Since “4 Bizarre Sports From Around The World That Will Make Even The Business Interpreter Question What a Sport Even Is” was so popular, we decided to make a second part. Here is a list of three more bizarre sports from around the world that will leave even a business interpreter shocked.
1. Chess Boxing
Chess boxing may be the ideal sport for an intelligent, but temperamental business interpreter. Popular in Germany, India, Russia, and the United Kingdom, chess boxing was originally developed by a French comic book artist and a dutch performance artist. As the name suggests, chess boxing is a mixture of chess and boxing. Matches consist of 11 three minute rounds that alternate between chess and boxing with a one minute break in between each round. Players begin and end the match with rounds of chess and are allowed a total of nine minutes on the board. The rules of this sport adhere to the rules of traditional chess and boxing, a player can win by a knockout or technical knockout in the boxing ring, or a checkmate on the chess board. Additionally, you can lose by exceeding the allotted nine minutes you have to make your chess moves. If the match ends in a draw on the chess board, an additional round of boxing takes place to decide the winner. After this round of boxing, if there has been no knockout, a final ruling goes to the scorecards of the boxing match to see who has scored the most points and won.
2. Ostrich Racing
A sport that you’d likely only imagine seeing in movies, let alone think was legal, ostrich racing originated in Africa and is now common in South Africa and parts of the United States of America. Ostrich racing is something of a mixture of bull riding and horse racing. Men ride on the backs of the 300 pound birds to see who can win a straight away race on a dirt/mud track. Generally, this sport is not about which pair is the fastest but rather a competition on who can make sure they keep their ostrich going straight towards the finish line. Races often end with a majority of the field being thrown to the ground by the spastic and volatile movements of these animals. To the spectators’ delight, after the race is finished is another sport in itself. Rodeo clowns use plastic fences and their own bodies to strategically funnel the confused birds into a trailer. Ostrich racing could definitely be a sport the business interpreter would enjoy.
3. Bossaball
What do you think you would get if a group of business interpreters commandeered a child’s birthday party? It would probably end up being something like bossaball. This unique sport originated in Spain, but is rapidly growing and is now played in over 20 countries. Bossaball is a team sport played between two teams of four players. It combines aspects of volleyball, soccer, gymnastics, and dancing to music. Matches are played on an inflatable court with a net in the middle separating the teams and two trampolines on either side. Players compete to hit the ball over the net and into the ground of the opponent’s side. Each team is only allowed to touch the ball five times in each possession and must have one football touch each possession. A football touch allows the player two consecutive touches and is done by any part of the body minus the arms or hands. The other touch allowed is a volley touch, which is any touch done with the arms or hands and must be an immediate pass to another teammate or back over the net to the opposing team. Matches are played best of three sets each up to 21 points. Points are scored in a multitude of different ways with different ways of scoring providing different values of points. A team can score with the easier volley touch and receive a point, or three, depending on whether they hit the ball into their opponent’s trampoline. Teams can also score with the more difficult football touch which gains the team a minimum of three points and a maximum of five if the ball lands in the opponent’s trampoline area.
It is fascinating to see how these different sports not only are played but are integrated in the cultures of their home counties. Being a linguistics services company, at Language Connections it is our job to not only understand the various cultural nuances specific to different countries, but provide services to help companies expand into foreign markets. We offer professional interpreting, professional translation services, and professional localization services that can be exactly what your company needs to develop your foreign operations.
About Language Connections:
Language Connections is one of the top language service companies in the US. Over the last 30 years, we’ve focused on providing the best business translation services, interpreting services, localization services, as well as interpreter training and customized language training programs. In addition to top-tier corporate language training, we offer certified corporate interpreters and professional business translation services in 200+ languages. Our network includes linguists with backgrounds in all major industries. They’re ready to meet your needs, whether they’re for technical translation services, legal translation, government translation services, international development translation services, education translation services, life sciences translation, or something else. Reach out to us today for a free quote on our cost-efficient and timely translation services, interpreters, or other linguistic services.
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