Dorks Do Sports

In times of yore, the poor ol' dork was nothing more than bully fodder. But since those dark days of "Hello, McFly!" the humble brainiac has cast off the shackles of social awkwardness to become the world's favourite underdog. Le geek is now on fleek, and that's seen a new wave of nerd-tastic competitions enter the mainstream. Strap in people, these are the sports for dorks. 

Drone Racing

Motorsports are big business - hardly a surprise when the essential hardware to take part costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. Fortunately, speed freaks with less cash to splash can now test their mettle in the skies, thanks to drone racing. The world's fastest drone weighs just 800 grams and has a top speed just shy of 290kph. Not too shabby, eh? The most experienced drone racers use VR goggles to get a drone's-eye view of the racecourse - a series of suspended hoops and obstacles designed to test the manoeuvrability as well as the velocity of a contestant's vehicle.

Quidditch 

The worlds conjured in JK Rowling's blockbusting Harry Potter saga are impressively detailed, just look at the extensive and exhaustively explained rules of the wizarding world's answer to footy, namely Quidditch. But taking a game supposedly played on flying broomsticks with bewitched balls that either try to fly away from you at high speed or try to smash into you at high speed, and making it a reality in our muggle world is a weird mix of competitive sport and make-believe. Instead of magic flying balls, various people take on the roles, and instead of flying around in the air, you run around a field. You do, however, still have a broom between your legs.

Live Action Role Play

LARPing as it's often called is what happens when the nerds who played Dungeons & Dragons in a basement, a la Stranger Things, decide to bring their fantasy gaming into above ground. Gamers dress as their characters - knights, elves, wizards, nymphs and everything else in between - and act out the adventures of their avatars in a real-world environment, usually a public park or sports field. If it sounds goofy, keep it to yourself. LARPers take the activity very seriously and a huge part of the appeal is that they get to live out their gaming without risk of scorn or embarrassment. So, get practising your best Sir Ian McKellen 'YOU SHALL NOT PASS' and start polishing your chain mail - you've got some dragons to slay.