In North America, Mid-July is considered the worst month for sports fans. The NBA finals are done, and there’s no NFL or NHL.
So it’s the perfect time of year to talk about alternative sports.
It seems like Pickleball is sucking up all the oxygen in the room. But there’s lots of other cool stuff out there gaining traction which you may not have heard of.
In this issue, we’ll explore some of these alternatives. How many people play? What is the largest governing body? What does viewership look like? And how much money is sloshing around?
Let’s go 👇
Table of Contents
What are alternative sports?
What makes a sport “alternative” is hard to pin down.
They often have roots in mainstream sports, but with a bastardization twist:
- Pickleball uses a smaller court than tennis, but a larger one than table tennis
- Disc Golf is basically golf using a frisbee
- Underwater Hockey is like hockey, but played at the bottom of a swimming pool
- Dodgeball is self-explanatory (and was also a pretty funny film)
- BASEketball is a fake sport (and less funny film) combining basketball and baseball
- etc.
Alternative sports receive minimal media coverage. They feel unserious, but have small groups of hardcore, dedicated fans.
ESPN regularly broadcasts axe throwing, dodgeball and bratwurst eating on ESPN 8: THE OCHO (which is just a temporarily rebranded ESPN 2, inspired by a joke from Dodgeball.)
Lately, some alternative sports have gained a lot more buzz than others.
Pickleball
According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Organization (SFIA), Pickleball is the fastest-growing alternative sport in America.
- Founded: 1965 in Washington, USA
- Growth: 85.7% YoY (2022, US)
- Popularity: 70,000 official and 8.9 million unofficial players (2022, US) across 63 member countries
- Highest governing body: International Federation of Pickleball
- Highest championship: World Pickleball Championship
At first glance, Pickleball looks a lot like tennis. In reality, it’s a combination of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong.
You have four players on a badminton court, hitting a hollow ball over a tennis net, using table tennis-like paddles.
For whatever reason, Pickleball has curried favor with celebrities. Tom Brady, Kevin Durant, Eva Longoria, and Michael Phelps have all rushed in to buy clubs in Major League Pickleball
If it seems like Pickleball came out of nowhere, you’re half right. The International Pickleball Federation (IPF) was officially established in 2020. But Pickleball has actually been around for over 50 years.
It was invented in 1965 by Joel Pritchard, a Washington Senator (congressman, not NHL player) who created it as a less-intensive alternative to racket sports.
By 1976, the first official Pickleball tournament had arrived. David Lester reigned supreme, with Hall-of-Famer Steve Paranto coming in second.
Things became serious in 1984, when the US Amateur Pickleball Association (USAPA) was established to grow the sport nationally. This led to the first official rulebook that would dictate tournaments for decades.
Today, Pickleball has official membership of over 70,000 in the US (up 30% YoY) Unofficial estimates suggest nearly 9 million people in the US play Pickleball at least casually (once per year).
Top athletes now bring home $200k per tour, with a $5.5 million prize pool distributed among participants throughout the season.
The World Pickleball Championship is taking center stage in Bali from Sep 19-23. Here’s some footage from a previous tourney.
(Note: The comments are far more entertaining than the footage)
Pickleball is certainly experiencing messy, rapid growth. In last week’s WC newsletter, Wyatt pointed out the MLP recently hired a new CEO and COO, and it’s beginning to feel like inside baseball (err, Pickleball)
I won’t go as far as to say it’s a “scam,” but I don’t understand why Pickleball has the media attention it has. It’s just not that fun to watch!
Last August’s much-hyped broadcast of the PPA Skechers Invitational Summer Championship was estimated at just 621,000 viewers — on par with sports like Cornhole.
Ultimately for the economics to match the hype, Pickleball needs more, well, eyeballs. And that could be problematic, because (and this is just my opinion) but it seems like a sport that’s fun to play, but not much fun to watch.
I think Wyatt said it best:
Ultimately, Pickleball feels a lot like bowling. It’s fun for the whole family, anyone can do it, and it goes well with a beer. But no one wants to watch you do it!
Further reading:
- Sports entertainment company Dude Perfect recently invested in a MLP team at a valuation of $5 million.
- Here are the top six Pickleball players of all time. (You’ll forget all these names immediately.)
- Pickle-ball, Inc was founded in 1972 to act as the original governing body and foster the sport’s development. They’re now the largest Pickleball equipment supplier.
Teqball
Okay. Now this sport is a lot more fun to watch.
Teqball is a much newer sport. It was invented in Hungary in 2012, by Gábor Borsányi, a former professional football player, and his friend Viktor Huszár.
It’s a combination of soccer, table tennis and kick volleyball. Teams play each other over a unique, curved ping-pong table. Like soccer, you can touch the ball with any part of your body except your hands.
- Founded: 2012 in Hungary
- Growth: No official data. Claims to be the fastest-growing sport in the world.
- Popularity: 1,000 official and 500k unofficial players in the U. 150 countries have a Teqball association
- Highest governing body: The International Teqball Federation (FITEQ)
- Highest championship: Teqball World Championships
It claims to be the fastest-growing sport in the world, but the founders have a vested interest in claiming this, and getting hard numbers on its growth is difficult.
That said it’s a really interesting concept, and definitely fun to watch:
Teqball’s fast-paced nature, familiarity with other sports, and unique table helped Teqball take off quickly. It took only three years for the Olympic Council of Asia to certify it as an “official sport.”
It was recently added to the Asian Beach Games and the 2023 European Games. The sport is now shooting for Olympic inclusion.
By 2019, 57 countries were already participating in the Teqball World Championships, organized by FITEQ, the governing body.
Last year’s World Championships had a prize pool of $250,000, with the lion’s share taken out by singles winner, Romanian Apor Gyorgydeak.
Top Teqball athletes earn around $50-75k (in total, not per year). So it’s still a little ways away from becoming a full-time profession.
But remember, this sport is just 11 years old, and very eye-catching.
I think this one could get some eyeballs. It certainly grabbed mine. Once broadcasters catch on, watch out.
Teqball seems made for TV.
Further reading:
- Teqball is making a serious push for the 2028 L.A. Olympics
- The US Teqball Federation was formed in July 2020 in Los Angeles
- Like volleyball, playing on the beach adds a whole new dimension
Quidditch (aka Quadball)
Quidditch is heavily inspired by J.K. Rowling’s fictional competition from Harry Potter.
I say “heavily inspired” because, sadly no, the players don’t fly around on broomsticks.
- Founded: 2005 in Vermont
- Popularity: 3,700 registered players (US). Played in 19 countries
- Highest governing body: International Quidditch Association (IQA)
- Highest championship: IQA World Cup (which is happening this weekend)
It was adapted for real-life, and players use poles that are (comically) tucked between their legs.
Harry Potter fans will already know the basics. But the sport has moved away from Potter roots (except for the broomsticks part). It’s now a unique combination of handball, rugby, water polo, dodgeball, and tag.
- Teams of seven score by throwing a deflated volleyball (known as a Quaffle) through one of three opposition hoops
- The volleyball is passed around by Chasers. These are the scorers and can only enter certain zones.
- Each team has two Beaters. Their purpose is to fling dodgeballs at the other team to disrupt their play.
- A Keeper defends the three hoops.
But the most unique part of the game is the “snitch chase.” 17 minutes into the match, a neutral Snitch Runner enters the game with a snitch (tennis ball) hanging off the back of their shorts. Each team has one Seeker, and the Snitch Runner tries to evade capture from them.
The first to grab the snitch from the snitch runner scores 30 points, and the game ends.
The sport was invented in 2005 and is governed by the International Quidditch Association (founded in 2009). There are 19 countries on the board, including Australia, the United States, the UK and Germany.
Quidditch takes the spirit of the Harry Potter books, turning it into a sport that’s fast-paced and intense to watch. Despite Harry Potter‘s enormous success, however, the sport hasn’t grown as fast as leagues have wanted.
The sport is now officially recognized as Quadball, which leagues and organizers are hoping sounds less ridiculous than Quidditch.
In my opinion, it’s not the name holding this sport back; it’s the broomsticks.
Lose the broomsticks, guys. Seriously.
Further reading:
- The 2023 IQA World Cup is happening right now as we speak.
- Quadball was created at Vermont’s Middlebury College, which looks (vaguely) like Hogwarts
Other alternative sports
Kabaddi
- Founded: Ancient game from India. Popularized in the 1920s
- Popularity: 50m people across 65 countries
This combat sport is basically a real-life raid. It’s governed by the International Kabaddi Federation and actually appeared in the 1936 Olympics.
An intense sport with huge popularity in India.
WiffleBall
- Founded: 1953 in Fairfield, Connecticut
- Popularity: Casual players in the low millions. Multiple professional leagues.
This ain’t your backyard game. Professional “Fast-pitch” WiffleBall is fierce. Top-tier Wiffleball players pitch at an average speed of 70 mph. (With the mound just 49 feet away, this feels like 100 mph to a batter.)
The World WiffleBall Championship is a well-known annual tournament held in Michigan. This is the largest and most prestigious Wiffle ball tournament globally, attracting teams from around the world.
But it’s not the only game in town. 40 teams will compete at PeoplesBank Park for this year’s United WiffleBall championship.
The most famous WiffleBall field is Little Fenway Park in Vermont. They even have a mini CITGO sign:
Chessboxing
- Founded: 2003 in Berlin
- Popularity: 20 countries have leagues. The most recent championships had a viewership of 300,000+.
This is exactly what it sounds like: A hybrid of chess and boxing.
The game has 11 rounds, and participants alternate between an ongoing game of chess, and boxing each other. The governing body is the World Chessboxing Association.
Air Hockey
- Founded: 1970s in the United States. Gained traction in Texas.
- Popularity: Extremely popular in arcades and nowhere else
Everyone loves air hockey, the sport invented by a billiards company looking to expand their product line. The World Air Hockey Championships have attracting players around the world since 1978.
The funny thing about this sport is that watching the pros play is…similar to watching your friends play.
Bathtub Racing (aka “Bathtubbing”)
- Founded: 1967, in British Columbia, Canada
- Popularity: A few thousand bathtubbers register each year
Ever thought about going for a race in a bathtub? It’s an actual sport organized by the Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Society.
Think of it like sailing in motor-powered tubs. The annual race is happening next week in British Columbia. Grab tickets here.
Slap Fighting
- Founded: 2017 in Russia
- Popularity: Topped out at 250k viewers. Losing popularity.
Barbaric, dumb, and controversial Slap Fighting involves two people taking turns to deliver powerful open-handed slaps to their opponent’s face. Players are scored based on the amount of damage they inflict and how well they absorb slaps.
UFC President Dana White’s Power Slap League became the first regulated American slap fighting league when the Nevada State Athletics Commission agreed to oversee the organization last October.
In February 2023, Congressman Bill Pascrell announced that he was launching a Congressional inquiry into the ethicality of Power Slap.
Beer Can Regatta
- Founded: 1974 in Darwin, Australia
- Popularity: A few hundred participants each year. 20,000 watch the annual event.
Australia, ever the beer-loving nation, has one of the most unique events ever. Participants build boats out of recycled bear cans and race around Darwin.
In 2021, the race was too tight, and had to be decided by a tug-of-war. The US Marines clinched the win.
Further reading
- There are a bunch of cool alternative sports (and quasi-sports) we didn’t have room to highlight, including World Kickball Championships (very popular), Cliff Diving, Stone Skimming, AUDL (Ultimate Frisbee), eSkootr (Electric Scooter Racing), FlingGolf, World Chase Tag (competitive tag), EFC (Extreme Fighting Championship), Drone Racing, Professional Parkour, and Calcio Storico (one of the most dangerous sports out there. Absolute chaos.)
- In researching this issue, I discovered something called the Finnish Hobby Horse. You know those wooden sticks with horse heads at the end? The one kids pretend to ride? Well imagine watching that, but “professionally.” One of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen.
- Speaking of hobbies, go down this rabbit hole of people arguing whether or not chess is a sport. (IMO, the brain is like a muscle you flex. Chess is a sport.)
- There are a lot more underwater sports than I would have guessed. The Underwater Society is governing body for underwater sports in America.
- My least favorite sport to watch might be Netball — the most unpopular “popular” sport. If you’ve never seen it, just picture basketball without jumping, dunking, or dribbling. (Yep, that’s right. No dribbling allowed.) It’s astounding this sport is allowed to continue when basketball exists.
Disclosures
- This issue was sponsored by our friends at Diamond Standard and Hoken.
- We have invested in Diamond Standard through our ALTS 1 Fund.
- We have not invested in any professional Pickleball teams, and probably wouldn’t invest at any valuation.
- I have no personal investments in any companies or entities mentioned in this issue.
- This issue contains no affiliate links.
