Our Bucket List

Event: Mongolian Ice Hockey Experience
Location: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and surrounding regions
Activity: Ice hockey

Reason: Mongolia has a fascinating hockey culture and a national hockey league dating back to 1992. Until now, hockey in Mongolia has been played exclusively outdoors on stunning plateaus. That’s all about to change in 2021 when the Olympic-sized Steppe Arena opens in Ulaanbaatar. The Mongolian Ice Hockey Experience will be a mix of indoor stadium games and outdoor pond hockey. When the hockey is over, we’ll be ripping across the Mongolian plains on dogsleds!

Estimated Cost: $1500 USD (excluding extension)
Skills Needed: Basic skating skills (no expertise required)
Equipment Needed: Full ice hockey gear

Event: Brazilian Sumo Wrestling Experience
Location: Sau Paulo, Brazil and surrounding regions
Activity: Sumo wrestling

Reason: For people looking to learn the art of Sumo, Japan might seem like an obvious choice. But obvious isn’t what we do here at the Friendship League. Did you know that Brazil is home to the largest population of Japanese descendants outside of Japan? A small, but extremely dedicated group of athletes has built a burgeoning Sumo community in Sao Paulo that is attracting an increasingly diverse following. At the Brazilian Sumo Wrestling Experience we will spend a few days training at the local gym, before stepping into the ring for our first amateur Sumo matches!

Estimated Cost: $1500 USD (excluding extension)
Skills Needed: No skill needed
Equipment Needed: None

Event: Italian Calcio Storico Experience
Location: Florence, Italy
Activity: Calcio Storico

Reason: If you’ve heard of Calcio Storico before, don’t worry! We won’t actually play the game ourselves; even the Friendship League has some limits! If you don’t know what it is, picture UFC mixed with rugby and soccer, then take all the rules out, and you have a game of Calcio Storico. The game can be traced back to 16th century Italy and is central to the identity of the historic city of Florence. Back in 1574, upon witnessing a game of Calcio Storico, Henry 3rd of France remarked that it was “too small to be a real war, to cruel to be a game.” Kind Henrys’ description rings true even today. We’re going to learn some Calcio Storico skills, discover first-hand why these unpaid gladiators put their lives on the line, and cheer our new friends into battle in the opening round!

Estimated Cost: $2000 USD (excluding extension)
Skills Needed: No skill needed
Equipment Needed: None

Event: South Sudanese Boruboru Experience
Location: Juba, South Sudan and surrounding regions
Activity: Boruboru

Reason: The people of South Sudan emerged as a newly-independent nation in 2011 after decades of civil unrest. Amongst the myriad of tasks facing the South Sudanese people as they look to build their country is the need to revive cultural traditions that were lost in the preceding decades. Once such tradition has caught the eye of the Friendship League – the dodgeball-like sport of Boruboru. After completing community consultations and establishing standardized rules, the sport of Boruboru was officially relaunched in Juba in 2015. Leading the charge was South Sudanese women, who accounted for an impressive 75% of participants! At the South Sudanese Boruboru Experience, Friendship Leaguers will participate in the revival of this historic sporting tradition by completing skills training before entering an amateur tournament!

Estimated Cost: $2000 USD (excluding extension)
Skills Needed: No skill needed
Equipment Needed: None

Event: 2022 Hong Kong Gay Games
Location: Hong Kong, China
Activity: Multiple

Reason: We believe that sport is for everyone, no exceptions! For that reason we want to send a delegation to compete in the 2022 Gay Games under the Friendship League banner. You do not need to identify as non-binary to participate in the games, you just need to believe in inclusion. Best of all, the Gay Games have a tonne of different sports and disciplines so there is room for everybody. Dragon Boat, Dodgeball or E-Sports anyone?

Estimated Cost: TBD
Skills Needed: Sport dependent
Equipment Needed: Sport dependent

Event: Mexican Lucha Libre Experience
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Activity: Wrestling

Reason: Luchadores, as they are known, are high-flying, mask-wearing professional wrestlers that have been entertaining crowds across Mexico for generations. Since the sport was initially introduced in the 19th century, Mexican-style wrestling has gained notoriety as one of the most action-packed and entertaining sub-genres the sport has to offer. After a week of training with local coaches and athletes, it will be time to step into the spotlight for the main event where we will take on an actual Luchadores in front of blood-thirsty crowds!

Estimated Cost: $1500 USD (excluding extension)
Skills Needed: No skill needed
Equipment Needed: None, but a sweet mask would help!

Event: Japanese Bo-Taoshi Experience
Location: Tokyo
Activity: Bo-Taoshi

Reason: You’ve likely never heard of Bo-Taoshi, and neither had we until recently. But when we saw it for the first time, we immediately knew that we had to experience it first-hand. Two teams of 75 face-off against each other, each with one unlucky teammate perched on top of a pole. The goal of the game – knock him over using any means necessary! After spending a week learning the ins and outs of the sport and getting to know the local players, we will go to witness a Bo-Taoshi game in action. For Friendship Leaguers who are adventurous enough, there might even be an opportunity to join one of the competing teams!

Estimated Cost: $2500 USD (excluding extension)
Skills Needed: No skill needed
Equipment Needed: None

Event: Patagonian Pond Hockey Experience
Location: Patagonia, Argentina
Activity: Pond hockey

Reason: Playing pond hockey is a rite of passage for all dedicated hockey fans out there. But how many can say that they played on one of the world’s most beautiful ponds? The Patagonian Pond Hockey Experience is your chance to do just that. We will head to Argentina for a week of hockey under the stars. When we’re not playing, we will be getting to know the local hockey community, and exploring the stunning region of Patagonia. What could be better than that?

Estimated Cost: $1500 USD (excluding extension)
Skills Needed: Basic skating skills (no expertise required)
Equipment Needed: Skates, stick, helmet

Event: Kenyan Basketball Experience
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Activity: Basketball

Reason: At our inaugural Kenya Ice Hockey Experience event in 2019, we bumped into a local man by the name of James. As the leading force behind Beyond Hoops Africa, James works tirelessly to empower local communities through the power of sport. And that’s a mission that the Friendship League can get behind! We’re going to head back to the dynamic metropolis of Nairobi and participate in a joint Beyond Hoops Africa – Friendship League basketball tournament before heading out on safari in the world-renowned Masai Mara reserve.

Estimated Cost: $1500 USD (excluding extension)
Skills Needed: None
Equipment Needed: None

Event: North Korean Lacrosse Experience
Location: Pyongyang, North Korea
Activity: Box Lacrosse

Reason: Scott, the Friendship League General Manager, is a massive hockey fan, but an even bigger lacrosse fan. Ever since we held the first Pyongyang Ice Hockey League event, it has been his dream to hold a box lacrosse showcase inside the Pyongyang Ice Arena. To the best of our knowledge, Lacrosse has never been played in North Korea before so this trip will be truly ground-breaking. Two Friendship League teams will square off in front of the North Korean crowd for a series of games, before holding some introductory training sessions for interested North Korean athletes. Anybody up for making some history?

Estimated Cost: $2000 USD (excluding extension)
Skills Needed: Intermediate level Lacrosse (minimum)
Equipment Needed: Full Box-Lax equipment

Event: World Nomad Games
Location: TBD
Activity: Multiple

Reason: First held in Kyrgyzstan in 2014, the World Nomad Games are a global sporting competition that celebrates the traditional games of the Central Asia region. Alongside cultural festivities, athletes compete in a broad range of traditional games. In past years, disciplines have included Alysh (belt wrestling), Kok-Boru (goat carcass polo) and Salburum (mounted falconry). The upcoming games in Turkey have been cancelled due to Coronavirus, but when the next games are announced, the Friendship League will be there waiting to enter a team in a unique sport!

Estimated Cost: TBD
Skills Needed: Sport dependent
Equipment Needed: Sport dependent

Event: Saudi Arabian Ice Hockey Experience
Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Activity: Hockey

Reason: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is currently undergoing a rapid societal transformation as it seeks to open up to the outside world. Defining moments such as this fascinate us at the Friendship League, and we want to go and meet the people living it first-hand through the sport of hockey. After hosting a Friendship-League style hockey exchange with a professional Saudi squad, we will head into the scenic deserts to learn the ancient art of falconry!

Estimated Cost: $2500 USD (excluding extension)
Skills Needed: Basic skating skills (no expertise required)
Equipment Needed: Full ice hockey gear

Event: Nunavut Hockey Experience
Location: TBD, Nunavut
Activity: Pond hockey

Reason: It’s not uncommon for international jetsetters to completely ignore the beauty in their own backyards, and at the Friendship League we’re guilty as charged. Northern Canada is home to vibrant and unique communities that the average outsider knows very little about. We want to change that with a bit of pond hockey on the Arctic Ocean! Several communities have expressed interest in hosting a Friendship League exchange, however, the availability of resources (accommodation, transport, etc.) can change over time. For that reason, the location for the Nunavut Pond Hockey Experience will be determined when/if there is sufficient interest in the trip. Either way, we will be playing hockey under the Northern Lights, snowmobiling across remote Arctic tundra, and getting to know the traditions and culture of the local community.

Estimated Cost: $2500 USD (excluding extension)
Skills Needed: Basic skating skills (no expertise required)
Equipment Needed: Skates, stick, helmet

Event: Algerian 3 on 3 Ice Hockey Experience
Location: Setif, Algeria
Activity: 3 on 3 Ice Hockey

Reason: One of the newest members of the IIHF community (joined 2019), the Algerian hockey program got their start by competing in the Arab Cup of Ice Hockey in 2008. At the time they didn’t have an ice rink in Algeria, and the majority of the players came from the diaspora. With the recent opening of an ice rink and hockey school in Setif, all that is starting to change! We want to be a part of this pioneering hockey story, so we’re hoping to head to Setif for a Friendship League style 3 on 3 hockey tournament. When that’s all over, we’ll be off to the desert for some sand dunes and 4x4s.

Estimated Cost: $1500 USD (excluding extension)
Skills Needed: Basic skating skills (no expertise required)
Equipment Needed: Full ice hockey gear

Event: Tibetan Yak Racing Experience
Location: Lhasa, China and surrounding regions
Activity: Yak Racing

Reason: Yak racing, cultural performances, traditional clothing – Tibetan festivals are quite the experience! But despite its fascinating local culture, stunning monasteries, and unrivalled vistas, Tibet is one of the least-visited regions of China. For the Tibetan Yak Racing Experience, we want to travel to the historical city of Lhasa where we will train with local racers as they prepare for an upcoming festival. When we’re ready, we will join them at the festival and even participate in a few races!

Estimated Cost: $2000 USD (excluding extension)
Skills Needed: None
Equipment Needed: None

Event: Bhutanese Basketball Experience
Location: Thimphu, Bhutan and surrounding regions
Activity: Basketball

Reason: A predominantly Buddhist nation nestled between India and China, Bhutan is one of the world’s most unique countries. Amidst rolling hills and deep ravines lies communities that have proudly embraced their culture and pushed back against the forces of globalization. Smoking is illegal, there are no traffic lights, hunting and fishing are illegal (excluding catch and release), and most mountains are off-limits to climbers due to local belief systems. But perhaps most strikingly, Gross National Happiness is deemed by the government as more important than Gross Domestic Product! For the Bhutan Basketball Experience, we want to head to the capital Thimphu for a Friendship League style exchange to discover this fascinating corner of the world!

Estimated Cost: $2500 USD (excluding extension)
Skills Needed: None
Equipment Needed: None