10 Unique Sports Around the World

From Senegal to Southeast Asia, here are lesser-known sports entrenched in cultural traditions.

African Wrestling World Tour opening, Pierre-Yves Beaudouin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Standing up in your seat at Croke Stadium in Dublin screaming “Let it in!” with tens of thousands of other Hurling fans is among the most Irish experiences you can have. However, this kind of experience isn’t unique to Ireland.  Whether it’s wrestling in Senegal or canal jumping in the Netherlands, sports often have huge cultural significance, providing people with entertainment and reasons to get together. While we usually only hear about a select few, there are thousands of sports around the world, many with fascinating histories and passionate fanbases. Below are ten of the most interesting lesser-known sports and the histories behind them.

1. Stickball—Native American Nations

Kullihoma Stickball Tournament, Choctaw Nation, CCO 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons

According to an Iroquois legend, a Chief and a young woman living in the sky world had to marry to save their universe. Before they could, however, a stickball player traveled through the multiverse, saving the woman and impregnating her before they reached Earth, leading to the spread of humanity. 

Stickball has been played by the Indigenous Nations of the Iroquois Federation, the Chickasaws, and the Choctaws since 1100 AD. Previously known as the “little brother of war,” stickball was used as a way to settle a conflict. Today, it is best known as the predecessor to modern lacrosse. The main differences between lacrosse and stickball are that traditional stickball often pits men against women and a pole is used instead of a goal.

Stickball is still played throughout native communities, with the most recent World Series Stickball Championship taking place on July 15 and 16, 2022 at the Choctaw Indian Fair on the Choctaw Indian Reservation in Mississippi.

2. Hurling—Ireland

Hurling Game, Irish Defence Forces, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The average NBA basketball game attracts between 15-20,000 fans per game. Every year the All-Ireland Hurling Finals is played at Croke Park stadium in Dublin, with over 80,000 fans in attendance.

The first reference to hurling was from 1272 BC, making hurling over 3000 years old. Hurling has had a huge role in Irish history and society, so much so that the Brehon Laws, the native Gaelic legal system, used to give out compensation to players injured through hurling.

Currently, hurling is run with strict rules by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is played with a stick known as a hurley and a ball called a sliotar. By using a combination of your hand and the hurley, the object of the game is to get the sliotar into the opposing team's net.

3. Capoeira—Brazil

Capoeira at the Brazilian Pavilion at Folklorama 2013, Ccyyrree, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

From its inception, the half-martial-art half-dance Capoeira was a symbol of hope and freedom. The original elements of Capoeira were brought to Brazil by enslaved people from Africa and practiced on plantations as a way of maintaining their traditional culture. Due to Brazil’s large size, runaway slaves were often able to escape and form their own communities, called Quilombos. It is thought that it was here that Capoeira was truly able to develop and evolve.

In the present day, you don’t need to go to Brazil to practice Capoeira. The World Capoeira Federation is located far away in Tallinn, Estonia, and there are Capoeira studios in many countries around the world.

4. Kabaddi—South Asia

Iran’s Kabaddi Team, Fars Media Corporation Amir Hosseini, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Siddhartha Guatama, the Buddha himself, is recorded in Buddhist literature to have played Kabaddi recreationally. It may seem surprising that the Buddha, famous for his calm and peace-loving nature, played a contact sport, but this connection makes more sense than it seems. In both Kabaddi and meditation, breath is of central importance. 

Kabaddi has two teams, each based in one half of a field. Play starts when a “raider” runs to the other side and attempts to tag their opponents. During the entire raid, the player must hold their breath, and continuously yell “Kabaddi” to prove they are not breathing. If the player makes it back to the other side, they will get a point for every opponent they touched. If they do not and are wrestled down, then the opposing team gets a point. 

Currently, Kabaddi is the national sport of Bangladesh and is popular throughout South Asia, where the Vivo Pro Kabaddi League hosts matches every year.

5. Senegalese Wrestling—Senegal

African Wrestling World Tour, Pierre-Yves Beaudouin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Laamb en Wolof, widely known as Senegalese wrestling, is deeply rooted in tradition. Historically, people of the Sérère and the Diola ethnicities used wrestling at the end of harvest season to determine who would be the village champion, winning cattle and other important prizes. Today, each match starts with the fighters being introduced by a chorus of women known as a Baccou. 

Senegalese wrestling differs from Western wrestling in its rules. In Senegalese wrestling, you can punch the body and head with your bare fists. A match ends whenever a wrestler falls and his back touches the ground.

Currently, Senegalese wrestling is very popular in West Africa and the national sport of Senegal, where it rivals soccer in popularity.

6. Sepak Takraw—Southeast Asia

Sepak Takraw, Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Played throughout Southeast Asia, Sepak Takraw is, in essence, volleyball played without your arms. To serve, professional players usually do a bicycle kick, trying to slam the ball down into the opponent's court. Players use their bodies to block shots.

Sepak Trakaw was first played by Malaysian royalty about 500 years ago. From there, in the 16th century, it expanded throughout the Indonesian archipelago under the name Sepak Raga. In 1945 a swim club hosted the first official Sepak Raga tournament. More and more tournaments were played until in 1992, the game was formalized under its current name by the International Sepaktakraw Federation.

7. Donkey Racing—Kenya

Lamu Donkey Races, Kayak Aberfeldy, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 via wordpress.org

On the small Kenyan Island of Lamu, cars and bicycles are banned, allowing the people of Lamu and their visitors to maintain their traditional form of transportation: donkeys. Every year around November, the over 700-year-old township hosts its annual Lamu Cultural Festival. Taking place in a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Lamu Old Town, the star of the festival is always the annual donkey race.

Similar to a marathon, anyone interested is allowed to participate in the donkey race, and many tourists fly in to compete. The race is quite competitive, as the winner usually earns a significant cash prize and a trip to Nairobi.

8. Kho Kho—India

Kho Kho Game in Haryana, Mester Jagels (Jasper van't Veen), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The first mention of Kho Kho is believed to be in the about 2,000-year-old Indian Epic Mahabharata. The epic described how on the 13th day of the war, to break the impenetrable defense Chakravyuha, the hero Abhimanyu used tactics very close to ring play, the modern-day defense used in Kho Kho.

Kho Kho is a version of tag, where over two nine-minute innings teams take turns being both the chasers and defenders. The chasers work as a team to catch the defenders as quickly as possible. Whichever team catches the other in less time wins. Kho Kho had its first major tournament in 1996 with the Asian Kho Kho Championship in Kolkata.

9. Fierljeppen—The Netherlands

Fierljeppen in Linschoten, Peter van der Sluijs, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Fierljeppen, or “far leap” in Frisian, is the sport of canal jumping native to the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. An extreme alternative to traditional pole jumping, competitors use a large pole called a polsstok to launch themselves across a river. Presently, the Netherlands has over 600 registered jumpers. The current world record is 22.21 meters. 

When Fierljeppen was first recorded in the 1200s, it was practiced not as a sport but rather as a method of transportation. The Netherlands had a lot of canals and very few bridges, meaning, if you wanted to cross the Netherlands, you’d have to use a pole to vault over the waterways. It wasn’t until 1767 that Fierljeppen was hosted as an official competition. 

10. Arnis—The Philippines

Arnis International, Cisc1970, CC BY-NC 2.0 via wordpress.org

In 1521, the Spanish Ferdinand Magellan brought forces armed with muskets to colonize the Philippines. Armed with only bladed weapons, the Indigenous Filipino islanders defeated the conquistadors through the use of their native martial art Arnis.

Today, Arnis is the national martial art and sport of the Philippines. The most famous part of Arnis is its stick fighting competitions. There are two models of competition: the performance Anyo model, which judges you on choreography and grace, and the combat Leban model, which focuses on the number of hits landed on your opponent. In May 2023, for the first time outside of the Philippines, the Southeast Asian games in Cambodia are slated to include Arnis.

Jeremy Giles

Jeremy is a Writing Seminars and International Studies major at Johns Hopkins University. He is an avid writer and the Co-Founder of Writers’ Warehouse, Johns Hopkins’ first creative writing group. He is an advocate for Indigenous rights, and studies how Indigenous philosophies can be used to help prevent climate change. Using his writing, he hopes to bring attention to underrepresented voices in today’s world.

Frozen Glory: Inside the Eskimo-Indian Olympics

From cultural preservation to sheer athletic spectacle, the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics are a highlight of the Native Alaskan calendar.

An athlete competes in the blanket toss event at the WEIO. KNOM Radio. CC BY-SA 2.0

In the early 1960s, two non-Indigenous pilots who regularly made trips over Alaska’s rural communities kept observing the celebration of an interesting cultural event. This sporting event, as they later came to realize it was, dated back far beyond living memory and honored strength, resilience and endurance through a series of events meant to test the skills necessary to live in such an unforgiving environment. Given that Alaska had just recently become an American state in 1959, the early 60s saw the gradual encroachment of mainstream American culture into its more remote outlying communities, posing a serious threat to local traditions and practices. After the pilots shared their concerns with various groups in Fairbanks, the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics (WEIO) was officially born in 1961 and drew Native participants and spectators from around the Fairbanks area to participate on the banks of the Chena River.

The WEIO has grown significantly since then, with thousands of people traveling to watch the best of Alaska’s Indigenous athletes compete in the Big Dipper Ice Arena for four days each July. Aside from a minimum age limit of 12 years, there are no age categories for any of the events, which means that several generations of the same family can be seen competing against each other. It is also common for older and more experienced competitors to coach and advise the younger athletes during the competition: rather than trying to beat one’s opponents, the larger goal is to compete against and better oneself.

Athletes Sean O’Brien (left) and Chris Kalmakoff (right) compete in the Eskimo stick pull event. Erich Engman. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Many of the events, however, are still extremely competitive, and involve intimate face-offs between athletes. The Indian Stick Pull, for example, calls for athletes to wrench a short greased stick from their opponent, an event meant to replicate the grip strength necessary when trying to keep hold of a freshly caught fish by its tail. The Ear Pull is a contest of stamina to demonstrate the athletes’ ability to withstand pain, a valued trait in the often cruel conditions of the Alaskan North. In this event, string is looped around the opposite ears of two athletes as they face each other as they pull away in a tug-of-war with their ears until one cedes the match.

Other events are competed individually, but with just as much rigor and excitement. The Greased Pole Walk, as its name suggests, tests the balance needed for crossing creeks on slippery logs by having contestants walk as far as they can barefoot along a greased wooden pole. A favorite among both competitors and spectators alike, the Two-Foot High Kick requires competitors to jump vertically and kick a suspended ball with both feet before landing and maintaining their balance. Hundreds of years ago, villages along the coast would perform these kicks as a way to communicate to the village that a whale or some other game had been caught, and to prepare themselves to assist the hunters upon their return.

Athlete Ezra Elissoff competes in the Two-Foot High Kick final at the 2021 WEIO. Jeff Chen. CC BY-SA 2.0

Despite the popularity of basketball and ice hockey, the traditional sports seem to be gaining popularity among young children and teenagers, and are also contributing to the difficult task of preserving and passing on Native Alaskan culture. Miley Kakaruk, a 15-year-old athlete of the Inupiaq tribe of Northwestern Alaska, says that she imagines her ancestors competing in the same events centuries ago, vying to be chosen for their village’s next hunting party. Because each event is so heavily rooted in their history, younger competitors are able to learn the customs and stories that so heavily influence the culture and lifestyle of their people.

Equally important is the power of these games to forge a connection between athletes and society. Historically, studies have shown that Native Alaskans suffer from some of the highest rates of alcoholism and drug abuse in the US. A number of the people that the WEIO Board works with and recruits are young adults who are at risk of or actively battling addiction. According to Gina Kalloch, a board member and ex-athlete, discovering their culture through such a fondly practiced social tradition has allowed many of these people to develop a sense of pride in themselves and their culture, and helped to reorient their lives.

Native Alaskan women compete in the Miss WEIO Cultural Pageant alongside the athletic events each year. Danny Martin. CC BY-SA 2.0

While this year’s edition of the Olympics already took place between July 12 and 15, highlights of both the sporting events and the accompanying Miss WEIO Cultural Pageant are freely available on the internet.

Tanaya Vohra

Tanaya is an undergraduate student pursuing a major in Public Health at the University of Chicago. She's lived in Asia, Europe and North America and wants to share her love of travel and exploring new cultures through her writing.

On Top of the World: A View From Mount Everest

Every year, hundreds brave frost, cliff and hypoxia to ascend the world’s tallest peak.

Climbers going up Mount Everest, Nepal. Sam Levin. CC BY 2.0

In 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary made history by being the first to ascend Mount Everest. His journey was a significant departure from the origins of rock climbing, the earliest evidence of which is found in the remains of cliffside dwellings by Native Americans and archaeological burial caves in Mustang, Nepal.

Today, mountaineering has become a popular competitive sport and means of exploring the natural world, with about 800 people attempting the dramatic climb to Everest’s summit each year. Expeditions are reliant on Nepal’s weather, with the best season typically occurring in April and May, before the monsoon, when avalanches are less common. September can also be a good month, but by October the onset of winter storms restricts climbing once again. 

The ascent up Mount Everest utilizes a technique called siege climbing, in which climbers establish a series of camps along their route and sleep at the camp just below them, a technique that helps climber’s bodies more easily acclimate to the elevation. 

Sherpas on Everest

Sir Edmund Hillary was not alone in his groundbreaking climb. In a fact often ignored in the histories, he was accompanied the whole way by Tenzing Norgay, a Nepali Sherpa mountaineer. As a mountain dwelling people of Nepal, Sherpa’s are known for their knowledge of the mountainous region, and have a long history of maintaining and cultivating the land. In a pattern that dates back to Norgay’s first ascent with Hillary, Sherpas today serve as guides to climbers on Mount Everest, while also working to maintain and safeguard the path.

In addition to acting as guides, Sherpa often provide life-saving assistance to straying climbers. In June 2023, a Nepali sherpa guided a Malaysian climber to safety after discovering the mountaineer in the thick of the “death zone”, facing temperatures dipping below -30 degrees Celsius.

The feats and history of Nepali climbers were extolled in the documentary 14 Peaks, which followed Nepali mountaineer Nimsdai Purja on his journey to summit all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter peaks in just seven months. Purja champions the Sherpa’s bravery and the irreplaceable role they play in maintaining Everest’s safety and accessibility for climbers, as well as their knowledge of and connection to the land.

The Costs of Ascension 

The price of climbing Everest has grown steadily with its increasing popularity, and prices in 2023 range between $30,000 to $160,000. The staggering cost includes gear, food, supplemental oxygen, and base camp tents. The support of Sherpa’s is also an important consideration, with the cost of assistance ranging from $2,000 to $5,000. 

The financial toll of ascending Mount Everest is commensurate with its physical brutality. The climb up is  marked by harsh conditions. Altitudes above 25,000 feet (7,600 meters) are known in the climbing community as the “death zone”, and at 29,029 feet (8,848 meters) high, Mount Everest puts climbers in the thick of life-threatening danger. Some of the greatest threats at such altitudes relate to a lack of oxygen, or hypoxia, which leads to rapid breathing and an increased heart rate. High-altitude cerebral edema, or HACE, can also threaten climbers as the body responds to hypoxia with increased blood flow to the brain, leading to swelling that can bring on hallucinations, a loss of coordination, and the potential of a coma or death induced by brain herniation. 

The cost of climbing Everest extends beyond the financial and physical impacts into ecological catastrophe. The world’s tallest summit is now derisively known as the “world’s highest garbage dump.” During the peak season, nearly 500 people make the hike to Base Camp on a daily basis, a physical toll that adds to the erosion of the natural land. Additionally, in the weeks during which they embark to the mountain’s summit, each climber creates roughly 18 pounds or eight kilograms of trash, which include tenting supplies, oxygen containers, and feces.

Mount Everest. Frank Kehren. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Clean Climbing

The Nepali government, alongside environmental agencies, has been working to preserve and clean up the mountain. In 1976, the Sagarmatha National Park was created as a means of protecting the mountain’s natural terrain and wildlife. It received recognition and protection as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site in 1979.

In 2019, the Nepali government launched a campaign to clean up 22,000 pounds or 10,000 kilograms of waste from Everest. Local authorities now require that each climber pays a deposit of $4,000, which is refunded after the individual returns back from their climb with an equal amount of waste as they are predicted to generate during their climb, approximately 18 pounds of garbage per person. 

Along with local authorities, third party organizations are also working to preserve the future environmental health of Mount Everest. Launched in 201, the Mount Everest Biogas Project aims to create a solar powered system that turns human waste into fuel.

While irresponsible expeditions can lead to increased pollution, the action of climbing is in itself a kind of homage to the environment. Ascending Everest forces climbers to come face to face with the potential harm that human disruption can have on the environment, while reinforcing the importance of environmental protections and regulations. 

With the future environmental health of natural wonders such as Mount Everest at risk, climbing and engaging with nature in an ethical, responsible, and sustainable way can create an important connection between people and the environment. An ascent to the world’s tallest peak can be not only personally enriching, but vital to public perceptions of and future investment in the environment.

Jessica Blatt

Jessica Blatt graduated from Barnard College with a degree in English. Along with journalism, she is passionate about creative writing and storytelling that inspires readers to engage with the world around them. She hopes to share her love for travel and learning about new cultures through her work.

Finding Adventure in Ecuador

A country of volcanoes and valleys, Ecuador offers travelers innumerable ways to push their limits and get their hearts racing.

Swing Jumping in Baños, Ecuador. Courtesy of Jeremy Giles.

The above picture is of me jumping into a 100 meter drop from a bridge in Baños, a city bordering the Ecuadorian Amazon. It took me three tries to actually jump; the first two times I stood on the platform, I got scared and had to come down. I probably only ended up jumping because I saw two people go before me and not die. On the third try, I took a deep breath, knowing that if I didn’t jump then I never would, and leaped off. The adrenaline pumped furiously for one of the longest, most terrifying seconds of my life. Then, of course, the line pulled taut and swung me under the bridge, stopping my fall.

Canopy, Baños, Ecuador, Rinaldo Wurglitsch, CC BY 2.0

Baños, however, is more than just a city I jumped off a bridge in. It has the Andes in the West and the Amazon in the East, making it a beautiful space to see the transition between the two, home to both forests and mountains. Even more, it is the Ecuadorian hub for extreme sports. The entire town center is filled with restaurants and travel agencies, each of the latter offering what felt like hundreds of different extreme sports. Later, on the same day I bungee jumped, I went on a beautiful 6 part zipline system called the canopy, where they let you zipline upside down and even hold hands with another rider. I did it with my friend, but I imagine that if you went with a partner it would be quite romantic.

Paragliding in Ecuador, Jsan92, CC BY-SA 4.0

While Baños may be the center of extreme sports in Ecuador, it's hardly the only locale. During my first month in Ecuador I lived in Cumbaya, a suburb outside of the country’s capital Quito. One of the very first things I noticed was the steady stream of paragliders coming from a mountain behind my house. Almost every day over the next month, I’d see a few paragliders in the sky above me. Eventually I got so curious that my host dad walked me to the paragliders’ landing spot. There we learned two important things. First, while this location is good, it is also possible to paraglide on a mountain next to Quito, which is the prime location for the sport and on my bucket list of things to do when I return to Ecuador. Secondly, we saw on the ground below the paragliders a hopeful fiance-to-be had written a marriage proposal. We didn’t stay to see if the proposal was accepted, but I wish them the best of luck.

Chimborazo, Ecuador, André Hübner, CC BY-SA 3.0.

In Ecuador, a country smaller than Colorado, there are 47 volcanoes, 32 of which are on its mainland. The tallest volcano (and mountain) in Ecuador is Chimborazo, whose summit is a 6-9 hour climb, but provides such beautiful vistas as to make the trip well worth the effort. The peak of the volcano, due to the bulge of the Earth around the equator, is the farthest point from the center of the Earth on the planet’s surface. While Chimborazo was thought to be extinct, it has recently been found to be a still-active volcano. 

Cotopaxi from Iliniza, Jo Simon, CC BY 2.0.

With that said, there has never been a doubt the Cotopaxi volcano, Ecuador’s second-tallest mountain, is active. Cotopaxi has erupted at least 50 times in the last 300 years. It is perhaps the most popular climbing destination in Ecuador, and towers over Quito, making its amazing views easily accessible.

If you’re interested in these experiences, offers for them can readily be found both on-site and online. Bungee jumping and zip lining in Baños costs about $20-40 per person and the paragliding near my home in Cumbaya was approximately $60-75, although I imagine it would be a bit more in Quito itself. Mountain climbing depends on the mountain and your individual plans.

Jeremy Giles

Jeremy is a Writing Seminars and International Studies major at Johns Hopkins University. He is an avid writer and the Co-Founder of Writers’ Warehouse, Johns Hopkins’ first creative writing group. He is an advocate for Indigenous rights, and studies how Indigenous philosophies can be used to help prevent climate change. Using his writing, he hopes to bring attention to underrepresented voices in today’s world.

Filming "Beyond the Surface" in India

“Unite those with positive minds and compassionate hearts and good things happen…” I thought to myself, after meeting Emi Koch in San Diego and chatting with Crystal Thornburg-Homcy about her idea to make a unique surf film in India.

She and her husband, renowned filmmaker, Dave Homcy, planned to document Emi’s work in India under her NGO, Beyond the Surface International, and other inspiring cases of youth and women’s empowerment through surfing, yoga, and ecological creativity. 

On a scouting mission, they serendipitously met Ishita Malaviya, India’s first female surfer and a powerful voice for Indian women, who happily agreed to accompany us on the adventure. Shortly after, Damian Handisides of Free Theo Productions joined the team and the project’s momentum became unstoppable. I was honored to be a participant, along with Lauren Hill who is the founder of The Sea Kin, and Kate Baldwin, yogini extraordinaire. 

We all met in India from our various points on the globe this past April with the hope of exchanging light and love with the people we met along the way, especially those facing poverty, gender inequality, and social disparity. At the same time, the adventure would be a platform of growth for our own individual paths of self-realization. Our three unforgettable weeks were abound with surprises, beauty, surf, and new friendships while touring and filming in southern India. We explored together in search of a deeper connection to our fellow humans and Mother Nature.

Learn more about Beyond the Surface here.

Liz Clark

Liz is a professional free surfer, writer, environmental activist and adventurer who has captained her 40ft sailboat, Swell, over 18,000 miles on a surfing expedition in the Pacific since 2005. Through her website/blog, she shares her journey with the world in an effort of inspire people to live out their passions, spend more time in nature, engage in self-awareness and personal growth, and develop a consciousness of their everyday planetary impact.

The Ice Marathon: Racing Through The Antarctica

The Ice Marathon takes place in Antarctica, known to extreme athletes as the Southernmost Marathon in the world.

Ice Marathon finish line. Rosana Katinas. CC BY-SA-4.0.

The Ice Marathon is an event geared towards committed runners who seek to compete in extreme conditions that guarantee once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Held in Antarctica, the Arctic Ice Marathon is known as the southernmost marathon in the world and is scheduled this year to occur on December 13th, 2022. It also gains most of its notoriety for the conditions under which the run takes place; sub-zero temperatures, snow and ice-covered parts of the course, and  certainly the location that makes this race just as much of an adventure as it is a competition.

The race is said to take place in the area below the Ellsworth Mountains, which is the highest mountain range in the arctic and just “a few hundred miles from the South Pole”. Like any marathon, the Arctic Ice race is 26.2 miles long, and what makes this run so challenging is the climate and the terrain. The cold and the underfoot terrain, which is a term used to describe course conditions, create daunting obstacles for any participant competing.

Ellsworth Mountain range. Nasa Goddard Photo and Video. CC BY 2.0.

The first challenge that presents itself to participants is the cold. Antarctica’s temperature averages around 0 degrees celsius during the month of December, which is when the race takes place, but conditions have dropped to -25C in the past. Those who have previously participated in the Arctic Ice Marathon have been known to try and simulate the cold to prepare themselves for the climate by placing treadmills in freezers and running in the artificial cold.

Specific gear is also required. The Ice Marathon’s event website says that wind pants, a down jacket and insulated boats are absolutely necessary to compete in the event. Additional requirements for runners include wool socks, fleece pants and shirts, sunscreen and polarized sunglasses, along with a few more generally required items. 

The second most challenging part of the race is the underfoot terrain. The Ice Marathon website states “the course will be groomed beforehand so it should be reasonably solid, but [is] not always”. This means that though there will be no deep snow on the course, there may be slippery ice and spots where the snow is not as tightly packed, causing the terrain to be more “energy sapping”. Advice for any athlete training for the ice marathon is to practice on sand or any other irregular or uneven terrain.

The fee to enter the marathon is $19,500. This provides the runner with their choice of race – the Arctic Ice Marathon offers a half-marathon and a full one – flights, stays and meals to and from Antarctica, and additional merchandise and photographs of the experience. The entire travel and race experience is 6 days.

Designed to entice adventure-seeking athletes, the Arctic Ice Marathon course is a prerequisite to joining the 7 Continents Marathon Club, which athletes can join once they have run and completed a marathon in every continent in the world. With over 300 members, the 7 Continents Marathon Club is an amazing way to commemorate the hardwork and dedication of marathon runners.

Ava Mamary

Ava is an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois, double majoring in English and Communications. At school, she Web Writes about music for a student-run radio station. She is also an avid backpacker, which is where her passion for travel and the outdoors comes from. She is very passionate about social justice issues, specifically those involving women’s rights, and is excited to write content about social action across the globe. 

All-Woman Rowing Team Takes On The Great Pacific Race

Four women compete in the Great Pacific Race, rowing from San Francisco to Hawaii.

For those who row competitively, completing the Great Pacific Race (GPR) is the pinnacle of a successful career. The race – which is a total of 2,080 miles (3,328 meters) – starts in San Francisco and ends in Hawaii. Teams of 3 or 4 are able to enter and are challenged to make it to Hawaii in as little time as possible. Though completely alone in their rowing efforts, every team is monitored from afar during all hours of the day by GPR crew in the instance of any emergencies.

Latitude 35, an all-female rowing team vetted with years of ocean rowing experience, has decided to challenge themselves in completing the Great Pacific Race. Among them are Adrienne Smith, Libby Castello, Sophia Denison-Johnson and Brooke Downes. They are not the first all-women’s team to compete, but they may be the fastest to ever finish the race if they maintain their pace on the last leg of their journey. The previous record that Latitude 35 wishes to crush is set by the Ocean Sheroes, who took on the challenge in 2021 and completed it in a little over 35 days. 

The first Great Pacific Race occured in 2014, and the organizers have held four subsequent “campaigns” since, with a total of 19 teams to ever complete the journey. Usually four or five teams will compete in the same race at a time, traveling from all over the globe to test their strength and willpower. Within the five sets of races that have taken place over the years, itvNews reports only “two four-person all female teams” have finished the race, making Latitude 35’s journey all the more special. 

Additionally, competitors are racing against the clock, not necessarily each other. To “win” the race, teams have to complete the journey the fastest, so the women of Latitude 35 are technically competing against teams – specifically the Ocean Sheroes – from a year ago who hold the current time record. Men and women may compete during the same campaign, but the race time records are separated by gender. However, it is important to note that just completing the challenge is a victory in itself; holding the world record for fastest time is just an additional win. 

Having left on June 21st, the Latitude 35 women have just about 495 miles (792 kilometers) left in their journey, and have done around 1590 miles (2,544 kilometers) in just over 28 days. They are on track to beat the pre-existing time record.

Besides the competitive nature of the race, it is also an incredible immersive experience with nature. Traveling on the open ocean for days allows participants to become up-close and personal with the ocean and all of its wonders. The Great Pacific Race describes the experience: “You will see shooting stars and the most incredible skies. You will experience nature in a way that few people can even imagine.” Latitude 35 has described their experiences with wildlife, including flying fish that have hopped around and into their boat.

The team has faced a few challenges along the way, including Tropical Estelle and Hurricane Darby, which threatened to hit the women’s route while they were on the open waters. Fortunately, neither the tropical storm nor the hurricane has found its way to the team, and the women are still safely continuing on.

The Great Pacific Race is a challenge of extraordinary athletic and physical strength. Calloused and blistered hands, sunburnt skin, hunger and fatigue all challenge the rowers. It is also a true test of emotional stamina and friendship. There is no reprieve from the rowing and physicality of the sport, just as there is no reprieve from your teammates. Latitude 35 has taken to Instagram to pass the time, and as they speak of their journey and the hardships they face – like rowing at night when all you want to do is sleep – they have gained a large following. 

Posting regular updates lets followers know where they are in their journey, as well as how they pass the time. Singing, laughing and making funny videos has helped the women stay motivated to finish their race. Additionally, Latitude 35 has started collecting donations for the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, raising money and awareness of the organization and what it has to offer athletes and those suffering with mental illness.

Ava Mamary

Ava is an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois, double majoring in English and Communications. At school, she Web Writes about music for a student-run radio station. She is also an avid backpacker, which is where her passion for travel and the outdoors comes from. She is very passionate about social justice issues, specifically those involving women’s rights, and is excited to write content about social action across the globe. 

Indoor Skiing As Far Afield as Dubai

With massive, man made indoor ski resorts, skiing is no longer a winter-only sport. 

Ski Dubai. Neekoh.fi. CC BY 2.0

In 1927, Vienna, Austria opened up the first indoor ski slope called Schneepalast. The slope was 65.6 feet tall, and the building was eventually destroyed, but the idea has stayed around. People have improved on it by creating larger and larger indoor ski slopes for people to enjoy not just during the normal skiing season, but also in warm temperatures where and when snow doesn’t fall. Indoor ski resorts are all over the world, with at least one on every continent. Ski Dubai in Dubai, United Arab Emirates was voted the best indoor resort back in 2016 and 2017, and it used to be the biggest, though Harbin Wanda Indoor Resort in Harbin, China surpassed Ski Dubai in 2017. Wintastar Shanghai in Shanghai, China is currently on track to being the largest once it is completed in 2022. There are also indoor slopes that are meant only for practice in the summer. These are training centers for athletes, without man-made snow and more akin to treadmills.

Though an indoor resort will likely never be as large as an outdoor one, Ski Dubai is one of the largest indoor ski resorts in the world. It is the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East, featuring  a chairlift, a freestyle snowboarding area, an area for toboggans and snowball fights, an indoor zipline and five ski runs, including a black diamond run, the highest level of difficulty in skiing. Ski Dubai also has a penguin colony of Gentoo and King penguins that people can meet and interact with. Though not the only indoor ski resort with penguins, Ski Egypt has Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins, which is the most well-known. The entire area is extremely family friendly, which is why it continues to be one of the most popular attractions in Dubai.

King Penguins at Ski Dubai. Pranav Bhasin. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

For an avid skier, indoor skiing might be a very interesting experience, but it doesn’t come close to skiing on an actual mountain. Having such a limited space can lose interest towards experienced skiers, but less experienced people tend to enjoy indoor resorts more. Another factor that could affect this is that skiing on fake snow is different than skiing on real snow. 

Fake snow is stickier than real snow, and it’s much harder and more packed. Skiing on it isn’t as smooth as on real snow. The composition of real snow is around 10% ice and 90% air, but man-made snow is closer to 30% ice and 70% air. Of course, indoor ski slopes can’t exactly use real snow, so these resorts are made entirely of this kind of snow. However, since it is still snow, it will melt in heat. Indoor ski resorts have to be cold to maintain it. Ski Dubai stays at a constant -4Celsius, or 24.8 Fahrenheit. Therefore,  despite being located in the desert, the inside of Ski Dubai is fairly cold and a stark contrast to the outside heat.

Katherine Lim

Katherine Lim is an undergraduate student at Vassar College studying English literature and Italian. She loves both reading and writing, and she hopes to pursue both in the future. With a passion for travel and nature, she wants to experience more of the world and everything it has to offer.

Sandboarding: The Art of Surfing Sand Around the World

Requiring nothing but a board and steady nerves, sandboarding has become a popular new solo-extreme sport. Small and large competitions occur all over the world as the sport gains popularity.

A man sandboarding in Egypt. Surfing The Nations. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Sandboarding has gained popularity as an extreme solo sport, with competitions held at dunes around the world.  The sport is perfect for adventurous athletes and travelers interested in seeing new places and seeking adrenaline-fueled fun, as it can be done anywhere with expansive sand dunes and the right equipment.

The sport itself is logistically simple: riders climb to the top of a sand dune and get on their board. Then, by jumping closer to the downward slope of the dune, pivoting to have their front foot ahead of them and leaning forward, the board will start to move and pick up speed as it makes its way down the slope—similar to snowboarding. Professionals will throw tricks like jumps and spins which have flooded YouTube over the years, and sandboarding courses have even installed bars and pipes for riders to test out, just like a skateboarder or snowboarder would find at parks or slopes.

Surfer Today describes sandboarding as “a blend between surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding.” Typically, sand boards are almost identical to snowboards, yet they tend to be lighter and either include no foot holdings or two straps for each of the rider’s feet with a latch that locks you to the board. No uniform is required unless you are competing professionally, and even then, experts and riders wear casual uniforms during competitions.

Pro-sandboarder Josh Tenge at Sand Master Park. OCVA. CC BY-ND 2.0.

Sandboarding is also an accessible sport that can be done on a range of levels from beginner to expert. At the beginner and intermediate levels, the extreme sport becomes more of a daring passtime. Perfect for summer conditions due to the dryness of the sand, recreational sandboarding is done all around the United States and in other parts of the globe. In the United States, perfect sandboarding conditions can be found in places like Utah’s Coral Pink Sand Dunes Park, Sand Master Park in Oregon, Monahans Sandhills State Park in Texas and the Kelso Dunes in California. There are more great national parks and dunes spread across the United States that perfectly cater to sandboarding conditions, and finding a location nearest to you can be easily done with a simple search on the internet; lists on the best locations to sandboard are scattered across the web because of how popular the activity is.

Additionally, there are amazing places to sandboard across the globe that are perfect for a day trip to some of the world’s most famous dunes and deserts. South America is immensely popular for sandboarding—the World Cup is typically hosted here because of the massive dunes and numerous locations to be found in the continent. Some examples can be found in Peru, at both Cerro Blanco and Huacachina, while other South American spots ideal for the sport are located in Concon, Chile. Towards the Middle East and Africa, other famous deserts and dunes that are great for sandboarding include the Great Sand Sea in Egypt, the Namib Desert in South Africa and the Moroccan Sahara, known for its vast expanse of sandy hills.

The Great Sand Sea in Egypt. Virtualwayfarer. CC BY-NC 2.0. 

Most parks do not make visitors pay to use the sand dunes, but occasionally visitors will have to pay an entrance fee—especially if the dunes they wish to ride are located in a national park. If participants wish to take lessons, the prices of those are somewhere between $50 for an individual lesson and $160 for a group lesson with six people that lasts for a few hours at the Sand Master Park in Oregon and may fluctuate depending on where in the world you are trying to board. Rentals are also available at certain locations, like Sand Master Park, and boards costing around $10 to rent for 24 hours. Additional costs can be applied if users wish to rent helmets and other protective gear. 

Many people find that the sport just takes practice. The beauty of sandboarding is that it is less risky to try as a beginner because the conditions are better for falling off your board or slipping on your way down the dunes when compared to icy conditions of snowboarding or the hard concrete used for skateboarding.

It is also worth noting that some places require participants to provide their own board; not all locations will have a shop where those looking to sandboard can rent the equipment. Boards for sale online range from anywhere between $150-400, but it depends on brand and size. Cheaper boards can be found on sites like Amazon for anywhere between $40 to $80 if people are not looking to invest in the sport too heavily.

Some slopes even end with a splash in a pond or lake; riders will descend dunes to find a ramp at the bottom which launches them into refreshing, cool water. This is exemplified in Huacachina, Peru, where the dunes feed right into a pond at the center of the village. Huacachina is also listed commonly as one of the best places to sandboard in the world and was the host of the Sandboarding World Cup in 2019.

Dune that feeds to water at Huacachina. Flexbox. CC BY 2.0. 

More advanced riders who wish to compete at higher levels have a multitude of competitions to choose from around the globe. Alongside the Sandboarding World Cup, which changes locations frequently, other competitive events include Sand Spirit in Germany, the Pan-American Sandboarding Challenge in Brazil, the Sand Master Jam in Oregon and the Sand Sports Super Show in California. Participants compete for titles and merchandise, all fighting to become champions in this extreme sport.

Sandboarding is a great activity to get adrenaline pumping, explore new areas of the world, and to remain active during travel. . For those looking to ride the craziest, most intense dunes in the world, Peru, Egypt, Japan and a plethora of other locations provide not only a fulfilling trip but host the correct conditions for riding. Perfect for both adventure and travel, the sport encourages riders to seek the most daunting dunes in the world and conquer them.

Ava Mamary

Ava is an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois, double majoring in English and Communications. At school, she Web Writes about music for a student-run radio station. She is also an avid backpacker, which is where her passion for travel and the outdoors comes from. She is very passionate about social justice issues, specifically those involving women’s rights, and is excited to write content about social action across the globe.

Volcano Boarding in Nicaragua

Looking for an adrenaline rush? Slide down the side of an active volcano at up to 60 miles per hour during your stay in Nicaragua.

Volcano boarding on Cerro Negro, Nicaragua. Garrett Ziegler. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Bigfoot Hostel in Leon, Nicaragua is one of the only places in the world where you can go volcano boarding. According to their website, volcano boarding is the “thrill of a lifetime.” The hostel’s original owner, Daryn Webb, created the extreme sport, where those brave enough to try it can speed up to 60 miles per hour down the side of an active volcano.

Webb and his crew tested various objects for sliding down the volcano, and after some trial and error, they created a sit-down toboggan made of metal and plywood. The hostel offers daily tours beginning at 9 a.m., with prices at $25 per person. Tours return at 3 p.m.

The Cerro Negro volcano is the youngest volcano in Central America, and is also one of the most active volcanoes in Nicaragua, erupting nearly every 20 years.

Bigfoot Hostel has sent over 20,000 people down Cerro Negro slope at up to  62 miles per hour, and it is known for attracting many sports enthusiats  and adrenaline junkies. One of the most famous people to attempt the extreme sport was Eric Barone, who rode down the volcano on a bike at 107 miles per hour in 2002.

Volcano boarding on Cerro Negro. Garrett Ziegler. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

It is possible to slide down the Cerro Negro because the volcano is made of small grain-like volcanic rocks, which came from the crater. In addition, there is almost always a very strong wind hitting the volcano, so it’s the perfect surface for boarding.

Those who have visited before say that they could feel the heat radiating from the volcano and could even cook their meals in a hole dug out in the volcano.

All visitors must wear closed toe shoes and comfortable clothing. Those who have boarded down the volcano before recommend wearing hiking boots (since it takes about 45 minutes to reach the summit) and a multipurpose head wrap to cover your nose and mouth while boarding. Also, take a large water bottle and a GoPro if you want to record the experience.

The hostel offers dorm-style rooms, with rooms with fans at $6 and rooms with air conditioning at $10. There are also private rooms with double, triple, or quadruple beds.

Isabelle Durso

Isabelle is an undergraduate student at Boston University currently on campus in Boston. She is double majoring in Journalism and Film & Television, and she is interested in being a travel writer and writing human-interest stories around the world. Isabelle loves to explore and experience new cultures, and she hopes to share other people's stories through her writing. In the future, she intends to keep writing journalistic articles as well as creative screenplays.

‘Israel’s Most Racist Soccer Club’ Gets an Arab Owner

Fans are none too pleased. Beitar Jerusalem faces a tough fight against bigotry in its ranks.

A Beitar Jerusalem player, right, tries to keep up. Steindy. CC BY-SA 3.0. 

Most sports fans would rejoice at such a deal. Beitar Jerusalem, an Israeli soccer team, got a new owner who pledged a $100 million investment in the team over the coming 10 years. Such a whopping sum of money could buy plenty of talent to buoy the team, which hasn’t won the Israeli Premier League since 2008. Instead of glee, though, many fans felt rage. One diehard spray-painted on the team’s stadium wall, “The war has just begun.” The reason was simple: the new owner was Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, an Arab Muslim, and the team was Beitar Jerusalem, notoriously known as “the most racist team in Israel.” 

Heckling Arab players is part and parcel of the stadium experience. Fans regularly shout “terrorist” at rival Arab players. The team remains ethnically homogeneous since it has never signed an Arab player. This flies in the face of statistical probability given that Israel’s population is 21% Arab. The team’s racial uniformity keeps with the team’s motto: “Forever Pure.”

A Beitar Jerusalem bumper sticker. zeeveez. CC BY 2.0.

To understand why Sheikh Hamad bought a 50% stake, it is necessary first to look at Moshe Hogeg, formerly the team’s sole owner. He made his fortune trading cryptocurrency and bought Beitar Jerusalem, along with its debt, for $7.2 million in 2018. His reasons were clear, ambitious and abrasive to many Beitar fans: “I saw this problem that reflects bad not only on the club, but also on Israel,” Hogeg said. “I love football, and I thought it was the opportunity to buy this club and to fix this racist problem. And then I could do something that is bigger than football.” Before he can even dream of something bigger, though, he’ll first have to address the bigotry already present in the team’s fan base. 

Beitar Jerusalem’s self-avowed racist identity comes from a right-wing section of the fan base known as La Familia. Comprising roughly 20% of the team’s fans, they are a loud, vociferous and sometimes violent minority. When the team signed two Muslim players from Chechnya in 2013, members of La Familia burned down the team’s headquarters in retaliation. Fans routinely heckled the players during games. When one player scored his first goal, many fans, led by La Familia, left the stadium. 

The tumultuous 2013 season was chronicled in the documentary “Forever Pure.”

Under pressure. Steindy. CC BY-SA 3.0.

The deal with Sheikh Hamad comes on the heels of the Abraham Accords, a set of agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, brokered by the United States, that normalized relations between the two countries. Thousands of Israelis traveled to the UAE shortly after the agreements came into effect. Instagram influencers posted stories of themselves lounging in hotel suites in Dubai. Sheikh Hamad’s purchase of Beitar Jerusalem’s stake provoked very little attention in the UAE. Israeli football is not internationally popular, so the outcry was limited solely to Israel. 


Beitar Jerusalem’s training ground, site of many racist chants. zeevveez. CC BY 2.0.

Sheikh Hamad is as hopeful as Moshe Hogeg about purging the team of its racist elements. “The deal is meant to show the nations that the Jewish and the Muslim can work together and be friends and live in peace and harmony,” Hamad said in December. However, peace and harmony still seem a long way away. Beitar Jerusalem’s decadeslong right-wing identity defines much of the team’s fan base. As embarrassed and ashamed as most fans are of La Familia’s overt bigotry, the group still holds immense sway. Only time will tell if their brand of hatred will win out. Hogeg and Sheikh Hamad’s anti-racism campaign will face fierce opposition. When asked if his decision to invest was related to La Familia, Sheikh Hamad only responded, “Challenge accepted.”

Michael McCarthy

Michael is an undergraduate student at Haverford College, dodging the pandemic by taking a gap year. He writes in a variety of genres, and his time in high school debate renders political writing an inevitable fascination. Writing at Catalyst and the Bi-Co News, a student-run newspaper, provides an outlet for this passion. In the future, he intends to keep writing in mediums both informative and creative.



Meet 6 Athlete-Activists Demanding Change

Social activism and athletics have become intertwined, especially in the digital age. Here are some of the world’s most impactful athlete-activists. 

The San Francisco 49ers kneeling during the playing of the national anthem. Keith Allison. CC BY 2.0.

Following the lead of Colin Kaepernick, a football player for the San Francisco 49ers who protested police violence through kneeling during the national anthem, athletes have increasingly embraced the intersection of athletics and activism. Four years after Kaepernick’s original act of peaceful protest, athletes are now some of the most vocal activists in the world, using their status to encourage social activism. Due to the modern celebrity of sports, combined with the wide platform of social media, athletes from almost every sport have devoted their time off the field to social causes. Here are six athlete-activists working to transform their communities:

Naomi Osaka playing tennis. Peter Menzel. CC BY 2.0. 

1. Naomi Osaka — Tennis

Naomi Osaka, the reigning U.S. Open champion, is the world’s highest-paid female athlete. She is also one of the most vocal supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement, using her platform to commemorate victims of racial violence. In August, Osaka withdrew from a tournament she was favored to win in protest of anti-Black injustice. In a statement on her social media accounts, Osaka wrote: “Before I am an athlete, I am a Black woman.” Osaka is an activist on the court as well, wearing seven different masks with the names of victims of police brutality and racism: Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Philando Castile and Tamir Rice. 

Brittney Griner playing for the Phoenix Mercury. Lorie Shaull. CC BY 2.0. 

2. Brittney Griner — Basketball 

WNBA player and Olympian Brittney Griner is an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. In 2017, Griner led the charge to prevent Texas from passing Senate Bill 3, which would have forced transgender people to use restrooms and locker rooms that match their gender assigned at birth. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Griner encourages young adults to be authentically themselves. Griner is also at the forefront of the movement for the WNBA to stop playing the national anthem prior to games in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Akim Aliu in a mid-game interview. Anders H Foto. CC BY 2.0.  

3. Akim Aliu — Hockey 

In his essay titled “Hockey Is Not for Everyone,” written in May, professional hockey player Akim Aliu exposed the National Hockey League’s unaddressed problem with racism. After recognizing rampant racism in his sport, Aliu co-founded the Hockey Diversity Alliance, an organization dedicated to eradicating “systemic racism and intolerance in hockey” while making the sport accessible to all communities. In a statement posted on Twitter by the board of the organization, Aliu wrote: "We are hopeful that anyone who puts on skates or sits in the stands will do so without worrying about race, gender or socioeconomic background and will be able to express their culture, identity, values and personality without fear of retribution."

Juan Mata playing for his former team, Chelsea. Christopher Johnson. CC BY 2.0.

4. Juan Mata — Soccer

Manchester United player Juan Mata launched Common Goal in 2017, a charitable organization geared toward redistributing global soccer wealth back into the communities that raised and trained the world’s premier soccer stars. Mata was the first of his peers to pledge 1% of his salary to this organization, and the organization has now grown to include 390 pledgers and 207 partner organizations. Mata told The Players’ Tribune: “Through Common Goal we're creating a collaborative way for football to give back to society … By making the pledge, we can form a lasting connection between football as a business and football as a tool for social change.”

Fu Yuanhui and teammate Liu celebrate a 2015 backstroke win. Oleg Bkhamri. CC BY 2.0. 

5. Fu Yuanhui — Swimming

Chinese Olympic swimmer Fu Yuanhui is breaking down the stigma surrounding menstrual cycles for female athletes. At the Rio Olympics in 2016, Yuanhui openly shared the way in which her period affected her athletic performance, with social media users sharing widespread support for her honesty. In China, taboos around menstrual cycles lead to the topic seldomly being discussed, and Chinese swimming fans took to social media apps to praise Yuanhui for her honesty. Only 2% of women in Chinese use tampons, and Yuanhui’s acknowledgment of her period on a world stage was eye-opening for Chinese women, 76% of whom are reported to feel uncomfortable in social settings when they have their period. 

Fish on stage delivering a TED Talk. TEDxYouthSeattle. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

6. Rosalie Fish — Running

College runner Rosalie Fish is the least-known athlete on this list, but one of the fiercest advocates of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). In her senior year of high school, Fish ran her meets with the outline of a red hand painted across her face and the words Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women written on her leg. Now in college, Fish has become a leading figure in advocacy for MMIW. A member of the Cowlitz Tribe, Fish told Off the Cuff: “For me to say I don’t want Indigenous women to be ignored anymore is, by some people, a political statement. Advocating for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, they will say that’s political. To me that’s survival.” Fish has also delivered a TED Talk explaining her activism, which you can watch here. 

Sarah Leidich

is currently an English and Film major at Barnard College of Columbia University. Sarah is inspired by global art in every form, and hopes to explore the intersection of activism, art, and storytelling through her writing.