You must have seen a pair of exercise shoes or trainers hanging from a telephone wire or exposed powerlines at least once in a while and wondered how did that get up there? There might be several reasons why a pair of shoes is hanging in a hard-to-reach place, and yes it may have been a result of bullying or vandalism or maybe a prank but shoe tossing is a competitive sport!
What Is Boot Throwing?
Boot throwing or shoe tossing is a game with friendly competition, although the game may have different names based on different areas the purpose of the game remains the same. The players participate in a friendly challenge in throwing footwear up and getting them either to a certain spot or near each other. The rules might vary, but the base remains the same.
How to play?
If you are wondering how to play shoe tossing, there are several ways to play shoe tossing. Following are the different types of shoe tossing:
Wellie Wanging
This game is played in Europe, Britain, and New Zealand and is an English game where players stand at a starting point and are to throw wellington boots in a certain way, the player whose wellington boots farthest is the winner.
The Bushies Boot Throw
This is a popular sport for a village in New South Whales, Tilba. In this game, the players will use both hands to thrust a pair of boots as far and high as physically possible, but the shoes have to be thrown backward.
Standard Boot Throwing
The most popular type of shoe tossing is the standard way. There is a list of international rules that dictate acceptable and unacceptable throws, the shape of shoes, the size of shoes required for playing, and even rules regarding disqualification and fouls. Many countries play shoe tossing under this set of rules and have teams that attempt to break records for the farthest shoe throws etc.
Things to keep in mind
It must be kept in mind that shoe tossing is a friendly competition and is a fun way to kill time. It is played in gardens or large fields with wires. Although the game is not very dangerous, it must be made sure that this game is not played in a public place where people or their possessions may get hurt. If you are playing it with your friends for fun, make sure to get your shoes cleaned by the best sneaker cleaners. You can use any shoes including shoes for outdoor basketball, top basketball shoes or shoes for under pronators, and best insoles for work boots.
