What is "kiiking"

Kiiking is a sport that was invented in Estonia by Ado Kosk around 1996.

In Estonian language, kiik means a swing. In a kiiking swing, the swing arms are made of steel to enable a person to swing 360 degrees going over the fulcrum of the swing. A person is fastened to the swing base by their feet. To swing, the person begins to pump by squatting and standing up on the swing. The swing will gain momentum and will, by skillful pumping, take a person over the fulcrum.

Ado Kosk observed that it becomes more difficult to swing over the fulcrum as the arms of the swing become longer. He then designed and patented telescoping swing arms to gradually extend the arms for an increased challenge. The person able to swing over the fulcrum with the longest swing arms is the winner.

In 2015, the previous American record of 5.31 meters, set by Matt Dart from Georgia, was outperformed by Jon Kasprisin with a new record of 5.66m. In 2012, the New Zealand record of 4.83 meters was set by Maxwell White of Auckland. The current Estonian record of 7.03 meters was set in 2012 by Ants Tamme, who outperformed the previous 7.02 meter record set by Andrus Aasamäe in 2004, leaving him as the Guinness World Record holder.

Kiiking 06.jpg|Indoor kiiking Kiiking 09.JPG Kiiking 15.JPG Kiiking Tartus 2012.JPG|Kiiking in Tartu