is probably the most athletic coemption featured on our list. During the annual Bog snorkeling competition, competitors dressed in snorkeling gear (as well as a number of other costumes including superheroes and princesses) have to swim down a 60-foot muddy trench in Llanwrtyd Wells in Wales. Although the swim is definitely a test of endurance, don’t fret if you aren’t a trained swimmer. Swimmers are not allowed to use the breaststroke, butterfly stroke, or any other traditional swimming technique.

If there’s one thing that this list has taught us, it’s that even if you don’t have a “traditional” skill set, there are still ways to put yourself out there. So, get out there and get in the game!

FAQ

What is a gurning contest?

The phrase “age before beauty” is an apt expression for our first choice on the list. Age-wise, this is one of the oldest weird unheard-of competitions here, originating in 1297 at the Egremont Crab Fair in Egremont, Cumbria in the UK. As for beauty, well, one need look no further than the nature of the game. Gurning means to “pull a face.” In this competition, men and women take turns making the ugliest most distorted faces after putting their heads through a horse collar, called a baffin.

What is rabbit hopping?

If you’ve ever seen a dog agility contest or a horse-riding competition where horses jumped over barrels, imagine that, but replace all the dogs and horses with rabbits being led around on harnessed leashes. Rabbit hopping, or kaninhop, originated in Sweden in the 1970s and has since migrated across Europe, even crossing over to the United States. The goal is to get rabbits through obstacle courses as quickly as possible, as well as to see how high they can jump. In one competition, a rabbit jumped as high as three feet!

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