The never-ending world of sports

Unconventional sports that are worth looking into 

Story by Ruth Heinemann, staff writer

In the world of sports, everybody is familiar with football, baseball and basketball, but there is more to the world of sports than what is being shown on TV. While many enjoy participating in traditional sports, some people get bored of them, which is why they are using their creativity to create entirely new sports. Unconventional sports might seem bizarre at first, but they offer just as much fitness and fun as other sports. The possibilities are endless and the creativity guarantees that there is a sport for everyone.

Muggle Quidditch
Many people are familiar with Quidditch from the Harry Potter books, but most people don’t know that after the big excitement about the magical world of Harry Potter Quidditch became popular in the non-magical world as well. It is a sport of two teams of seven players, each player sitting on a broom. There are four kinds of players, the seeker, three chasers, one keeper, and two beaters. Each group of players has a different job involving three kinds of balls. The beaters are using the Quaffle, a volleyball, to score by throwing it into one of the three hoops. The keeper’s job is to guard the hoops. The seeker has to catch the Snitch, which is worth 30 points. The snitch is a ball attached to the waistband of the Snitch runner.  Once the seeker has caught the snitch, the game ends. Quidditch was first established as a sport in 2005 at Middlebury College in Vermont. There is also a 16-team pro league called the Major League Quidditch.

Joggling
Joggling is a competitive sport which combines jogging and juggling. During the entire run, participants have to continue juggling. If they drop the object, they must return to the point where the object hit the ground.The first joggling competitions took place at the International Jugglers Association in the 1980s. Every year, the International Jugglers’ Association hosts the World Joggling Championships. The athletes compete in the 5k, 1000 meter, 400 meter or 100 meter events. In 2012, Joe Salter became the first ever athlete to complete a triathlon while juggling. This year’s International Jugglers’ Association Festival will take place in El Paso, TX from July 13 until July 19.

Underwater Hockey
Underwater Hockey is similar to ice hockey, but instead of a rink, the teams are facing each other in a pool. One game of underwater hockey is divided into two 15 minute halves with a three minute halftime. Just like in regular hockey, it is the goal to hit the puck all the way into the opponent’s trough. Each team consists of six players that are wearing fins, masks and a snorkel. Every player has a one handed stick to play the puck. Even though each player has a snorkel, they have to be able to hold their breath for a long time when they are actively involved in the game.

Chess Boxing
The inventor of chess boxing, Lepe Rubingh, described the sport as “the combination of the number one thinking sport and the number one fighting sport.” Ultimately, only the smartest and toughest women and men are playing chess boxing. The unusual mash up of brains meets brawn is what makes it so appealing to its growing fan base. The fighters face each other in 11 rounds and players alternate between chess and boxing. In order to win the fight, the player must batter the opponent into checkmate or defeat them in the actual fight.