Crazy Sports - Wife Carrying!

This week our blog comes from a guest writer in the form our manging director, Yaz. Yaz following the theme of crazy sports looked into the activity of wife carrying. You can find his take below.

Yaz's Post

Now stop me if you have heard of this sport....Wife Carrying!!!!

First started in Finland, the sport where men carry women over a demanding course has since spread around the world. The objective is for the male to carry the female through an obstacle course in the fastest time although, not in the most glam of positions and I imagine to the detriment of the backs of both teammates. Major competitions are reported to be held in Sonkajarvi, Finland, Monona, Wisconsin and in Marquette, Michigan.

When I mentioned it to my wife, the suggestion was that my incapability of running without twisting my ankles on my own was a concern. This is a fair comment considering some of the courses demand running through muddy water (a key concern of someone who likes to see his feet making contact with the ground). Imagine if you will a fall in the position pictured below and the impact on my beautiful wife's face and my pride concurrently could push someone's relationship over the edge! Good luck to any that try but I am sure a superfun weekend would be had by almost all participants! I can assure you all (and my wife) here is one thing I will not be trying!

Source: http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1274205,00.html



Source:    http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1274205,00.html

Where to go / Days Out: The Real Ale Wobble 19th - 21st November 2011

If you are looking for a more unusual and challenging sporting experience this weekend, why not check out the real ale wobble. This post will tell you all you need to know about this event, as well as where to go and how to take part.

What does it involve?

Arguably the muddiest pub crawl in Britain and certainly one of the most challenging, the real ale wobble involves competitors cycling through the Cambrian Mountains in Wales. Cycling on courses especially designed by mountain bikers, offering hills, narrow paths, arduous challenging climbs, forests and even a small stream to navigate, this is not for the faint hearted. The twist, if you had not guessed already, was that instead of water at 2 checkpoints (3 for those braving the longer course) you get a choice of locally brewed real ale. There are three different routes for bikers of different levels, with a reasonable length and challenging 15 mile course, and also a 25 and 35 mile route for those who want to test their biking and drinking skills to the limit.

Overall it makes for a great day out, particularly if you are a fan of real ale, and there is the chance to enjoy live music and stronger ale in the evening after the cycling itself.

The wobble, was the brainchild of Gordon Green (the same man behind the bog snorkelling championships, which is also held in Llanwrtyd) and forms part of the Mid Wales Beer Festivals, one of the longest beer festivals in Britain. If mountain biking is not for you, there is also a Real Ale Ramble, which takes place next week.

How do I get involved?

To join the Real Ale Wobble you will first need register. Registration points are open from 7-9pm tonight, and 7-9am on both Saturday and Sunday morning. Alternatively you can download a registration form online. (details provided below) The cost for entrants is £16 for 1 day, or £22 for both Saturday and Sunday. There is also a surcharge for of £4 for registering on the day.

The actual event itself begins at 10 a.m on both Saturday and Sunday, with a briefing provided beforehand. It's not a race and you can go entirely at your own pace.

It goes without saying that it helps to have some mountain biking ability, as well a bike which can handle off-road and varied conditions. (although you can hire a bike) Similarly it makes sense to wear sensible clothing for cycling, which you also don't mind getting muddy and many competitors do in fact bring a change of clothing with them on the wobble, having said that competitors in the past have sometimes turned up in costume, although this is not advised, this is after all a 15 / 25 / 35 mile cycle across mountains. Helmets are of course compulsory.

To find out more and to register online visit http://www.green-events.co.uk/eventinfo.php?eventdetails=97

If you do go along, we would love to hear of your experience, so email us at sfdoteam@superfundaysout.com to submit your article and to win 2 tickets to the U.K's longest zip wire.

Cheap Stag Weekend Ideas: Why you don't have to break the bank

You cannot open a newspaper nowadays without noticing further portents of doom and gloom: prices rising, world governments in crisis, and a downturn which shows no sign of ending. We are all having to cut back on luxuries and watch what we spend, but that does not mean you cannot have a great stag weekend, a last night of freedom to remember. This post will suggest a few ways to bring the costs down, but still ensure you give your mate the best send off possible, before the big day. Here are our five top tips.

1. Drop the two nighter down to one – It is pretty traditional that a weekend away involves you arriving on Friday night and departing sometime on Sunday, but for a stag weekend it is not always necessary. Travel to your destination on Saturday morning, do the activities in the afternoon, and still have plenty of time for boozing, clubbing and partying on the Saturday night. This not only reduces the accommodation cost, but also the cost of 2 nights out when really quite often 1 will suffice. After all, when you have an action packed day full of activities planned on the Saturday, the last thing you want to be is hungover.

2. Think outside the box when it comes to activities – Of the traditional stag weekend activities of quad biking, clay pigeon shooting, karting and paintballing, it is only the latter that really works for a stag on a budget. Activities account for most of your money spent, so why not consider some different activities to make the money go further, and the day last longer. Prices obviously vary from place to place, but why not consider activities such as raft building, blindfold 4×4 driving or canoeing. All are great activities to share in, and you certainly get your moneys worth.

3. Leave the city behind and head for the hills – This option is certainly not for everyone, but why not consider having your stag weekend out in the country. Locations such as the lake district, the welsh borders and devon, offer great alternative destinations. Here you can stay keep the accommodation and activity cost down, and still have a great weekend. Sure, they may not be able to offer a host of strip clubs, casinoes and nighclubs, but you guarantee they have a great local, where you can spend the night with your mates, and isn’t good company ultimately what it is all about? See below for some of the amazing deals you can get if you consider a weekend out in the country.

4. Get as many as your mates along as you can – Again, this is not something every stag will want to do, but from a purely cost basis, the more you have, the cheaper things are likely to get. Hotels and activity providers alike are more likely to offer a discount if there are a lot of you, and in some cases will give you exclusive use of their facilities. It is no surprise the more money you bring them, the more they want to keep you happy, so bring a load of your mates, and you are sure to reap the benefits.

5. Get us to help you – Super Fun offers a completely bespoke stag weekend service. What this means is: you tell us exactly what you want, and we do the rest. We have years of experience in dealing with providers and hotels across the U.K, and will find you the best deal for your budget.  We also handle all the preparations so all you need to do is turn up on the day. We can also advise on all the above, to find the right solution for you and your group.

5a. Book an existing package with Super Fun Stag Weekends

Below are just some of the stag weekend packages we can offer for under £100 per person. For more information, click the links.

Alistairs Peterborough Stag Weekend – Raft building, climbing and a nights accommodation in Peterborough for £95 per person

Ben’s Outdoor Stag Weekend – Half a day Paintballing (200 paints), Half a day Canoeing and a nights accommodation in Shropshire. Just £70 per person

Charlies Target Shooting Package – Rifle Shooting, Archery and Clay Pigeon Shooting, and a night in the lake district. £80 per person

Daniel’s Torquay Stag Weekend – Pick 2 from: Coasteering, Abseiling, Caving, Rock Climbing, Canoeing, Gorge Walking and more. With 1 nights bed and breakfast accommodation in centre of Torquay, this comes in at £80 per person

Kyle’s Wet Birmingham Weekend - Windsurfing and Kayaking, as well as a night in the centre or Birmingham for £85 per person

So there you go, our guide to a cheap but memorable stag weekend.

Top 5 Craziest things to do whilst skydiving

At Super Fun Limited we regularly check our sources of search traffic. In the last few weeks we have noticed a massive marked increase in the number of people looking for "Hope Howell Skydiving" . As a source for places to skydive in the U.K, we are naturally showing up in the search results.

For those of you who do not know, Hope Howell was made infamous by this stunt (Please note clicking this link will take you to an external site), which also lost her and her fellow skydiver, their jobs. Now while we do not condone this unusual method of joining the mile high club, it got us thinking and we set out to find videos of the crazy things people do whilst skydiving. Here is a run-down of our top 5, complete with videos. Some, really do have to be seen, to be believed.

5. Skydiving with An Inflatable Shark

Okay, this is just a bit of harmless fun, but who thought up the idea in the first place? Certainly a lot less dangerous than skydiving with a real shark, why not consider bringing a huge inflatable on your next skydive!

Video from Joust75:

4. Skydiving in a 100 person formation

This is just awesome. This video which shows 100 skydivers in a canopy formation broke the world record back in 2007. For anyone who has been skydiving, you can understand how difficult and dangerous this was to pull off.

Video from Zmusico

3. Skydiving in a kayak

Kayaking and Skydiving, not two sports you would usually associate together. But apparently Kayaking and Skydiving (sometimes referred to as skyaking) is more popular than you might think. This video, which shows the skyaking  champion Miles Daisher  performing tricks blew us away and shows the potential for more extreme videos in the future. Certainly less dangerous than our number 1!

Video from MilesD101

2. Skydiving and Ironing

Our first (and last) U.K entry here from the crazy sport of extreme ironing. Requiring two mad participants this video shows a guy trying to get creases out of his shirt at 30,000 feet. We understand it is a long way down, and there is not a lot to do up there, but this video is only just pipped at the post, as one of the craziest things to do whilst skydiving. We do have to give these guys a lot of credit though for a very inventive approach to one of the most boring of chores.

Video from infiniteskydiving

1. Skydiving in a Car (Yes, a Car!)

What can be said about this last video, which is without question our number 1 craziest thing to do whilst skydiving, and definitely something you should not try at home. The participants seem relaxed enough as they plummet towards the ground. You almost have to doubt the validity of such a stunt, but here it is for your viewing pleasure. As we said at the beginning, it has to be seen, to be believed, and even then you have to ask yourself,  "Did they really do that?"

Video from Rufasalooney

 So there we have it our top 5 crazy things you can do whilst skydiving. If you think you have found something crazier or would like to share your views on any of our top 5 please feel free to leave us a comment below.