Winter Olympics: snowball fighting, human curling, and wok racing – 10 wacky sports that should be at the Games

The Winter Olympics are renowned for showcasing some incredible performances on the snow and ice, and most people have heard of some of the Games’ more popular sports like figure skating, skiing and snowboarding. But there are many unique, less-heralded winter sports that have large followings in their own right, and are just begging to be brought to the Olympic stage. So what are the weirdest and most wonderful non-Olympic winter sports, and where did they come from? Wok Racing Imagine bobsleigh racing, except instead of a bobsleigh, competitors use a large wok. That’s exactly what German television host and entertainer Stefan Raab developed in 2003. Participants use modified woks to make timed runs down an Olympic standard bobsleigh track. There are competitions for one-person wok-sledges as well as four-person races. The first World Wok Racing Championship was held in Innsbruck, Austria in November 2003 and was so successful there have been competitions every year since. Human curling The craze, which started in the French Alps, is like normal curling where competitors slide stones across ice, aiming for a target, except instead of stones you slide yourself. Holding onto a tube similar to a doughnut-floaty device used in a pool, you run across the ice and propel yourself toward the target. Yukigassen (AKA snowball fighting) Yukigassen is the sport of snowball fighting. In Japan, where the sport started in the mid-1980s before making its way across the world, “Yuki” means snow and “gassen” means war, and as you might imagine this game is essentially one big snowball battle that combines the rules of dodgeball and capture the flag. Yukigassen has become particularly popular in Finland and Norway. Two teams consisting of seven players attempt to win by hitting each other with snowballs or capturing their opponents’ flag. Skijoring Skijoring is a sport in which a person is pulled over snow or ice on skis by a horse or dog. It comes from the Norwegian word skikjøring, meaning “ski driving”. A skijoring demonstration competition took place at the St Moritz 1928 Olympic Games where a flat race around an oval track was held on a frozen lake and horses did the pulling. A demonstration sport occurs as a way to promote a sport, commonly during the Olympics, but the event is not part of a medal championship. Dogsled racing Dogsled racing is a winter sport where sledges are pulled by dogs over snow-covered cross country courses. It is most popular in Arctic regions of the United States, Canada, Russia and Greenland. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, which began in 1973, is held every March in Alaska, and is the most famous annual long-distance sledge dog race. Mushers and a team of 14 dogs tackle the 1,510-kilometre distance from Anchorage to Nome, in 8 to 15 days or more, racing through blizzards causing whiteout conditions and sub-zero temperatures and gale-force winds. At least five of the dogs must be on the towline at the finish line. Snowshoe Racing If you think walking through snow is hard enough, imagine racing through it with the help of snowshoes. Snowshoes have been used for thousands of years and are said to have originated in Central Asia. They were traditionally made with a hardwood frame filled with rawhide latticework. Modern snowshoes are made of lightweight metal and plastic. Today, the World Snowshoe Federation has held annual snowshoe running competitions since 2006, but the sport has yet to make its mark at the Winter Games. Ski Ballet Ski ballet involves a choreographed routine while skiing that is set to music. It can even be performed in duets or solo, and like in other forms of dance, skiers are judged on technique and artistic expression. Ski ballet, which is also known as acroski, was held as a demonstration sport in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics but was scrapped at subsequent Games. Ice sailing Also known as ice boating or ice yachting, ice sailing is a winter sport using modified boats that can travel across ice surfaces. Ice sailing is said to have been pioneered by Dutch sailors in the late 17th century who modified their traditional vessels by strapping blades to the hull. This allowed them to transport goods across frozen lakes. In 2009, Briton Richard Jenkins set the world land sailing speed record by driving his vehicles at 202 kilometres per hour in California, US. Military patrol Military patrol is a team sport involving a 25km cross-country ski (or 15km for women) and a 500-1,200m mountain climb and rifle shooting. The sport was originally popularised as a training exercise in military units. Military patrol was a medal sport at the 1924 Winter Games held in Chamonix. It was also a demonstration sport in the 1928, 1936 and 1948 Games. Eileen Gu, China’s celebrity skier eyeing Winter Olympics gold Winter pentathlon The winter pentathlon combines cross-country skiing, shooting, downhill skiing, fencing and horseback riding. It was demonstrated at the 1948 Olympics but has not made an appearance since. Unlike the winter pentathlon, the modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport that involves fencing, freestyle swimming, equestrian and a final combined event of cross country running and pistol shooting.

Winter Olympics: snowball fighting, human curling, and wok racing – 10 wacky sports that should be at the Games

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}There are many unique, less-heralded winter sports just begging to be brought to the Olympic stage Here’s our guide to the weirdest and most wonderful, and where they came from

There are many unique, less-heralded winter sports just begging to be brought to the Olympic stage

Here’s our guide to the weirdest and most wonderful, and where they came from