A recreational and competitive sport in which a participant rolls downhill or across water inside a large transparent inflatable sphere.
Origin and rules
Zorbing was invented in Rotorua, New Zealand, in 1994 by Andrew Akers and Dwane van der Sluis, who patented the harnessed and free hydro variants. The first commercial site opened in 1995 and the sport spread worldwide as adventure tourism.
How it plays
Hill zorbing has riders strapped or splashing inside a sphere as it rolls down a graded course. Racing formats line two or more lanes side by side, with the first to the bottom winning. On water, zorbnauts walk or run inside the sphere as it floats.
Competition
The World Zorbing Federation hosts an annual world series across New Zealand, the United States, Russia, and the Czech Republic. Zorbing is one of several novelty sports campaigning for greater recognition but is not on the Olympic programme.
Find more sports by letter
Zorbing starts with Z and ends with G. Browse other sports along the same letter.
Sports that contain a letter from "Zorbing":