Is There a Future in Unusual Sports Jobs?

If you tell someone that you are looking for sports jobs to apply for, the traditional positions may come to mind (including work as professional athletes and sports instructors.) But how about if you are eyeing unusual sports jobs instead? Can you name even 5 types of unusual sports jobs that are known by the average American?

Here are some sports jobs that came up through research:

1.Administrator of a Sports Organization – Don’t think that the people who are responsible for organizing sports clubs and leagues are left out in the cold simply because they are not the athletes. Actually, being an administrator of a Sports Organization is quite a demanding job that requires patience and dedication because you need to organize sub-groups within the Organization to work cohesively with one another. And sports organizations are like other organizations in that they have their own brand of internal politics. If you have great people skills, then you might be qualified for this.

2.Athletes of unusual Olympic sports – some sports that fall under this category are Olympic ballet, race walking and…trampoline? Well, these sports were introduced in the Athens 2004 Olympics though it remains to be seen if they will be included in future Olympiads as well.

3.Another of the unusual sports (not necessarily classified as an Olympic-grade sport) is competitive hot air ballooning. In this sport, you may not need to be physically fit but you do have to get a license to operate a hot air balloon. Some events in hot air ballooning competitions are races (dubbed tasks) such as the Hare and Hound Task, and the Fly In task. This is one sport where gender is not a factor.

4.Foxhunting is another unusual sport where women can compete equally with men, mainly because it is the horse that does the running and the rider is just along for the ride. Too bad for the fox, but great fun for the riders and horses who have a keen sense for the hunt. One risk though is that riders can fall and break something, especially when the hunt gets fast and furious. If you want to help in foxhunting, you can care for the horses before and after the hunt.

5.Sepak takraw may be considered unusual by people from the West but is one sport that has been around for centuries in Asia. It is like a combination of gymnastics, volleyball and soccer where players vault a small ball made of woven rattan into the air and over the net into the side of the opposing team – where hopefully it will fall so they can score a point. A game of sepak takraw should be seen to be believed, since hands and arms are not allowed to touch the ball. You can only loft the ball into the air with your legs and feet, over a net which is around as tall as the player. Talk about agility. Athletes for sepak takraw do not come along very often, so they certainly qualify as an unusual sports job.

The future of unusual sports jobs such as those mentioned here rests on whether enough people want to hire the people who take part in the unusual sports jobs. More power to them then.