The Bellyflopping World Championships Are a Testament to the Human Spirit

"No pain, no gain" has never been more accurate

August 15, 2016 9:00 am

If you’ve got a belly and know how to flop it, we may have just found your new favorite sport.

Known to Norwegians as Dødsing (which loosely translates to “death diving” in English), the sport requires participants to jump from a 32.8-foot platform and then attempt to remain flat.

In the moment just before impact, competitors are supposed to tuck into a curl to avoid serious injury. Scores are then awarded based on style and how long contestants wait before tucking in.

“It’s about being crazy and liking to challenge yourself while also having the ability to see exactly when you need to collapse in the air,” diver Arne Veim Haugland told Norwegian American. “One doesn’t need to be super athletic to be good. You have to have guts and jump with style.”

The Dødsing World Championships — which were held for the first time after a group of friends drunkenly broke into a pool facility at night  — just took place at in Oslo and, while we’ve no idea who won (we flunked Norwegian in high school), it looks like tons of fun. Painful fun.  

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