check out "pig ball".... seriously funny.
there was a fantastic article and picture in todays guardian but i cannot locate it online, still there are numerous articles which sum up events just as well.
no swine jokes please....
;-)
"Russian piglets are being trained for competition by personal coaches as a new craze of pig racing spreads across the country.
The training at the Sport Pig Centre in the Moscow region includes honing the piglet's skills in running, swimming, and 'pig-ball competitions'.
It comes ahead of a competition mid-April as part of the international animal show ZooRussia.
Alexei Sharshkov, vice-president of the Federation of Sport Pig Breeders, said: "The piglets were born just a month ago.
"They are going through general training and only after that will they take up different specialist sports. The piglets are being looked after by coaches and zoo psychologists."
Russian demand for pig-racing has led to special pig racing tracks being set up with one located at Moscow's Crocus-Expo pavilion and many others opening up as well.
And the craze has not been limited just to Russia. Thousands of people came to watch pigs compete at various disciplines at last year's Pig Olympics in Shanghai, China."
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Hundreds of Russians gathered for the first day of the annual "pig Olympics" on Saturday, cheering a field of 12 piglets who competed in three events: pig-racing, pig-swimming and "pigball". Each pig was carried into the arena, squealing angrily and dressed in its own numbered bib, while Muscovites laid bets on challengers such as Mykola from Ukraine, Nelson -- representing South Africa -- and the home favourite, Kostik Russisch Schwein. In pigball, contestants chase a sweet-tasting soccer ball around an enclosed arena with their snouts, scoring when the ball goes into a goal. The pig-admirers included ultra-nationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who put 100 roubles (2.05 pounds) on Borka to win the running race, in honour of one of his political rivals. "IÕve always loved pigs, all my life. I had four or five when I was a kid," he told Reuters.
Alexei Sharshkov, vice-president of the Sport-Pig Federation, which claims 100 members, said the competitors had a happy future ahead of them, win or lose. "They go on to produce a new generation of sport pigs. They donÕt get eaten," he promised. "How could you eat a competitor who is known around the world?"
oink!!
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