Sport/ Not a Sport Trivia Quiz

Answer: racquetball

The invention of the modern sport of racquetball is credited to Joseph Sobeck, in Connecticut c. 1950. It was adapted from handball and paddleball and is similar to squash and handball, in that it's played on a court without a net to hit over.

Answer: jai alai

Basque pelota is definitely a sport, and along with jai alai, the US version, is billed as "the fastest sport in the world." One player slings a ball against a three walled space at high speed, then the opponent (using a curved basket) attemps to catch it and return the favor. Because of the court design, everyone must play right-handed! Basque pelota did originate in the basque region of Spain.

Answer: channel surfing

Curling is an unusual winter sport, invented in Scotland, played somewhat like shuffleboard, where they slide the "stone" across the ice and sweep in front with brooms to direct it. There is evidence in painting and literature that it was played at least as far back as the early 16th century.

It's actually an Olympic sport. The World Clog Cobbing championship is held yearly in Lancashire, UK at Easter time. Participants throw shoes (clogs) from between their legs, believe it or not. Chess boxing is just what it sounds like. Extremely versatile individuals alternately box a few rounds, then play a few minutes of chess. Dudes, c'mon, no one can say channel surfing is a sport, although I know there are some fast thumbs on the remote out there.

Answer: netball

If you've been playing Funtrivia at all, you probably know netball is a real sport, and one which is played throughout most of the Commonwealth, mostly by women. The object is to score the ball into a free standing basket (net). Unlike basketball, players are restricted to various segments of the court based on positional definitions. Tetris may be the most wide spread of the activities, but, it's a video game, not a sport. Does GPS even work in a tornado? Regardless, it has not been considered for the Commonwealth Games.

Answer: standing long jump

In school, one of the fitness tests used to be the standing long jump (sometime referred to as the 'standing broad jump'). In this event, one stands with both feet behind a line, then jumps forward as far as possible. This event was in the Olympics until 1912, and is still used to determine athletic prowess of possible draft picks at the NFL scouting combine. Norway is the only country which still considers the broad jump a major event.

The world record is held by a Norwegian at 3.71 meters. The other three are staples at major track meets from high school through professional. All three are contested at the Olympics.

Answer: pole vault, shot put, discus throw

In addition to two running events each day, the field events contested on day one are: long jump, shot put and high jump; day two's field events are discus throw, pole vault and javelin throw. The hammer throw is a legitimate field event contested at meets, but it's not part of the decathlon.

Answer: True

This is true. Bill 97, An Act to ban dwarf tossing, was introduced by Sandra Pupatello in 2003. Evidently, it wasn't that effective, because the same bar did it again with the same dwarf being tossed in 2012. Patrons competed for prizes to see who could throw the little person the farthest onto a landing area of mattresses, so it looks like a sport, although not very PC. No one was hurt.

Answer: NASCAR racing

NASCAR racing is based on time, the others are all partly, if not mostly, judged subjectively on appearance and/or beauty in the final analysis. Although they all clearly involve great athletic prowess, this component leads some to question their status as sports.

Answer: frisbee golf

I've played frisbee or disc golf. There are courses all over the pacific northwest, as well as the International Disc Golf Center in Wildwood Park, GA, 22 miles from Augusta, home of the Masters golf tournament. You throw the frisbee from the tee area, and eventually try to drop it in a basket some distance away, using as few tosses as possible. Low score wins, as in golf. None of the other options make much sense, or has a center.

Answer: Goanna pulling is a real sport contested in Australia, similar to tug-of war.

Yes, Virginia, there is goanna pulling. A goanna is a kind of Aussie lizard, but the sport doesn't involve them, only that the two contestants look like lizards as they kneel facing each other, with leather straps around their heads, tied together, trying to pull the other person across a line....really. Men did compete nude in the early Olympic games, but women weren't allowed anywhere near it. MLB baseball covers have been made out of cowhide, not horsehide since 1974.

The center is a core of rubber or cork wrapped in yarn. And finally, no one seems able to agree definitively on what is or isn't a sport.