Transcript

Ep 42 - Broomsticks, Bounce Courts, and Siberian Stick Fights · Strange Games: The Weirdest Real Sports Ever Played

HOST: Imagine sprinting with a broom between your legs, dodging human dodgeballs, while someone in yellow is worth thirty points. [SFX: confused whistle] HOST: That’s quadball, formerly real-life Quidditch. It began at Middlebury College in 2005, then became an international sport. Players pass a volleyball-like quaffle through hoops, throw bludgers to knock opponents out of play, and chase a flag runner called the snitch. Yes, the snitch is a person. No, they do not have wings. Probably. [AD_BREAK:1] HOST: Next up: bossaball. Picture beach volleyball, then add an inflatable court, trampolines, soccer touches, and a live DJ. Teams can use hands, feet, or heads to send the ball over the net. A spike from the trampoline zone can score extra points, because apparently regular gravity wasn’t dramatic enough. [SFX: silly bounce] [AD_BREAK:2] HOST: Finally, mas-wrestling from the Sakha Republic in Siberia. Two athletes sit facing each other, feet braced against a board, both gripping the same wooden stick. On the signal, they pull. Win by yanking the stick away, or dragging your opponent over the board. [SFX: loud snap] HOST: It’s tug-of-war distilled into one brutal splintery moment. [AD_BREAK:3] HOST: Three sports, zero normal equipment, and one important lesson: if someone hands you a broom, a trampoline, or a stick, stretch first.