FINLAND: If you want to throw your mobile away, do it in style and win a medal

Anyone wanting to throw away their mobile phone can do it in style and may even win a medal -- at the Mobile Phone Throwing World Championship, Finland's latest contribution to offbeat athleticism. Originally a local event in this small town close to the Russian border, the seventh annual contest on Saturday (August 26) drew some 100 throwers from as far afield as Canada, Russia and The Netherlands. The local finns competing, all looked very relaxed and throwing well. As did the foreign combatants like the Russian team, dressed in national colors and the Swedes wearing hat and all. Each competitors had a wide range of mobile phones to choose from all lined up on a table beside the court. Elie Rytghoven, a student from the Netherlands was disappointed after his performance, Doing a juggling act before throwing the phone, which unfortunately landed outside the field "The tactics was to do it the same way as I did it in Holland, only a bit different. And everything went correct, I cached it around the back. Then I wanted to throw the mobile around fifty meters but, then everything went wrong. Quite embarrassing." Better luck had the local javelin thrower Lassi Etelatalo who this year took home the main event, throwing his Nokia mobile phone eighty nine meters". Rutghoven, later received second prize in the free style event for his fantastic juggling performance. The founder Christine Lund describes what the event ia all about: "It is about liberating one self from the frustrations of always being accessible by the mobile phone. To get rid of that stress and strain but to also combine it with light sport that fits women, men and children". On the question of why she thinks that Finland is the home of offbeat competitions, Lund answers: "I would quote my son who says that Finland is a bit odd but much funnier". The inventive Finns had already given the world the Sauna World Championships and the Wife Carrying Competition before coming up with a new way to make mobile phones even more mobile.

ITN Source | September 2, 2006

Tags:. .wrong. .wide. .quote. .foreign. .self