When you visit La Tania, you will no doubt have a packed schedule of skiing and snowboarding in mind. Yet there are other sports played in winter, both here and around the world, that are lesser known. Many of them are extremely fun and well worth your time. Below, we discuss three highly enjoyable winter sports you must try.
Skijoring
Winter sports are hugely popular across the world, and they have been used across various entertainment mediums because of this. You can find them in movies, on your favourite streaming services and even in online slots games. Here, games such as Pure Puck Lucky Tap, a hockey themed title, have been used alongside free casino bets to invite new players who also like winter sports into the world of slots.
Skijoring is a highly enjoyable sport that can not be that far from inclusion in the Winter Olympics. This is because it is just so much fun to watch. It is a winter sport that is a cross between dogsledding and waterskiing. A person straps on skis and is pulled by dogs, a horse, or even a motor vehicle. The sport has its origins in the Sami people, who would use it as a way to travel vast, snowy expanses. It was even included in the Stockholm Nordic Games at the start of the 20th century and was an exhibition sport at the 1928 Winter Olympics.
Bandy
Ice Hockey is another hugely popular winter sport. The NHL is the worlds biggest league, and as of 22/07/2024 the Florida Panthers are 5/1 to win the Eastern Conference. You can bet now on this online, before the Stanley Cup takes place and odds may change. While this is the biggest league, there are plenty of variations of the sport, one of which is Bandy.
Bandy is an amalgamation of several games, though none knows where it quite originated. The rules were first published in England in 1882, but it is unlikely to have come from here due to its requirements. The game needs a large, icy playing field, much like a football pitch. However, this would require a frozen lake, the likes of which seldom appear in Britain due to its climate. Its rules are a cross between ice hockey and shinty, an Irish game like hockey. It is played withsticks, and two teams must skate across the ice and get the ball into the opposing goal. It is very popular in Sweden and Russia.
Yukigassen
Yukigassen is essentially a huge snowball fight with rules. Hailing from Japan, Yuki translates as snow and “gassen” means battle. It pits two teams of seven players each against each other. Players are eliminated when hit by a snowball, and their team must attempt to capture a flag. Tournaments take place across the world, from Russia to Armenia, with each following the rules set out by the official Japan Yukigassen Federation.
There are plenty of other obscure winter sports that are worth trying out. Some of them, such as skeleton, even make it to the Winter Olympics. Ask about these at tourist information points when you go on your ski holiday, and you may just get to join a snowball battle or even ski across the snow while pulled by a dog.