Gilbert W. Davies - So You Think You Know Sports

SO YOU THINK YOU

KNOW SPORTS

BY

GILBERT W. DAVIES

Unusual Sports From Around The World

T he 181 alphabetically listed index of sports represents those that have questions and answers about them somewhere in this book. Many of the names are familiar to us, even if the rules and equipment are not. This chapter is called a list of unusual sports because most of us are not familiar with their names. Unless the reader has studied sports or has traveled extensively, many of us would flunk the following identification match ups.

This list includes sports that are played locally in an area, country, a combination of two or many sports, are currently extinct or close to it, have been or are now currently outlawed, are the same sport as others but with different names and have only minor variations as to rules.

Possibly the most unusual thing about this chapter is that it represents a very small percentage of unusual sports from around the world. There are many sports listed and the number keeps growing. Presently, most comprehensive lists have more than 700 names. There will never be agreement as to a total number because there is no agreement as to whether a name listed is considered a real sport, an exhibition or a work of art and so on. New sports with new names keep evolving.

So with all that said, go ahead and see if you can correctly match up at least one out of 25 listed.

1. Basse
2. Calico Florentino
3. Calva
4. Canicross
5. Dandi Blyo
6. Dumog
7. Hornussen
8. Jokgu
9. Jukskei
10. Kaisa
11. Kilikiti
12. Lagori
13. Lapta
14. Novuss
15. Oina
16. Pacigin
17. Qianball
18. Ritinis
19. Tamburello
20. Te Ano
21. Trugo
22. Ulama
23. Varpa
24. Virgoro
25. Xare

1. A game from Napal played with two sticks. The one stick is used to strike the shorter one in the air.
2. A Russian traditional bat and ball game
3. A sport from South Africa where competitors throw wooden pins to try and knock down a target wooden peg
4. An Australian sport that combines elements of cricket and baseball
5. A traditional Swiss sport (farmer's golf) where the hornussen knocks a nut through the air with a long flexible rod
6. A team sport from Lithuania , played on a football field with goal posts with a puck thrown by their hands and blocked by a bat
7. A bag ball game from Norway in which the ball is kept from landing in the player's area
8. Australian sport in which players strike a rubber ring with a mallet though goal posts
9. A water sport from Croatia in which the aim in to prevent a small ball from touching the surface of the water
10. J;. A Filipino style of wrestling while standing upright
11. A traditional Spanish sport in which you throw a piece of metal to knock down a bull's horn shaped piece of wood
12. A traditional Tuvalu sport similar to cricket
13. A national game of Tuvalu, with similarities to volleyball
14. N.A racket sport, a form of Basque pelota, where players face each other across a net
15. A ball sport from Mexico, players keep the ball in bounds by hitting it with their hips or forearms
16. A variant of cross country running in which runners have to complete the course accompanied with their dog
17. A national sport in Latvia, with similarities to carom and pocket billiards. A small cue stick is used to strike a puck to hit small discs into the pockets
18. Racket and a ball based sport from Italy
19. A cue sport (carom billiards type) mainly played in Finland
20. A Korean sport which resembles a mix of football and volleyball
21. It is similar to boules but played with a flat and heavy object called a Verpa instead of balls. Once made of shaped stones but nowadays aluminum is more popular
22. A racket and ball sport developed in China which could be described as a mix of parts from tennis and squash
23. From Southern India, this game involves a ball and a pile of flat stones
24. An early form of football which was developed in 16th century Italy
25. A traditional Romanian sport, similar in some ways to baseball, played outdoors by two teams of eleven players

ANSWERS TO UNUSUAL SPORTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

1. G
2. X
3. K
4. P
5. A
6. J
7. E
8. T
9. C
10. S
11. L
12. W
13. B
14. Q
15. Y
16. I
17. V
18. F
19. R
20. M
21. H
22. O
23. U
24. D
25. N

Archery

W hether you shoot, hunt, or field shoot, aim your sights on this chapter by matching the definitions with the word in each part.

Part I

1. Erratic movement of an arrow in flight
2. A craftsman who produces bows
3. One who likes archery
4. The surface of the bow facing the archer
5. An ancient seldom-used term for the point of an arrow
6. An ancient term for brace height
7. To test a bow under construction, in order to determine if the limbs have the proper curvature at various stages of the draw
8. A ledge, or shelf, on the bow, across which the arrow shaft passes during the draw and after the release
9. The short arrow, or missile, shot from a crossbow
10. An aiming technique used by some field archers and bow hunters
11. The relative stiffness of an arrow
12. A straight bow, as opposed to the recurve bow
13. A form of competition in which archers shoot at a distant mark laid horizontally on the ground
14. A steel arrow point, with one or more blades, used in hunting
15. A wrapping of line or thread, used to protect the bowstring at points of wear

Word List

A. Arrow Rest F. Clout K. Pyle

B. Belly G. Fistmele L. Serving

C. Bolt H. Flirt M. Spine

D. Bowyer I. Gapsystem N. Tiller

E. Broadhead J. Longbow O. Toxophilite

Part II

1. The container used by archers to hold or carry arrows
2. The poundage required in a given bow to draw a 28-inch arrow its entire length
3. The two extremities of the bow
4. The main portion of an arrow, exclusive of the paint and feathers
5. The space, in inches, between the bowstring and the strung bow
6. The surface of the bow which faces the target
7. An arrow with oversize feathers, usually used on aerial targets
8. A certain number of shots in competitive archery
9. A device use by tournament archers to counteract freezing and creeping
10. The movable portion of the sight, which is adjustable for various distances
11. The feathers on an arrow; the feathered portion of the arrow
12. A raised bump on the bowstring which touches the archer's lips at full draw