World's wackiest contests ensure a barrel of fun for all

Finland may have picked up only four medals in the Beijing Olympics, but when staging off-beat competitions, the country best known for Nokia and saunas is the world champion.

And it is in summer - as a minor celebration of the long evenings - that Finland's competitions take centre stage in all their wackiness.

The Air Guitar World Championship Contest was first held in 1996 as part of the music video festival in Oulu, with worldwide participants strutting their stuff strumming and picking imaginary guitars to rock and heavy metal soundtracks.

The judges included Finnish guitarist Juha Torvinen, and the top prize was a custom-made 'Flying Finn' guitar and Vox BM Special amplifier donated by Queen's Brian May. While Finnish air guitarists won the competition hands-down (and up) in the first few years, more recently overseas contestants have been taking the top places, most recently Craig 'Hot Lixx Hulahan' Billmeier of the United States.

The fest had an unusual - though hardly surprising given Finland's expertise in the field of technology - spin-off, as students at Helsinki University developed a computerised system that translates hand movements into electric guitar sounds.

The rules for the Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships are simple in the extreme - hurl the mobile (which must weigh at least 220 grams) as far as you can. The record is 95.83 metres for men and 53.52 metres for women. First held in Savonlinna in 2000, the tourney has been refined over the years. There are now four categories, headed by the traditional over-the-shoulder throw, with participants allowed a maximum of three attempts. More artistically minded contestants can enter the freestyle event, when points are awarded for aesthetics and creative choreography.