Camel racing is a popular sport in the United Arab Emirates. Controversy over using children as jockeys has led to the introduction of robot jockeys (pictured in Doha). Camels can run at speeds up to 65 km/h (40 mph).
In Buzkashi, literally goat grabbing, teams on horseback compete for the headless carcass of a goat or calf and throw it into a goal. This bizarre form of polo is played in Afghanistan and other central Asian countries, at festive events such as the start of the new year, or wedding parties, where the game can last several days.
So-called Polar Bear swimming clubs celebrate New Year's Day every year with a plunge into icy waters.
The annual Maldon Mud Race is held every January in Essex. Participants race from one side of the freezing Blackwater river to the other in two feet of smelly mud.
The Stilton Cheese Rolling Championships is held every May Day in the Cambridgeshire village that gave its name to the cheese.
The Cheese Rolling event on Coopers Hill in Gloucester takes place every year on the Spring Bank Holiday, in a tradition dating back at least 200 years. The cheese can reach speeds of 70mph, and inj*r*es usually result.
The Kinetic Grand Championship is held on the last weekend of May every year in California. Competitors race human-powered amphibious all-terrain works of art 41 miles, across mud, sand, water, gravel and pavement.
Calcio Storico Fiorentino is a form of football played in a giant sandpit in Florence, Italy, in the third week of June. The rules allow head butting, punching and choking. The sport dates back to the 16th century.
In the sport of Wife Carrying, which originated in Finland, a male competitor carries a female teammate over an obstacle course. The 2009 World Championships were held in Finland on 3 to 4 July.
The Running of the Bulls is held every day of the nine-day San Fermin festival in Pamplona, northern Spain, from 6 to 14 July. A young Spanish runner was killed this year.
Another Spanish festival that involves running with bulls is to the Bous a la Mar (Bulls Sea), held every July in Denia, between Alicante and Valencia. Participants and bulls end up in the sea.
Events at the Summer Redneck Games in East Dublin, Georgia, include bobbing for pigs' trotters, toilet seat throwing and seed spitting. The games were first held in 1996, and the 2009 games were held on July 11.
The "Sailing On Anything" floating championship is held in July on the Netta River in Augustow, Poland. Participants are required to construct "machines" without an engine that are able to travel a minimum of 400 metres (0.2 miles).
Swamp Football is believed to have originated in England. The 2009 World Championships, held in Finland on 19 July, attracted 325 teams.
The Bognor Regis International Birdman Competition offers a prize to anyone who can fly 100 metres off the pier using only human power. The current record is 89.2 metres. The 2008 contest was cancelled because of health and safety concerns.
The World Lumberjack Competition is held in Hayward, Wisconsin, on the last weekend of July every year. Events include log rolling, tree climbing and chainsaw carving. Similar events are held around the world (pictured is the Chainsaw Carving competition, at the International Forestry Exhibition in Cannock Chase, Staffordshire) .
The British lawnmower racing calendar runs from May to October, and includes the Grand Prix and the 12 Hour Endurance Race, which will be held this year in Northchapel, West Sussex, on 1 August.
In the World Bog Snorkeling Championships, competitors swim two lengths of a 60 yard (50m) trench cut into a peat bog. The event takes place every August Bank Holiday near Llanwrtyd Wells in Wales. A similar event is held in Northern Ireland in July.
The Palio di Siena is held in July and August every year. Jockeys wearing the colours of the city's w*rds race around Piazza del Campo. The race's origins are in medieval times, but the first modern Palio was held in 1656.
