5 Weirdly Popular Sports in the UK

Sports in the United Kingdom are not only about football, cricket, and horse racing, though all of them are very popular in this country. There are also some unusual and even weirdly popular sports in the UK locals love to watch or participate in. What are they?

Everyone knows about the most popular kinds of sport in Britain. Football, cricket, horse racing & its types usually form the top-3 of the sports with the biggest army of fans. Apart from three titans, there also are some very unusual sports competitions that attract locals no less than the EPL. What are the 5 most bizarre sports played in the United Kingdom?

Bog snorkeling is among weirdly popular sports in the UK

Have you ever dreamt of swimming in a boggy area? We neither. However, it is a popular kind of sport in the UK that even has its own tournament. The World Bog Snorkelling Championship first took place in 1985 in Wales and it has remained its permanent venue for years. The competition usually takes place in August during the Bank Holiday.

To win in a bog snorkeling, professionals and amateurs compete in a water-filled trench of different lengths made in a swamp. They must wear snorkels and flippers to take part in the competition and not use any swimming strokes – just flippers – on their way to finishing. Swimming in cold smelly water should not be very pleasant, but this sport surprisingly has many fans! Not enough to have own bets at online sportsbooks in the UK, but still enough to outweigh its costs. Bog snorkeling even has its own record-breaker: in 2018, Neil Rutter finished a 120-yards trace for 1 min 18.81 seconds.

Shin kicking is not for yellow-bellies

Shin kicking is another pick among weirdly popular sports in the UK. Also known as purring or digging, this kind of martial art has many fans in England, where it emerged in the early 17th century. It involves two shin digging participants who attempt to kick each other on a shin to make the opponent fall down. Each time the contestant falls, his opponent receives points. The winner is the one who earns 6 out of ten points by the end. 

At first glance, shin kicking may seem quite innocent and funny sports, while it’s actually very brutal. Contestants have to be pain-endurant, physically strong, and fast. The best ones go to World Shin-kicking Championships that are held within the Cotswold Olimpick Games.

Watch snail racing instead of horse racing

Whenever horse racing fans get tired of this sport, they switch to… snail racing. Yes, this kind of racing really exists and has a lot of fans! It emerged in England in the 1960s and quickly became one of the weirdly popular sports in the UK. The rules are simple: people bet on a snail that should finish first in a 14-inch length track on the ground or other flat surface. Yet waiting for your “horse” to win can last the whole day, it doesn’t stop people from participating in the annual World Snail Racing Championship.

Bet on horse racing at Betway Sportsbook.

Toe wrestling can be tougher than UFC 

If you prefer brutal fights to all-day-long racing, The World Toe Wrestling Championship is what you need to watch. This competition is devoted to the fighting on toes: the one who defeats his opponent in a barefoot battle is the winner. The aim of the fight is to force the other contestant to fall.

The World Toe Wrestling Championship is actually pretty popular in the UK. It has taken place since 1976 and won many people’s hearts. Interestingly, its “younger brother” thumb wrestling is also very popular among Brits but still hasn’t got its own big tournament.

Weirdly popular sports in the UK: Man vs Horse

The Man vs. Horse Marathon is the last popular competition in Britain with its own tournament and lots of fans. This is a sport where runners compete with horse riders in a race. The pace is usually 22 miles long, but it can vary from venue to venue. To win the competition, a runner has to arrive before a horse and its rider. To make money on this race, the one should pick his favorite in a race and bet on it.

This weird kind of horse racing has been held for 40 years in Wales and some other countries. Believe it or not, there were runners who managed to win over horses in the marathon. Use online gambling sites in the UK to bet on horse racing in all its kinds.

You can discover more about Betway Sportsbook here.