TR EMERITUS

By Ray Ang [email protected] This week, TR’s top 8 takes a step away from football and looks at some of the queerest sports there are around the world at the moment. Given our sports council’s incessant desire to get Singapore on the international sporting front, perhaps it might be worth considering encouraging some Singaporeans to take up these sports and aim to be a world champion? Clash of the titans 8 ) Elephant Polo Invented in India in the early 1900s due to the brilliance of the British (India was part of the British Empire then), who combined their need for polo with the abundance of elephants in India. One wonders at times if they would have done the same thing if they had colonized Galapagos Island in Ecuador and inherited all the giant tortoises there.  Elephant polo is essentially the same as normal polo except that it is played on a smaller pitch than horse polo due to the speed of the elephants. There are also strict rules to abide to including elephants are not allowed to lie down in front of the goals (not surprising perhaps?) or pick up the ball with their trunk. The initial ball used was a football but it was changed to a normal polo ball after the players found out that the elephants liked to stand on the footballs.   Bubble-boy learnt it the hard way 7) Zorbing A twist to the conventional way to racing, the “zorb” was invented in New Zealand in the early 1990s. The zorb, which is an inflatable ball made of clear plastic with a space in the middle that’s big enough for a person to fit inside, was initially invented by Andrew Akers and Dwayne van der Sluis who were looking for a fun way to walk on water. Participants taking part in the race are known as zorbonauts and zorbing is generally performed on a gentle slope.   Bonding? 6)  Octopush The name may remind you of an old James Bond film, but Octopush (aka underwater hockey) is actually a non-contact sport in which two teams compete to manoeuvre a puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into goals. The game was invited by the British in Portsmouth in 1954 and has actually become quite popular in countries like UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. Though the game might not be hard to fathom, the biggest drawback for the game has to be the fact that it is not at all spectator friendly!   More Jacks then Jills  5) Cheese rolling Yet another brilliant invention by the British (we have to love them for constantly coming up with new ways of taking a dig at themselves), cheese-rolling is an annual event held at Cooper’s Hill near Gloucester, England. In theory, competitors are supposed to roll down a hill to chase after a round of Double Gloucester cheese in a bid to catch and win the cheese. In reality, given that the cheese has a one second head start and can reach speeds up to 110km/h, this rarely occurs so the winner of the cheese is then given to the first person to cross the finish line at the bottom of the hill.  The tradition has been at least 200 years old and each year it has attracted more and more participants all over the world to take part or to view the spectacle.   4 legs good, 2 legs bad 4)      The Man versus Horse Marathon The Man versus Horse marathon is an annual race over 22 miles, where runners compete against riders on horseback. One will think that the proposition is preposterous as there is no way a man can outrun a horse over long distance. This is precisely what prompted the race in 1980 when local landlord Gordon Green in the Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells overheard a discussion between two men in his pub. One man suggested that over a significant distance across country, man was equal to any horse and Green decided that the challenge should be tested in full public view, and organized the first event.  Over the last 20 years, not suprisingly, the winner of the race has been mostly horse riders, but two men had managed to out run the horses in 2004 and 2007 respectively to win some respect back for mankind!   Everbody loves an ass-kisser 3) Wife Carrying The Europeans take the significance of taking on your spouse’s burden to a whole new level with this sport. Wife carrying which was first introduced at Sonkajarvi in Finland originated as a satire of a past in which men courted women by running to their village, picking them up and carrying them off. The sport involves male competitors racing while carrying a female teammate through a special obstacle course in the fastest time. Several types of carry can be practiced including the piggyback, fireman’s lift and the Estonian-style (in which the wife hangs upside-down with her legs around the husband’s shoulders, holding onto his waist). The best part of the game is that the prize of winning is the amount of beer awarded based on the weight of the female teammate! Talk about tough love!   Brains .... AND Brawl 2) Chess Boxing What has Chess and boxing got in common? Both are poles apart as most will say, unless you are involved in chess boxing! This hybrid sport was envisioned in 1992 by cartoonist Enki Bilal and involves participants to play alternating rounds of chess and boxing. Competitors may win by a knockout, achieving a checkmate, by the judge’s decision, or if the opponents’ allocated chess time is exceeded.  Proponents of this sport say that this sport allows participants to check not only their physical strength but also the mental dexterity of players at the same level. The first world Chess Boxing Championship was held in Amsterdam in 2003 and was won by Lepe Rubingh, the man credited as the first person to bring the chess boxing concept to life. Since then, it has been steadily gaining popularity with separate European championships held since 2005.   No Athlete's Foot Please 1) Toe Wrestling Just when you thought that mankind has thought of every way possible of exerting violence on one another and calling it a sport - up pops toe wrestling. Surprisingly, the not-so-scent-inspiring sport has its origin back in the mid 1970s. Rather unsurprisingly, however, was the fact that the idea for the sport came about when a bunch of Brits went to a pub in Wetton (UK) and started brainstorming about finding a game that the British could actually win over a couple of pints. The inaugural World Toe Wrestling Championships was born and won by a visiting Canadian, which saw the competition shelved for 2 decades. It was then picked up by current world champion Alan “Nasty” Nash in 1994. 16 years, 5 championship titles, 9 broken toes and countless hospital visits on, Nash still remains a firm addict of the sport. Current arch rivals of Nash for the championship title include Paul “Toeminator” Beech and new entry the Itatoelion Stallion from Milan. PS - The Brits have still yet to produce a world champion here. Do you have any other queer sports to share? Do you think that Singaporeans should aim at excelling in these sports? Please share your ideas with TR. ___________________________________________________________________________________ About the author - Ray is a proud product of a local university (the one furthest westwards) and is based in London after having completed his Masters there. He currently plies his trade in a research based function for a financial institution and lists sports and current affairs amongst his many interests. Ray's other contributions: Should Bridge have built the bridge? Top 8 Flop Signings of the season  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent According to the Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports (MCYS), there were only 11 successful applicants for PA scheme between July 2008 and December 2009. It claims that the “small number” is an “indication that families want to be “self-reliant” as far as possible without substantiating its claims. This amount translate to only 11 x $360 = $3,960 monthly or less than what the Minister in charge of MCYS Dr Vivian will earn in a day. Assuming the annual salary of the Minister to be $1.8 million dollars, he will be getting 1.8 million / 12 / 30 = $5,000 a day. Let's get a sense of proportion. By donating a day of his salary, Dr Vivian can support the 11 Singaporeans on PA scheme for one entire month! And he has the audacity to say that the limiting factor to the PA monthly allowance is "work ethic"! Why can't Dr Vivian work harder at less pay so that more needy Singaporeans will receive help under the PA scheme?  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent YPAP member Mark Chow was convicted today of molesting a former pub manager three years ago after a trial. The woman accused Mark of touching her breasts, calves and buttocks. Mark's defence was that he was trying to wake her up. According to information posted on his blog, Mark is a YPAP member of Pasir Ris-Punggol South and was nominated for Spirit of Enterprise Awards. Mark’s YPAP membership was not reported in the press. Mark's lawyer Subhas Anandan pleaded for leniency on the grounds that he had some mental disorders. He did not highlight Mark's grassroots volunteer work. In a similar case last year, a Kovan grassroots leader was let off with only a $2,000 fine for molesting a 14 year old girl in a hotel lobby. He was the Vice Chairman of Paya Lebar Kovan Community Club Youth Executive Committee. Pleading for leniency, his lawyer, Mr Chung Ping Shen, told District Judge Roy Neighbour that the incident was not planned, and the solitary act was minor. Mr Chung urged the court to consider his client’s “excellent record in community service as well as grassroots activities.”  Read More →