A new infographic has compiled some of the world’s weirdest sporting rules, scouring the rulebooks for ridiculous and long-forgotten statutes that still technically apply.
Some of the them make a little bit of sense – such as in race walking you have to have at least one foot in contact with the ground at all times otherwise it counts as running. Or that beach volleyball teams must wear different colour uniforms (not that they wear much at all).
However, other rules seem to be so niche that you wonder how they ever became an official part of the game. Just imagine losing a game of chess because the referee decides you are showing too much cleavage. We know chess is an ancient game but does it have to include rules that seem to have come straight out of the 1970s?
Other strange laws concern:
- Keeping your hat on in tennis
- Not cutting your horse’s legs in show jumping
- Balls getting lodged in umpires masks in baseball
Nevertheless, rules are there to be followed and for better or worse we all have to stick to them if we want to play the game. If we decide which of the game’s rules we follow and which we don’t then what happens?
Infographic by: sbo.net