Ever thought of looping 360 degrees on a swing? Invented in Estonia, the sport of kiiking is just that; to win, you go full circle at a longer swing-arm length than other competitors. Crazy though it sounds, Estonians take it seriously. The world record stands at 7.43 metres, gained by Sven Saarpere in 2022, while circus acrobat Helga Ehrenbusch holds the women’s world record of 6.08m. The longer the swing arms, the more difficult the challenge, physically and mentally. At the top of his swing, Sven’s feet extend more than 15m above the ground, or the height of a three-storey building.
Inspired by Estonian tradition centred on the village swing, Ado Kosk invented kiiking in 1993, and in 1996 added to the swing design extendable arms, the first competition swing installed in the coastal resort town of Pärnu.
“I’m afraid of heights,” Estonian kiiker Mirjam Pedaja tells Deutschewelle, “but when you are on the swing, then you forget it”. Competition demands athletic fitness and strength, to move the body and pump the swing to ever increasing arcs of a circle. In case you’re wondering, hands and feet are firmly fastened to the swing arms and base. The worst thing that could happen during kiiking is having to vomit, another competitor says. “It makes quite a mess.”
Anyone can kiik, former world record holder Ants Tamme says. Even so, most Estonians would probably prefer the quieter experience of a traditional kiik, a large, heavy wooden contraption (pictured below). In earlier times the younger generation would gather of an evening to meet and swing, the women supplying charm and conversation, and the men, the muscle. Kiikuma was a means by which boy meets girl. Who knows: our great-grand parents Mart Lehova and Emilie Mälk may have hooked up at a kiik in the late 1890s, somewhere in northern Estonia.
A village swing or kiik, back in the day
We came across several kiiks during our cycling trip, at visitor attractions, a campsite we stayed at, picnic areas. Each would weigh easily a tonne. You stand on wooden planks connected across by log sections and vertically to a fulcrum. To swing is easy enough: lean back and lower one’s body weight to go forwards, and then stand up straight to go back. With one person opposite each other, or alone, you can reach a fair height very quickly. Getting off is another story. Let the swing gradually lose momentum, and then jump off sideways at the swing’s outer reach. A sign says to lie flat immediately in the event of falling off. Seems like good advice.
Is kiiking poised to become the next new Olympic sport? An online scan suggests not at this stage. Competition swings do exist in Skandinavia, Russia, the US, even in New Zealand. For now, kiiking is almost entirely an Estonian thing, promoted and co-ordinated by the Estonian Kiiking Association.
Comments