OUR TOP 5 UNUSUAL SPORTS TO TRY THIS WINTER!
With winter just around the corner it’s time to say goodbye to those summer water sports, and welcome in the ski season! That doesn’t just have to mean skiing or snowboarding, however, as winter hosts a variety of different sports – so why not try something a little more unconventional this year? We’ve put together a list of 5 unusual winter sports to mix up your season!
1. Skijoring
Ever heard of Skijoring? Us neither! Turns out it’s actually a recognised winter sport that’s been around for years and nearly became an Olympic sport!
Think skiing and then think Husky racing… Now put the two together and that’s pretty much Skijoring! The idea behind the concept is that the dogs act as the ‘powerboats’ which pull the skiers. It’s a pretty unusual sport but is highly popular in countries like Norway, Sweden and Canada (basically anywhere that gets a lot of snow – hence why we don’t have it here in the UK). For those that are even more daring you can ‘upgrade’ and swap the dogs for horses – due to the speed of the horses the Skijorers can tackle some pretty impressive jumps.
Check it out here!
2. Air Boarding
Next up it’s air boarding, a sport similar to sledging but for the slightly more advanced. If you’re looking for more speed and a smoother ride then this is the right sport for you! The sport is a mix between sledging and body boarding, as you race down the snowy hills on your front on a specially designed air inflated board. Experienced riders can reach speeds of up to 80 miles per hour – now that’s fast! This is an experience we are definitely going to look into!
3. Curling
Fancy your turn at becoming a curling champion? Since the Winter Olympics, curling has become a popular sport amongst many. The idea is to slide stones along a sheet of ice and get them into the target areas, without being intercepted by the opposing team. Sounds pretty easy, right? But these stones move pretty quickly on the ice making it a lot harder to keep up than you would expect!
4. Snow Kayaking
If you’re a bit of an adrenaline junkie then snow kayaking will probably appeal to your thrill-seeking nature. This extreme sport is definitely not one for the faint-hearted… As you race down steep snow covered hills as if they were frozen rapids, you will reach speeds up to 40mph! This has become a competitive sport with racers taking on steep turns and plummeting drops, racing to cross the finish line at the bottom first.
5. Ski Ballet
And finally, if you want to stick to your skis and the slopes, but are looking to change it up a little bit, then let us introduce ski ballet! We’re not kidding, this is actually a sport and was once even a Winter Olympic sport! If you’re struggling to imagine it, think dancing on ice, now think how they do the flips, the jumps, the rolls, the legs crosses and the spins and now imagine all of that but on skis instead of ice-skates, pretty impressive right? Take a look at it here!
So there you have it, our top 5 unusual sports to try this winter! Which ones are you going to be trying out ? We definitely want to give Air Boarding a go!
