With the COVID-19 pandemic slowly fading, we’re all eager to get back to sports. But with the emphasis on trying and discovering new things that were prevalent during the lockdown, it might be time to set aside the usual football and baseball discussions for sports that are a bit more unique. Here are some interesting sports that you’ve probably never heard of. 

Cheese Rolling

This quirky sport originated in the Gloucester region of England. The name is pretty self-explanatory – a wheel of cheese is rolled down a hill, chased by a crowd of people. Whoever crosses the finish line first gets to keep the wheel. While this sounds like a quaint pastime thought up by a medieval peasant, it can actually get quite risky. Competitors are known to lose their balance on steep slopes or be taken out by the wheel itself, which has been clocked at over 70 miles per hour in some games.

Octopush

While the name might be misleading, this sport does not, unfortunately, involve octopi. What it does involve is a three-pound hockey puck that must be pushed around by swimmers at the bottom of a pool. Think of it like a huge game of air hockey, except all of the players are also at risk of drowning. Octopush was invented in England in 1954, and it now plays a valuable role in the world of diving, allowing divers to continue training throughout the winter. 

Chess Boxing

This is exactly what it sounds like – players engage in bouts of physical sparring in between rounds of chess at a table set up in the middle of the ring. It’s considered a challenge in both the mental and physical realms – winners are either decided by a knockout or a checkmate, whichever comes first. While it might sound ridiculous at face value, fans of the sport state that matches can often get very intense, and competitors train relentlessly to be ready for a chess boxing match.