Wok this way!

Ever heard of the Wok World Championships – in racing? No? Neither had I – until I read this news report.

A handful of German celebrities will hurtle down an Olympic bobsled track in modified Chinese woks at the seventh annual Wok World Championship in Germany on Saturday, organisers said.

Inspired by a German TV show in 2003, thousands of people each year watch the competitors – ranging from popstars to Olympic winter sports athletes – throwing themselves down the mile-long track at up to 100 kilometers/hour (60 miles/hour) on live television.

“In the last years an average of three million people have followed the event,” spokesman Michael Ostermeier of commercial channel ProSieben told AFP.

Saturday’s competition will include one-man and team races in four-person wok-sleds.

Tour de France cyclist Erik Zabel and Cora Schumacher, wife of Formula One racing driver Ralf Schumacher, are just two of the daredevils who will take to the starting blocks.

“The pilots will have modified soup ladles attached to their feet which will help them to steer the wok,” Ostermeier said.

Previous winning teams include Olympic ski jumper Sven Hannawald and racing driver turned Playboy model Christina Surer.

After excessive advertising caused a Berlin court to rule that the event must be labelled a commercial event, German media have referred to it as the “most dangerous infomercial” of all time.

“In 2007 the singer from the German band Oomph! suffered a severe concussion, after which we decided to introduce weight limits of 130 kilogrammes (287 pounds) for the one-man woks,” Osterman explained, adding that participants also wear protective gear, similar to ice hockey equipment.

Sounds weird – but it’s been going on for some time. Even Wikipedia has an article about it, so you know it’s arrived! If you speak German, you’ll find the event’s Web site here, with videos, pictures and other information.

Here’s a video clip of a four-man woksled team doing their thing. The sound-track’s ghastly, and the picture’s a bit shaky, but you get the general idea.

Looks a bit scary, but also a lot of fun!

Peter