February 14, 2025 • 8 mins
Think you know everything about sports? Think again! The Oddball Arena is here to blow your mind with tales of wife carrying championships, underwater hockey showdowns, and the strategic brilliance of Chess Boxing. It's the perfect podcast for sports fans who are looking for something different, something unexpected, something… odd.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Extreme ironing.
(00:11):
It's not just a household chore, it's an adrenaline-pumping sport where people iron
clothes while skydiving or rock climbing.
Today we're diving into the wild world of bizarre sports that'll make you question
everything you thought you knew about athletics.
I'm your host, Kevin.
And I'm Brenda.
But, wait, hold on a second.
Did you just say people iron clothes while skydiving?
(00:33):
That can't possibly be real.
Oh, it's very real.
And believe it or not, extreme ironing is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes
to unusual sports.
Let's start with something a little less… airborne.
Have you ever heard of underwater hockey?
Underwater hockey?
That sounds like a contradiction in terms.
(00:55):
How does that even work?
Well, picture this.
You've got two teams of six players each all at the bottom of a pool using short sticks
to push a puck across the pool floor.
They're trying to score in these small goals while holding their breath.
It's actually called octopus in some places.
That sounds incredibly challenging.
I can barely hold my breath long enough to retrieve something I dropped in the pool,
(01:19):
let alone play an entire sport underwater.
Right?
And here's the kicker.
It's not just some local pool game.
There's actually a world championship organized by CMAS every two years.
The last one was in Sheffield, England, in 2022, with teams from Australia, Canada, Great
Britain, and all over the world competing.
(01:40):
Hmm.
I had no idea this was such a global phenomenon.
What kind of training do these athletes go through?
Well, it's pretty intense.
They need to work on their breath-holding capacity, underwater agility, and teamwork.
Some players can hold their breath for up to two minutes while playing.
It's a combination of swimming, diving, and hockey skills.
(02:03):
That's fascinating.
It really shows how humans can adapt to almost any environment for the sake of competition.
What other unusual sports have you come across?
Oh, you're going to love this next one.
Ever heard of wife carrying?
Wife carrying?
Please tell me this isn't what it sounds like.
It's exactly what it sounds like.
(02:25):
It's this competition where participants race through a 253.5-meter obstacle course
while carrying their partner over their shoulders.
And get this.
The prize at the World Wife Carrying Championship in Finland is the wife's weight in beer.
That's simultaneously hilarious and impressive.
But doesn't that raise some eyebrows in terms of gender equality?
(02:48):
You know, that's a fair point.
It's important to note that despite the name, the sport is open to all genders.
The wife can be any partner, regardless of gender or marital status.
It's more about the physical challenge and teamwork than anything else.
Oh, I see.
That makes it a bit more palatable.
Are there any specific techniques they use?
(03:10):
Absolutely.
There are different carrying techniques, like the Estonian carry or the fireman's carry.
The Estonian carry, where the wife hangs upside down with her legs around the carrier's shoulders,
is considered the most efficient.
And if you drop your partner, you get a time penalty.
So it's not just about brute strength.
There's actually strategy involved.
(03:31):
That's pretty cool.
What other bizarre sports are out there?
Well, how about chess boxing?
It's like the ultimate test of brain and brawn.
Chess?
Boxing?
Those two words don't seem like they belong together.
How does that work?
So, um, it's exactly what it sounds like.
Competitors alternate between rounds of chess and rounds of boxing.
(03:54):
You can win by either checkmate or knockout.
It's like a real-life version of that saying, brains over brawn.
Except you need both to succeed.
That's mind-boggling.
How do athletes even train for something like that?
It's a unique challenge, for sure.
These athletes have to maintain peak physical condition while also studying chess strategies.
(04:15):
They typically work with both boxing coaches and chess grandmasters.
The sport has weight classes just like regular boxing, and there are professional leagues,
particularly in Europe.
The mental adjustment between rounds must be incredible.
Going from throwing punches to calculating chess moves seems almost impossible.
Exactly.
(04:36):
And that's what makes it so fascinating.
It's not just about being good at chess or good at boxing.
It's about being able to switch between those two very different mindsets rapidly.
These sports are getting progressively more unusual.
What else have you got?
Well, prepare yourself for what might be the strangest sport yet.
Extreme ironing.
(04:57):
We mentioned it briefly earlier, but let's dive deeper.
Participants take ironing boards and actual clothing to extreme locations and iron while
performing dangerous activities.
That can't possibly be real.
People actually iron clothes while doing extreme sports?
Not only is it real, but there have been documented cases of people ironing while rock climbing,
(05:19):
skydiving, skiing, and even underwater.
The World Extreme Ironing Championship has seen competitors ironing on mountainsides,
in caves, and while suspended from trees.
The logistics of keeping the ironing board stable in these conditions must be a nightmare.
How do they even judge something like that?
(05:39):
Well, that's the fascinating part.
They actually judge both the quality of the ironing and the extremity of the location
or activity.
Some competitors have even ironed while snowboarding down slopes.
It's this bizarre combination of domestic chore and extreme sport that just… works
somehow.
So what you're telling me is that somewhere out there, someone looked at an ironing board
(06:04):
and thought, you know what would make this better? doing it while hanging off a cliff.
Exactly.
And that's what I find so incredible about these sports.
They're perfect examples of human creativity and our competitive spirit.
We can turn absolutely anything into a competition if we put our minds to it.
It really shows how diverse human interests can be.
(06:26):
But I have to wonder, what drives people to create and participate in these unusual sports?
That's a great question.
I think it's a combination of factors.
For some, it's about the thrill of doing something unique and challenging.
For others, it might be a way to stand out in a world where traditional sports are so
dominant.
And for some, it's simply about finding a community of like-minded individuals who
(06:49):
share their passion for the unconventional.
That makes sense.
It's like finding your tribe, even if that tribe happens to enjoy ironing clothes while
bungee jumping.
Exactly.
And you know what?
I think that's beautiful.
It shows that no matter how niche your interests are, there's probably a community out there
for you.
Whether you're into underwater hockey, wife carrying, chess boxing, or extreme ironing,
(07:15):
there's a sport waiting for you.
It's oddly inspiring, isn't it?
It means there's probably a sport out there for everyone, even if it hasn't been invented
yet.
Absolutely.
And who knows?
Maybe the next big unusual sport is just waiting to be invented by someone listening right
now.
The possibilities are endless.
Well, this has been a wild ride through the world of bizarre sports.
(07:39):
Any final thoughts on what we've discussed today?
I think the key takeaway is that sports, at their core, are about human ingenuity, passion,
and the desire to push boundaries.
These unusual sports might seem weird or even ridiculous at first glance, but they represent
the same spirit of competition and camaraderie that we see in more traditional athletics.
(08:01):
They remind us that there's no limit to human creativity when it comes to finding new ways
to challenge ourselves and connect with others.
That's a great point.
It's easy to dismiss these sports as silly, but they clearly mean a lot to the people
who participate in them.
Exactly.
And who knows?
Maybe in a few decades we'll be watching extreme ironing at the Olympics.
(08:23):
After all, stranger things have happened in the world of sports.
Extreme ironing.
(00:11):
It's not just a household chore, it's an adrenaline-pumping sport where people iron
clothes while skydiving or rock climbing.
Today we're diving into the wild world of bizarre sports that'll make you question
everything you thought you knew about athletics.
I'm your host, Kevin.
And I'm Brenda.
But, wait, hold on a second.
Did you just say people iron clothes while skydiving?
(00:33):
That can't possibly be real.
Oh, it's very real.
And believe it or not, extreme ironing is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes
to unusual sports.
Let's start with something a little less… airborne.
Have you ever heard of underwater hockey?
Underwater hockey?
That sounds like a contradiction in terms.
(00:55):
How does that even work?
Well, picture this.
You've got two teams of six players each all at the bottom of a pool using short sticks
to push a puck across the pool floor.
They're trying to score in these small goals while holding their breath.
It's actually called octopus in some places.
That sounds incredibly challenging.
I can barely hold my breath long enough to retrieve something I dropped in the pool,
(01:19):
let alone play an entire sport underwater.
Right?
And here's the kicker.
It's not just some local pool game.
There's actually a world championship organized by CMAS every two years.
The last one was in Sheffield, England, in 2022, with teams from Australia, Canada, Great
Britain, and all over the world competing.
(01:40):
Hmm.
I had no idea this was such a global phenomenon.
What kind of training do these athletes go through?
Well, it's pretty intense.
They need to work on their breath-holding capacity, underwater agility, and teamwork.
Some players can hold their breath for up to two minutes while playing.
It's a combination of swimming, diving, and hockey skills.
(02:03):
That's fascinating.
It really shows how humans can adapt to almost any environment for the sake of competition.
What other unusual sports have you come across?
Oh, you're going to love this next one.
Ever heard of wife carrying?
Wife carrying?
Please tell me this isn't what it sounds like.
It's exactly what it sounds like.
(02:25):
It's this competition where participants race through a 253.5-meter obstacle course
while carrying their partner over their shoulders.
And get this.
The prize at the World Wife Carrying Championship in Finland is the wife's weight in beer.
That's simultaneously hilarious and impressive.
But doesn't that raise some eyebrows in terms of gender equality?
(02:48):
You know, that's a fair point.
It's important to note that despite the name, the sport is open to all genders.
The wife can be any partner, regardless of gender or marital status.
It's more about the physical challenge and teamwork than anything else.
Oh, I see.
That makes it a bit more palatable.
Are there any specific techniques they use?
(03:10):
Absolutely.
There are different carrying techniques, like the Estonian carry or the fireman's carry.
The Estonian carry, where the wife hangs upside down with her legs around the carrier's shoulders,
is considered the most efficient.
And if you drop your partner, you get a time penalty.
So it's not just about brute strength.
There's actually strategy involved.
(03:31):
That's pretty cool.
What other bizarre sports are out there?
Well, how about chess boxing?
It's like the ultimate test of brain and brawn.
Chess?
Boxing?
Those two words don't seem like they belong together.
How does that work?
So, um, it's exactly what it sounds like.
Competitors alternate between rounds of chess and rounds of boxing.
(03:54):
You can win by either checkmate or knockout.
It's like a real-life version of that saying, brains over brawn.
Except you need both to succeed.
That's mind-boggling.
How do athletes even train for something like that?
It's a unique challenge, for sure.
These athletes have to maintain peak physical condition while also studying chess strategies.
(04:15):
They typically work with both boxing coaches and chess grandmasters.
The sport has weight classes just like regular boxing, and there are professional leagues,
particularly in Europe.
The mental adjustment between rounds must be incredible.
Going from throwing punches to calculating chess moves seems almost impossible.
Exactly.
(04:36):
And that's what makes it so fascinating.
It's not just about being good at chess or good at boxing.
It's about being able to switch between those two very different mindsets rapidly.
These sports are getting progressively more unusual.
What else have you got?
Well, prepare yourself for what might be the strangest sport yet.
Extreme ironing.
(04:57):
We mentioned it briefly earlier, but let's dive deeper.
Participants take ironing boards and actual clothing to extreme locations and iron while
performing dangerous activities.
That can't possibly be real.
People actually iron clothes while doing extreme sports?
Not only is it real, but there have been documented cases of people ironing while rock climbing,
(05:19):
skydiving, skiing, and even underwater.
The World Extreme Ironing Championship has seen competitors ironing on mountainsides,
in caves, and while suspended from trees.
The logistics of keeping the ironing board stable in these conditions must be a nightmare.
How do they even judge something like that?
(05:39):
Well, that's the fascinating part.
They actually judge both the quality of the ironing and the extremity of the location
or activity.
Some competitors have even ironed while snowboarding down slopes.
It's this bizarre combination of domestic chore and extreme sport that just… works
somehow.
So what you're telling me is that somewhere out there, someone looked at an ironing board
(06:04):
and thought, you know what would make this better? doing it while hanging off a cliff.
Exactly.
And that's what I find so incredible about these sports.
They're perfect examples of human creativity and our competitive spirit.
We can turn absolutely anything into a competition if we put our minds to it.
It really shows how diverse human interests can be.
(06:26):
But I have to wonder, what drives people to create and participate in these unusual sports?
That's a great question.
I think it's a combination of factors.
For some, it's about the thrill of doing something unique and challenging.
For others, it might be a way to stand out in a world where traditional sports are so
dominant.
And for some, it's simply about finding a community of like-minded individuals who
(06:49):
share their passion for the unconventional.
That makes sense.
It's like finding your tribe, even if that tribe happens to enjoy ironing clothes while
bungee jumping.
Exactly.
And you know what?
I think that's beautiful.
It shows that no matter how niche your interests are, there's probably a community out there
for you.
Whether you're into underwater hockey, wife carrying, chess boxing, or extreme ironing,
(07:15):
there's a sport waiting for you.
It's oddly inspiring, isn't it?
It means there's probably a sport out there for everyone, even if it hasn't been invented
yet.
Absolutely.
And who knows?
Maybe the next big unusual sport is just waiting to be invented by someone listening right
now.
The possibilities are endless.
Well, this has been a wild ride through the world of bizarre sports.
(07:39):
Any final thoughts on what we've discussed today?
I think the key takeaway is that sports, at their core, are about human ingenuity, passion,
and the desire to push boundaries.
These unusual sports might seem weird or even ridiculous at first glance, but they represent
the same spirit of competition and camaraderie that we see in more traditional athletics.
(08:01):
They remind us that there's no limit to human creativity when it comes to finding new ways
to challenge ourselves and connect with others.
That's a great point.
It's easy to dismiss these sports as silly, but they clearly mean a lot to the people
who participate in them.
Exactly.
And who knows?
Maybe in a few decades we'll be watching extreme ironing at the Olympics.
(08:23):
After all, stranger things have happened in the world of sports.
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