It's not every day that Strange Games hears from a World Champion - but recently we have been e-mailed by Mark Rye(28) who is not only a world champion at Dry Sponge Throwing he is also the world record holder at the event!The World Dry Foam Flinging Championships are held annually as part of the Bromsgrove Folk Festival (an event of folk music, folk dancing and 
folk throwing of bathroom sponges). Mark is on a quest to compete in as many World Championships as his bank balance, sanity and girlfriend allow. I will let him describe the ancient West Midlands tradition of sponge throwing in his own pictures and words:"I have attached a picture of me after the 2006 championships. The bit of foam sticking out of the cup is the foam thrown in the competition. As you can see the foam is not very big so technique is very important. Also going into the competition in the right frame of mind is crucial. Luckily me and my mates had been to the Snail Racing World Championship the day before, thus we where already in a world championships mind set.
As for throwing, the secret is not to throw angry. The harder you throw the foam the less distance it will go. I favoured a gentle over arm lob. As for the competition you get three throws of the sponge. Entry is the princely sum of 20p and you can enter as many times as you want. The first year I won was 2006, when I also set the world record. This stands at 30ft 21/2 beating the previous record of 27ft. At the 2006 event there were two former champions, one of which did the Hakka before throwing. In 2007 I managed to win without a throw taking place. Over the weekend of the competition it was raining so heavily I was half tempted to start building an ark. When I turned up to throw, Bob,the organiser, informed me that it was too wet to throw dry foam. But as I had turned up I had done enough to win the championship. This year I am looking for the hat-trick of titles"
Strange Games wrote recently about the Krispy Kreme Challenge - a 
healthy/unhealthy running and doughnut eating event in North Carolina. The Facebook group Pub Bounce 2008 are organising the UK response...a pub crawl on space hoppers. All you need to take part is your own hopper, money for beer and the address of the nearest accident and emergency department. The event, hopefully the first of many, will occur in Newport Pagnell on June 7th and will follow the usual pub crawl rules- a pint in each bar then a bounce en masse to the next. Start times and bounce routes are yet to be announced but you can keep yourself informed by joining the Facebook group here
Anyone for Pot Pogostick 2009 in Amsterdam: a toke of a joint in each coffee shop then pogo stick to the next?
Pin Pin is a childish, pointlessly violent game of pain that has recently come to light most famously on Russell Brand's Radio 2 show. On the show 
Russell's friend/co-presenter, Matt Morgan, has recounted the tale of when he was 10, walking home from scouts and his friend Darren French came up behind him, shouted the immortal phrase, "pin pin" and jabbed him hard in the upper arm with a naked pin. And so the game has been rejuvenated and taken off across the nation's playgrounds with cries of 'pin pin' being heard... swiftly followed by ones of 'Ow, you bastard, I'll get you for that'. There are no rules except the shout of 'Pin Pin' must be made when an attack takes place.
I can recall a similar 'sport' being played in my childhood, albeit without the 'pin pin' chant, but with a standard Blue Peter badge (one of the few pinned badges you were allowed to wear to school) being used. Assailants would come upon you unannounced, jab you hard with the pointy end and run off to avoid capture. No doubt they never achieved their Silver Blue Peter Badge.
Join the Facebook Pin Pin Group here
Writing about Pin Pin reminds me of another painful childhood punishment type game from the 70's which could easily take off again:-Timothy Torture
Timothy Torture is a bit like a green, rural equivalent of the urban Pin Pin. So called because it uses as its weapon of choice a stalk of Timothy Grass. The common meadow grass (Phleum pratense) grows almost everywhere in Europe and Timothy is its common name. To assail, simply pull out a mature stalk and slide your thumb and 
forefinger from the base of the seed head to the tip - pulling all the seeds off as you go. The section of stalk exposed doesn't seem much to look at but if you pass by someone with long hair (the game is almost useless against skinheads) thrust the stalk tip into their pride and joy, twizzle, then pull hard. The naked Timothy stalk is like velcro for hair with strands instantly attaching themselves to it and if done correctly this procedure is very painful indeed with the assailant uprooting lots of hair or at the very least causing much pain and anguish. Obviously Timothy Torture is seasonal in nature, due to the flowering time of Phleum pratense but if you can get hold of this abundant perennial grass much fun (and pain) can be had.
folk throwing of bathroom sponges). Mark is on a quest to compete in as many World Championships as his bank balance, sanity and girlfriend allow. I will let him describe the ancient West Midlands tradition of sponge throwing in his own pictures and words:
