We all know about the most popular sports in Europe. Even if you don’t like sports, I bet you could roll off football, rugby, and tennis straight away. However, there are some sports that aren’t so well known but are just as interesting to watch! Gran Canaria is a popular tourist destination located in the Canary Islands and there are sports that are played there that are slightly different from the norm! If you want to take a trip away to a location with amazing weather and some interesting sports, why not click on this travel site and book a holiday to the island of Gran Canaria.
Lucha Canaria (Canarian Wrestling)
This sport has been around in the Canary Islands for generations. The wrestling has certain rituals and traditions that have been respected and repeated throughout the years that this sport has been played. The aim of the sport is to get your opponent to touch the floor with any part of his body, apart from his feet. Wrestlers usually have a muscly stature with good balance and poise. Competitions are held regularly so if you’d like to watch a tournament, make sure you ask the hotel reception where the best place to go is.
Vela Latina (Lateen Sailing)
This sailing event is particularly known for all of the boats having triangular sails and having a huge mast in proportion to the hull of the boat. This makes the boat slightly more unbalanced than a normal sail boat which means its crews have to be even more skilled to sail them. If sailing interests you and you want to watch a regatta whilst you’re on the island of Gran Canaria, the sailing events are usually held on a weekend in the city of Las Palmas.
Juego del Palo (Stick Fighting)
Fighters are given a stick to fight their opponent with and the aim is to simulate a hit on their opponent’s body without actually touching them. The whole fight is entirely simulated but this is often the attraction of this sport. Juego del Palo takes much more skill to aim to miss, whilst making it look like a hit than it does to actually hit your opponent. The sticks vary in size and are often twirled and used very quickly so if you go to watch this sport, be prepared to see some lightning-fast reactions.
Some of these sports may not be the type of sport that you want to participate in directly, however, they would all be great to watch and experience live. Make sure that you check out at least one of these sports listed and make sure you take your camera!