A sports event your state invented or perfected?

Teams also used to train in Shreveport.
In the late 1800s, many boxing title fights were held in and around New Orleans, since boxing was illegal in most states.

Stickball

Choctaw stickball, or Ishtaboli, is historically known for its aggressive play. The game was used as a method of mediating social relations, village conflicts and tensions between tribal members as well as other towns or districts. It served as an alternative to war in diplomatic concerns between tribes when actual weapons could be avoided. Stickball was a competitive contest within a tribe to keep warriors in shape for warfare, sharpen the defensive skills of the tribe and hone hand-eye coordination for successful hunting.

Stickball stands as an enduring part of Choctaw culture not only as a sport but also as a way of teaching traditional social structure and family values. Today, we continue to use the equipment as a way to teach children about working together.

Choctaw stickball was played often in Oklahoma until the early 1900s. A particularly intense semi-annual game of stickball between the Choctaw and Chickasaw took place in 1903. The game ended in a riot-like brawl involving 300 spectators. U.S. Marshalls and the Choctaw Lighthorsemen had to intervene. After the incident, the semi-annual games were abolished. Play continued, but not to the extent it had in the past.

Revitalization efforts by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma began in the mid-1970s. Through these efforts, the game has continued to grow and prosper. Play is very similar to that of the past, but dress has changed from breechcloths and paint to t-shirts and shorts. Players still wear no protective gear, pads, or helmets. A few more rules have been added, such as no more than 30 players can be on the field for each team at any given time, no touching the ball, no slamming or clothes-lining, no swinging sticks at other players, no hitting below the knees, and tackling is only allowed against the person who has the ball.

In 2009, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma formed its first official stickball team. Later that year, the team traveled to the World Series of Stickball in Mississippi. This was the first team outside the state of Mississippi to compete in the series.

Tvshkahomma ohoyo team started in 2017 and began playing in the World Series in Mississippi. In 2021, the women had got their first win against a Tucker Women’s team and advanced to the semis and played against
Bok Chito.

The traditional game had very few rules. In the late 1800s, American Anthropologist James Mooney declared, “Almost everything short of murder is allowable.” Play took place on a natural field with players wearing no padded clothing or shoes and wielding two Kapucha, or stickball sticks. The sticks were made of hickory or other hard woods cut from the trunk or made of saplings. The ends were thinned and bent into flared cups with leather lacing inside to hold the ball, or Towa, which was made of woven strips of leather. A goal post called a Fabvssa was set at each end of the field, and teams scored by hitting the post with the ball. Full-contact games with limitless players could last for days until either a certain score or time limit was reached.

Tribal social customs were an important part of the game. Players went through rigorous mental and physical preparations, including fasting, dancing, meditating and rubbing their bodies with traditional medicines. Drummers worked to set the pace of the game and highlight key plays. Alikchi, or Choctaw spiritual leaders, provided guidance from the field and sidelines. Spectators, especially women, actively supported their team and celebrated the game by dancing, singing, feasting, cheering and gambling.

Choctaw Nation Article LINK

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Guy
Land rush. Whoever gets there first wins the land. Only played 1 game though

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This is where the Sooner legacy of cheating began, but would be perfected 100 years later by the bootlegger's boy.

Homecoming.

let the arguing ensue between Charleston & Savannah

Rodeo

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A sports event your state invented or perfected?

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Fastest to put white sauce on BBQ.

The Alabama Cup

Slalom Canoe and Kayak Races

About 30 some odd years ago we had one lone race. People would come from the surrounding states and we'd make theirs. So it got competitive enough for a couple of us to set up practice gates. Just bragging rights among friends. And then one day an un-named friend said, hey if we hang a couple more gates we can have another race. And friend two said if you do that I'll do the same on the Locust Fork. And added we can call them the Invitationals, meaning if you hear about it you have an invitation to come, and then we can have a cup series. Big parties ensued.

Like I said it's been 30+ years.

And over the years it's grown to the point people come from all over. Like all of these things the skill levels are all over the place. But there's enough levels/classes that past Olympians, US team members, and serious wannabe's show up and have a good time along with the duffers and no so good. To my knowledge it's the only 3 race series in this US.

A tradition unlike any other.