The wide world of sports is diverse and strange.

In the United States, the most commonly watched sports are football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey. However, around the world there are many “unusual” sports that Americans may never had heard of.

Hurling

Hurling is an ancient Gaelic and Irish sport. It dates back to 1272 BC in Western Ireland, according to Northern Gaels hurling club.

Hurling is a mix of baseball, lacrosse, and hockey. Players can hit the ball with the camogie stick, scoop it like in lacrosse, or catch it with their hands. The goal of the game is to hit the ball over the crossbar located above the goalie and between the two goal posts.  One point is awarded for each time the ball, called a sliotar, is hit over the crossbar, and three points, also called a goal, for each time below the crossbar.

Hurling is played by men and camogie is played by women. Some of the rules are different between the two including ball size and how physical players can become.

Underwater Hockey

Underwater Hockey, also known as octopush, was created by Alan Blake in 1954 in the United Kingdom.

Underwater hockey is played by two teams of six men, women, or both. Players wear a diving mask, a snorkel, fins, and a swim cap. Their equipment consists of a 14 inch stick and a glove to protect the players stick hand from the bottom of the pool.

There are goals at the opposite ends of the pool and no goalie.

Elephant Polo

The World Elephant Association established the rules for elephant polo in 1982 in Royal Chitwan Park, Nepal according to the World Elephant Polo Association.

Teams are placed into pools according to size and speed of the elephants and placed on the pitch. There are three elephants from each team on the pitch at a time, two on one half and one on the other.

Men and women both can play elephant polo, however rules and regulations are different.

Cheese Rolling

The first recorded history of cheese rolling was in 1826 in the Gloucester Town Crier in Gloucestershire  England.

Cheese rolling is played exactly how it sounds. Contestants stand at the top of Coopers Hill in Gloucestershire on the last Monday in May and chace a wheel of cheese down the hill.

Fences are set up to keep the contestants and the spectator safe. The competitor to arrive at the bottom of hill first wins the cheese wheel.

Dog Surfing

Dog Surfing dates back to the 1930ss when “Scooter Boy” Kaopuiki and his dog who enjoyed surfing with him, Sandy, went surfing on a beach in Hawaii.

Since then, there have been surf series for dogs created. The most famous one is the Double Dog Dare Surf Series in Imperial Beach, California.

The Dog’s Guide to Surfing: Hanging Ten with Man’s Best Friend by Kevin Reed is a famous book about dogs surfing explaining how dog surfing fully works.

Chessboxing

Chessboxing is a fairly new sport. It came to life in 2003 according to the World Chess Boxing Organization. Lepe Rubingh and Jean Louis Veenstra were the first boxers to participate in Chess Boxing.

In chessboxing, the match starts out with a three minute round of chess and then goes to a five minute round of boxing. Players keep playing until either, checkmate in chess, knockout in the ring, judge’s decision, or fault of the other player.

According to the World Chess Boxing Organization, chessboxing is both a mental and physical sport

Broomball

Broomball was created in the early 1900s in Canada and became popular when it migrated down to Minnesota in the 1960s when Broomball leagues were established.

Broomball is played like ice hockey, except the stick used is a broomball stick. When the sport just started, corn broom sticks and soccer balls were used. Now there are especially made Broomball sticks and balls. A difference between ice hockey and Broomball is that Broomball is played in tennis shoes rather than skates.

The popularity in Broomball has increased from the 1960s and because of that there are now Broomball World Cups held around the world.

Bossaball

Bossaball is a Spanish sport created around 2003 by Filip Eyckmans. Bossaball is a mix of soccer, volleyball, and gymnastics.

The idea of bossaball is to keep the ball off of the ground, like in volleyball. Players can kick the ball or hit it with their hands. Gymnastics is incorporated into the sport due to the fact that one player from each team is allowed to play on a trampoline and the rest play on an inflatable surface.

Sepak Takraw

Many Southeast Asian countries claim the fame of creating Sepak Takraw, so the history is unknown exactly according to History of Sepak Takraw.

Sepak Takraw is played between two teams made of three players. The rules are similar to volleyball as to the three touches rule before the ball goes over the net. The ball however is much smaller than an actual volleyball, and more like the size of a grapefruit. Unlike volleyball, Sepak Takraw players must kick the ball over the net instead of using their hands.

Camel Racing

Camel racing is a multi-million dollar sport industry in the United Arab Emirates according to CNN.

Camel racing has been a part of the United Arab Emirates culture for centuries, and has changed in many ways.

In 2002, child riders were banned from racing the camels, so tiny robots with walkie-talkies in them were created to communicate with the camels mid race.