As the world prepares for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Korea, some competitors flex their skills in other fields. Not everyone is a superstar of winter athletics like downhill skiing, speedskating, or ice hockey. Very few of us are top contestants at math, spelling, trivia, hacking, or other games of the mind. Most people never will be featured on any globally-televised singing, talent, or beauty shows either.
Yet we all have our own skill sets. To be great at anything is a reward in itself.
By broadening the criteria, we get all sorts of weird championships. Did you know there is an Air Sex World Championship where people compete to simulate the best fake sexual experience? There was a World Sauna Championship in Scandinavia, but they cancelled it after people started dying of heart attacks. Toe wrestling, bog snorkeling, stone skipping, mobile phone throwing, and various championship eating competitions are some other fun ones. For this post, I’ll focus on occupational competitions.
Yes, it really is a thing, but we're not going there this time. Creative Commons via Flickr by Jeannette.
Many people around the world make their livings in job fields that can be considered vocational. For some, like a young lady waitressing to pay her way through college, the jobs may be stepping stones to other careers. For others, like an auto detailer who opens up his own business, they are lifelong occupations.
Some strive to be ‘the best that they can be’ in their occupations.
Valet Olympics
The top valets must be great at packing a trunk with luggage, driving through crowded lots, and fitting a car in a tight spot. Here is some footage of a regional training for the valet championships.
World Bartender Championships
We all know a great bartender. The best ones can pour an amazing drink and their unique add a flash of style. Many bartenders double as psychiatrists, though those skills are not as flashy as the tricks these ones play. Here are some highlights from the 2017 TGIF World Bartender Championships.
Hairdressing Championships
Yes, I’ll show them to you in a minute, but first you must see this! It’s a video of the 1968 World Hairdressing Championships, which is only one minute long. The next video show the OMC Hair World Championship from a recent year in Frankfurt. Notice the changes: from black & white to color and from live human subjects to dummies. If they can put a Steemit logo in there, count me in.
Sheep Shearing
Wool is a big industry worldwide and the stuff doesn’t grow on trees. It grows on sheep and they need haircuts, too. Sheep shearing is a valuable skill in many rural areas. I have seen these live several times. Here is footage from the Rural Games in New Zealand during the shearing competition.
Best Bagger
Let’s not forget the all-important skill of packing groceries into a bag. It’s like playing Tetris, except that baggers must also consider what items are fragile, hot, cold, and heavy, packing accordingly. This has become even more challenging in the era of reusable bags, which often come in different sizes. Here is a video of the final round at the Best Bagger competition that is sponsored by the National Grocers Association in the U.S. each year.
I’m a Lumberjack and I’m Okay
You get extra credit for identifying the above reference, but I’ll spoil it by including a video of the Monty Python song as well (2nd video link below). If you’ve never seen a lumberjack show, you’re missing one of life’s great pleasures. But you can make it up by watching this entertaining video of the 2016 Lumberjack World Championship in Hayward, Wisconsin. Axes, chainsaws, log-rolling, scaling a pole, and more: it’s all in here. Yes, there are lumberjills in this one also!
Training for Great Careers
Organizations WorldSkills promote training and partnerships for young people in technical and vocational careers. Here’s a brief overview of the 2015 WorldSkills competition in Brazil. It’s like a vocational Olympics.
With so many jobs disappearing in today’s economy, here’s hoping that the governments, school systems, and training programs look to the future to prepare people for great careers.
Let’s quit on a high note. I wasn’t going to include talent shows, but this guy from Malawi is a good comedian and did quite well on this top British show. Considering he gave up a career in computer programming to tell jokes, comedy can be a serious occupation also!
Encore!
Just one more and I promise it's the last video. How about a final dose of magic? After all, there must be a small handful of jobs in the world for professional magicians. It's not at the top of most lists, but I'm fairly sure there are more jobs for musicians than for astronomers and poets.
Sources:
Parking for Gold: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/01/parking-for-gold/549407/
World Sauna Championships: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Sauna_Championships
Best Bagger: http://www.nationalgrocers.org/special-programs/best-bagger
Olympics of Skills, Abu Dhabi: http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/singapore-bags-two-golds-at-olympics-of-skills
Floral Design Championships: http://www.flowerweb.com/en/topic/Floral-design-Championships
Weirdest World Championships: http://www.neatorama.com/2012/10/03/10-of-Weirdest-World-Championships-Around/
Top image: Public domain from Pixabay.
This sounds really fun ..
The fact that the secret of success at this time open in various fields is your devotion to your work and your love for it.
Watch these talents. Make one excited to his work.
Really enjoyed Thanks ..
People are amazing. I love watching those compilations of how skilled the human body really is. I was not blessed with above average ability, you must dedicate yourself to finding it. Nice post!
Yeah, it was really cool. As I was reading, I was like, "But what about lumberjacks?". Then, there they were. Yodeling too. It's awesome. I'm surprised eating competitions didn't end up on here or polar bearing. I guess the point though is not to name as many as you can, but to point out the absurdity humans will go to for attention.
My wish is world peace
Talent you have naturally. Skill is only developed by hours and hours and hourse of beating on your craft. These are champion of their field.
True. Some people have more natural talent than others, but in other cases I think it can be nurtured and developed. You are correct that most training is for skills, though.
Well said. Actucally everyone has something special talent. Just have to do hard work and need to try to do something creative. @donkeypong @kartiksingh
Yes @donkeypong, thank God for a community like this where i m given the opportunity to show my talent... this is where i want to nurture my talent, my blog is a music blog where i do cover songs, i ll be most grateful if you visit my blog, you won't be disappointed... and i m open to corrections. Thanks for sharing @donkeypong
everyone has their own strengths and talents, it's just that we have to develop ourselves.
Well said. Actucally everyone has something special talent. Just have to do hard work and need to try to do something creative. @donkeypong @kartiksingh
yes steady bro
I agree, the talent that these people have is very good and it shows that they have perfected it with hours and hours of practice, a true inspiration.
but talent or not the skill wont grow if ur not working hard especially as an artist/painter ppl keep saying " aw u have it easy ur so talented" its not like the "skill" fell from sky hit my head and i knew what im doing there for nothing xD would be awesome tho
There are two type of people.
1 GOD gifted talented
2 Get talented by their hard work.
if we weak in doing something but we like to do that thing,then we should try it again and again until we get success in mastering that thing or skill.
that's the way life goes.Thanks for sharking beautiful examples of talented people. :)
Following you for more beautiful posts like this ..
Thanks :) @donkeypong
true champions.
Nice narration!
In my opinion, one of the best skills is honesty skills. Honest and trustworthy people will be winners, though not in the real world. This skill does not need a champion!
On the one hand, having worked in supermarkets and retail stores, the competitive bagging engendered some not so positive feelings. But, at the same time, the people taking part were clearly skilled within the confines of the task they specialized in and taking the whole thing quite seriously. There's almost a zen quality in committing to do such a banal task extremely well.
At the end of the day, everyone wants to be treated with dignity and respect in whatever they're doing, and those people seem to be receiving that, even if the context is not intuitive to me. So far be it from me to speak ill of the competition.
Well said. If it makes people feel good about themselves and their place in the world (as long as it doesn't hurt anyone or limit their potential somehow), then it's probably a good thing.
Hi Tom..we can't access steemitchat to tell u guys that we have slowed down with our uv till the bayanihan vp have recovered. Cheers.
Chat has been nearly unusable these last couple of days. Thanks for letting me know, but I always trust you to handle the curation; regenerating voting power is important also.
Thank you..we're on fb chat shhh.
Its interesting to get to see the different types of talents and skills. Our talents are all unique and special.
Very correct. These skills are either worked on or inbuilt. But what i ask myself is the idea of education has really seen reasons developing these vocational skill and reward given. But i feel there are several other hidden skill that has to be looked into and if developed ans brought to lime light it can lead to economic development. But in general i adnire the fact few least skill is getting recognisation.
Each society needs some means of identifying and nurturing talent, but not in a way that limits people from growing in other ways if they want to do so.
That's true...talents gots no boundaries just as choosing a life one wish to live but i feel lack if recognisation silence these persons and instead the society too makes it feel no certification no life
I am sure, they are spent hours on training to get that skill. In Aceh, Indonesia, the baristas practice mixing the right mix of coffee, sugar and milk to produce a sanger cup. Sanger is a kind of capucino made in Aceh with a distinctive aroma of coffee.
very precisely comrades, so in aceh mushrooming coffee shop is not enough two door five doors there is a coffee shop
I love it. You're right tho, there is a specialized chamionship in absolutely everything!
Forklift championships, big rig stunt championships, aircraft stunt championships....
Championships that are downright dangerous. Some that are silly. I once had this convo with a friend on the driveway one night, that with our society's advancements in medicine, science and agriculture, so many people are able to devote themselves to those niche fields where in the past, nearly everyone just wanted a job in the factory to just get food on the table.
With that, I always end the convo with saying, "We live in a special time"
I just hope our leaders (they are all insane) don't blow us all to hell.
This is something new for me,
To me Passion is something which makes one Champion and anger is something which makes one loser.
By the way nice Article and you told me about new Championships around the globe. @donkeypong
Stay Blessed, Happy Sunday.
That's right. Passion is important also, not just skill.
Passion can change one's approach towards life in a more strong way
You put the video of the sheep shearing instead of lumberjacking.
Also I didn't know there were feminine equivalents :)
As to losing jobs, universal basic income is much more likely to help people than the educational system and governments. Such a project is Mannabase for example. I wrote a short article post about on my blog but @taskmaster4450 has much more in depth posts about it.
Thank you for pointing out that error; I've added the correct link in that section. Basic income is a fascinating issue. I'm not thrilled with it, but I also have not seen any viable alternative solution to basic income...I think it may be quite necessary in the near future.
@donkeypong - Wowwwww. Never knew they had valet championships and also a Air sex world championship (by the way - "I really sucked" could have a different meaning when said by a participant of that one isn't it. LOL. Sorry I digress). I had seen the more popular professional championships like the lumberjack etc on TV but the ones you have here in your blog take the cake.
Wondering now - Is there a championship for most boring blogs? I may be the hands down world champion. My Steemit posts are evidence. LOL
Thanks. Very entertaining post. Upvoted
Regards,
@vm2904
Your blog is fine! Everyone has different tastes and I've enjoyed several of your posts.
its really great to watch these best persons of world having some more incredible skills that valet olympics mens having best skill in cars and the more best to see that bartenders of championship and those heardrassers make more brilliant styles and colorfull also the other are the best persons... good to share these to watch these feel free and good on weekend @donkeypong
These people are all masters of there craft. I admire what they do and the passion they have for it. In a world, were everyone is pushed to go through the college/university system, we need to start putting value into "vocational careers." At times, I feel that these careers bring more value to a community, than some degrees I see in college curriculum guides.
A skill based championship like these vocational skill based ones are even better as they take years to practice, learn & develop.
Hairdressing championship would be so cool to watch.
Hay @donkeypong. My name is ubay. I always read your post. Yea iam agree with you. Today our competition is so many. Many of them are fake competition like you said throwing the ponsel and others. But i think that is good because we can expose our talents. Thank you. Please vote me. Iam a gaming author friend of @jodipamungkas
😂😂 now that's some hilarious talent. Thanks. You made my day
Now that's talent!
이것은 아주 좋은 게시물 오우 exellent 및 휴가 챔피언십의 더 greating 아이디어는 우리에게 세상 끝내고 더 많은 amgically 재능있는 사람을 보여주는 가장 좋은 것은 머리카락의 디자인을 볼 수있는 내가 맘에 후에 참여하고 싶습니다 이 기술 bcz 나도 작은 미용사와 나는 내가 이것을 배우기 위해 열심히 노력하면 나는 생각한다. 그리고 나에게 새로운 생각을주기 위해 thanx 각하를보고 싶다. ,, 훌륭한 직업의 traing의 최고의 옵션을보기 위해 im 그들은 또한이 훈련을 받았다는 것에 만족한다.
@donkeypong
Good. I wish you best of success in your career also.
Dear Tom
I would like to emphasize that competitions at the Olympic Games have not been much contested, but their dissemination and expansion of the base of their practitioners is what is included in internationally recognized competitions. As you mentioned earlier, the emergence of some strange competitions, which are sometimes abnormal and unacceptable to the mind, whether dangerous or out of the ordinary. but itelligence competitions or professional competitions are interesting and worthy of encouragement
wow the exellent and the more greating ideas of vacational championship to show the world awesome and more amgically talented person to us and the best thing is that to see those hairdressers and the designs of the hairs i want to participate after get this skill bcz i also a small hairdresser and i think if i try to work hard to learn this i want to paricipate in this and also thanx sir to give me a new idea,,, to see the best option of traing of great careers i m happy that they also trained for this
@donkeypong, This would be a one part of brilliant post. All peoples has some ore more skills for various fields. Its can be sports. education, professional, accounting, marketing and gardening etc..... I can't say any fields. However talent peoples has any opportunities. No more worries adding.
Actually these are real champions. They should try the best their job. Seriously the have more skills. Every ones has more skills. We want to show only for build up their talent and skills. After Final result will be wonderful.
this work for improve skills and shows talent sure work and create to learen and more thinking and and abilities if we try to do some good like all these champions and make this world more shiny with our skills and give some good result for humanity
and i see the world most genius person in shape of authlete
Very good competition, of course it is a good arrangement, this competition will increase the skill of many and they can apply it in real life.you are may good friend,please upvote back. @donkeypong
Mobile phone throwing world championships... that's something!))
Like every other tournament where participants stand with serious faces and are going for the win.
Well... if it makes people happy, why not? Even toe wrestling, it's fine!
Comedians are extremely competitive. Each one wants to get the best reaction from the crowd. Many of them also know their place. If they're booked to go on after someone who they know will kill it, chances are they won't even want to walk up on stage. "How do you follow someone like that?" Imagine being the person who could potentially take all of the previous energy in the room and flush it down the toilet by choosing the wrong joke to start. Everyone will want to see the other comedian again. The worst part... the joke was still funny. It's the opening joke vs the previous comedians closing joke. This is actually harder to explain than I thought it would be. I'll stop rambling now. Look at all of these good comments. How am I supposed to top that. Get it? Imagine making the best comment was a life or death situation. Comedy is that serious.
well the donkeypong for introduce these pretty cool championship ,, the best work for get some skill for chapionship and i think this is more better to get some talent for vacational championship and i apprciate all these champions having more extra exellent tallents to see the bartenders it force me to learen some better like all those and the magic dragon performance is more extre incredible and great with some creziest mode
i like this championship from world more great talented people and hope to include in next time
@donkeypong. Promoting Vocational skills acquisition by the government and NGOs for the millions of unemployed persons and creating a stage such as a Vocational skills Olympics of sorts with tangible rewards, endorsements and job placements would make future participants apply themselves fully to their chosen fields ultimately resulting in highly skilled and paid personnel while also adding an element of excitement to their professional lives. Thanks for the comedy video it was hilarious.
These are truly champions of their skills, the world really needs to see these.
What we love doing is the best career for us even though we compete and fail to win the most important thing is the way we live our lives with happiness and joy with our chosen crafts and careers. @donkeypong
You said right, my dear friend.
This was such a cool, fun post for me to discover at this hour ! I never too much about the topic . Thankyou ! Have you seen the carbanero effect ? It’s an asowme magician who messes with People on a hidden camera show and it’s hilarious lol
Not sure if I've seen that one yet, but the hidden camera stuff can be very funny!
Wow. This are amazing sport and liking one could do for passion and still get reward for it.
It is not until recently that I even got to know that they was even a sexual Olympic Games.
I guess you had it spot on when you said
It is indeed true. I never even knew about the bartender competition. T is really awesome. Thanks for the share.
These are raw tallent i wish i had or could still have. Its really great and entertaining watching all these incredible act from singing to dancing, infact these skills are so great. They got a very incredible that got me joyful and happy today. Thank God it is sunday.
The best bagger one made me think of, "What if we had a competition for grocery carrying ?!"
Well... there probably is, somewhere. :)
Coming soon to a livestream on Steem? :)
Sign me up! :)
Me too!
Indeed there r many went into the lost world with tha passage of tym...it includes some skilled work as well which is hard to find....skilled is art of doing things like the haircut or sheep shredding....
Great Post!. Interesting Story. I want more of this. Keep it up
I have read some time ago, that you can reach mastership in almost everything if you practise it for 10,000 hours. The problem is, if you are not talented you will mostly never have the motivation to come to These numbers...
Hi @donkeypong..
I was nominated you to #sevendaybnwchallenge.. If you can plz check my latest post..
Thanks for sharing champions with amazing skills.. Enjoyed it much..
Upvoted and cheers..
everyone has their own strengths and talents, it's just that we have to develop ourselves.
very nice
Some are talented by nature. Some talent comes by genetically. Only talent is not work always. Without caring on things are grow up properly. Yes, skill can be improved by caring. The more one practice the more his skill is developed. For skill developing, training is must needed. Thanks for sharing. You are absolutely right sir @donkeypong.
he follow and upvote I follow and upvote back
Olympic is a great honour can give to another base on there skill it's just amazing idea ... it's can motivate them to show there own skills
Wow amazing talent, good post @donkeypong
Good fost @donkeypong
Doing things that are difficult for others is easy, that is talent; doing what is impossible for a talent is a genius. And for me the main thing is that any business should be done well.
Read the history that began with the Olympic Games. The body and mind are good at regular sports. After the analysis of the Olympics, we learned something new.
thanks for sharing @donkeypong
Thanks for giving more information of winter Olympic game arena 2018. They have most natural skills for various gaming and its can be feed and then develop their skills. All of players champions always. Games has two options. Win or loss. Be patience for final result. Anyway all talented participants are winning people.
thanks for information about the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Korea. i like this post. carry on
Many talent hides among people, many successes can be achieved through efforts.great job bro.
i am newbie
follow and upvote my post
thank you