Following the Equator

Top 20 International Sports Events

This is prime sports time around the world.

The French Open recently wrapped up, and Wimbledon crowns its champs this weekend. The famed Palio di Siena was held today, and Pamplona's legendary Running of the Bulls is Monday. The Tour de France starts Saturday, and the British Open begins July 17. Plus, the Beijing Summer Olympics will be held next month with the Opening Ceremony slated for 8:08:08 p.m. CST on 8/8/08.

This spectacular sports schedule got me thinking about the top international sports events, so I decided to take a swing at compiling a Top 20 list. I didn't include any competitions regularly held in the United States (no Super Bowl, no World Series) even if they draw international attention (no Kentucky Derby, no Indianapolis 500).

Wimbledon warmup

Wimbledon—the world's most prestigious, tradition-laden tennis tournament—serves up a fortnight of net action starting Monday.

Wimbledon is as well-known for its all-white dress code as its grass surface. Budget Travel earlier this year wrote "A Witty Guide to Wimbledon Etiquette" and also posted a primer on attending the grand dame of the Grand Slams. But you better plan ahead. Tickets for this year's tournament are sold out—unless you're willing to "queue" overnight for 1,500 show-court tickets that go on sale every morning.

And, if you do go, don't forget the strawberries and cream.

For more Wimbledon information, check out the official site and this devoted fans' site.

Photo: yvettemn via Flickr

The Real Equator

The most interesting thing we learned from talking with equatorial dodgeball enthusiast Bryan Wojtowicz was that the "world's first interhemispherical dodgeball game" took place at the "real" equator.

"Real equator?" I asked.

Wojtowicz explains:

"We first went to what was called the real equator (outside Quito, Ecuador)," he said. "I don't know if you know, but in the '50s, they made a monument for what they thought was the equator. But, years later, with GPS technology, they found out that that was not exactly zero degrees latitude.

Dodgeball across the equator, Part II

Whenever we hear something exciting about the equator itself, Following the Equator just has to follow through. After reading about the college students who played dodgeball at the equator, I tracked down the man behind the feat that nearly became a world record.

Bryan Wojtowicz, who just graduated from Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island, concocted the idea for the impromptu game while filming a student video project during a university trip to Latin America. Bryan was one of about 50 Bryant students who traveled to Panama and Ecuador in January.

At the equator just outside Quito, Ecuador, Bryan (photo above) and teammate Matt Meehan competed against Rob McNell and Chris Walker in what Bryan dubbed "the world's first interhemispherical dodgeball game." Brendan Sysun served as referee and uttered the now-famous line, "Equatorial line infraction! You're out!" Luckily, Raymond Mahoney filmed the game for all to see.

EF's Olympic spirit

The Olympic torch reached the summit of Mount Everest yesterday, but that was only a supplementary torch. The official Olympic torch was in the hands of EF Education First Founder Bertil Hult.

The 67-year-old patriarch of the EF family carried the Olympic torch 200 meters yesterday through Guangzhou, China. He was one of several torchbearers who covered 40 kilometers on the torch relay yesterday.

More than a million spectators —including a couple of hundred EF teachers and 350 EF employees from South China—cheered Hult and the other runners as they paraded the torch through Guangzhou.

Life of Guangzhou, the leading English news source in the city, wrote about Hult yesterday in a feature titled, "Swede Lessons in Life: Never Give Up."

"I love sports and I love the Olympics," Hult said just a few hours before he ran with the torch.

Dodgeball across the equator

It was historic. It was global. It was perhaps "the world's first interhemispherical dodgeball game."

But, unfortunately for five students from Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island, it's not a Guinness World Record.

On a winter-break trip to Latin America, the college students competed in what is believed to be the world's first dodgeball game across the equator. The global game lasted a mere 10 seconds, but it did indeed cross the line. A red line at the exact equator in Ecuador marked the center line. Watch for yourself:

Friday Fun Fact: Public restrooms

If you gotta go, Beijing may be the place to be. According to the official Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, China, has the most public toilets of any city in the world.

Xinhua reported recently that there are 5,174 public toilets in Beijing, which is preparing for the Summer Olympic Games in August. That's more public toilets than New York, London or Tokyo.

Photo: stan, Flickr

Travel Tidbits: Long walk aborted

I decided to check in on Mark Boyle, whom we wrote about last month. Boyle—who also goes by the name Saoirse—was trying to walk from his hometown in Bristol, England, to Gandhi's birthplace in Porbandar, India, without money. Yes, without money.

Well, he didn't make it.

Apparently, relying on the kindness and generosity of strangers only gets you so far. Apparently, it only gets you as far as Calais, France.

Boyle pulled the plug on his "pilgrimage" after only 300 miles on his expected 9,000-mile journey. Not surprisingly, he cited lack of food, lack of housing and lack of the French language as huge obstacles. It didn't help that the French assumed Boyle to be a freeloading backpacker. You can read all of the excruciating details on Boyle's blog here, here and here.

Click on to read more Travel Tidbits …

Travel Tidbits: One long walk

How much does it cost to travel from Bristol, England, to Porbandar, India?

If you're Mark Boyle, the answer (hopefully) is nothing.

The catch is that Boyle is walking—yes, walking—from his British hometown to Gandhi's birthplace without any money.

The 28-year-old former businessman (pictured at left) began the 9,000-mile "pilgrimage" last Wednesday and plans to survive by relying solely on the goodwill of humanity or working for food and a place to rest.

"I've got some sunscreen, a good knife, a spoon, a bandage ... no Visa card, no travellers' cheques, no bank accounts, zero," he told BBC radio. "I won't actually touch money along the way."

Boyle, who also goes by the name Saoirse, estimates he'll cover 15 to 45 miles a day walking through France, Italy, eastern Europe, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. He guesses it will take him two and a half years to arrive in Porbandar, Gandhi's birthplace on India's west coast.

You can follow Boyle on his journey by reading his blog. And, if you happen to spot him along the way, be sure to post your sighting.

Read on for this week's installment of Travel Tidbits.

Travel Tidbits

There's a lot to catch up on in the world of travel after a couple of weeks preoccupied by other work and the Thanksgiving holiday. So let's clean out the notebook …

• Oh, say, can you see … Spain is frantically working to put new lyrics to the music of its national anthem. According to Gadling, Spain is one of the few countries with a wordless anthem. The Spanish Olympic Committee pitched the lyric-writing competition because Madrid is competing to host the 2016 Summer Olympics (against Chicago; Prague; Tokyo; Rio de Janeiro; Doha, Qatar; and Baku, Azerbaijan). The SOC jury reviewed about 100 finalists (whittled down from about 7,000 entries) earlier this month and will announce the winner December 19. Stay tuned!