World Nomad Games () are an international sport competition dedicated to ethnic sports practiced in

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. The first three World Nomad Games were held in Cholpon-Ata,

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

. The fourth games were held in Iznik,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

between September 29 and October 2, 2022. More than 3000 athletes from 102 countries participated in the events.

Launch of the games in 2014

The person who launched and supported the World Nomad Games in 2014 at the highest state level is the President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev. Atambayev supported it in order to preserve and popularize the nomadic traditions of

. The World Nomad Games have become a platform for demonstrating the cultural heritage, sports skills and traditional sports of nomadic nations, promoting the strengthening of cultural ties and mutual understanding between the peoples of different countries. Atambayev personally led the Kyrgyz national team on the opening ceremony of the first World Nomad Games in 2014 and 2016 in order to popularize the event.

Sports and disciplines

* Alysh (), a kind of belt wrestling * Salburun (), a sport mixing

falconry Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person ...

mounted archery Mounted archery is a form of archery that involves shooting arrows while on horseback. A horse archer is a person who does mounted archery. Archery has occasionally been used from the backs of other riding animals. In large open areas, mounted ...

and hunt assisted by Taigan * Shagai *

Horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

(At Chabysh), () * Er enish, () * Toguz korgool, () * Kourach * Kok-boru, a sport similar to

Buzkashi Buzkashi () is the most favored sport of Afghanistan. It is a traditional sport in which horse-mounted players attempt to place a goat or Calf (animal), calf carcass in a goal. Similar games are known as kokpar, kupkari, and ulak tartysh in Uzbek ...

, where riders fight for a goat carcass. (); also called Kokpar in Kazakhstan. * Mangala, a Turkish

Mancala Mancala ( ''manqalah'') is a family of two-player Turns, rounds and time-keeping systems in games, turn-based Strategy game, strategy board games played with small stones, beans, marbles or seeds and rows of holes or pits in the earth, a board ...

game, as well as other national variants Ordo traditional game from Kyrgyzstan, throwing bones

Editions

Source: * The 2020 event was delayed until 2022 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. * The 2022 event was scheduled to include 44 sports but was later reduced to 12 sports + 11 exhibition sports.

Medals (2014-2018)

References

External links