Kiiking () is a sport invented in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

by Ado Kosk in 1993. In Estonian, ''kiik'' means a swing. Kiiking is a sport invented and promoted in Estonia, which involves a person making a swing gain increasingly more momentum. The goal is to pass over the spindle with the longest shafts possible. In a kiiking swing, the swing arms are made of steel to enable a person to swing 360 degrees going over the

fulcrum A fulcrum is the support about which a lever pivots. Fulcrum may also refer to: Companies and organizations * Fulcrum (Anglican think tank), a Church of England think tank * Fulcrum Press, a British publisher of poetry * Fulcrum Wheels, a bicy ...

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. Kiiking is regulated by the Estonian Kiiking Association.

History

The practice of swinging has had an important place in

Estonian culture The culture of Estonia combines an indigenous heritage, represented by the country's Finnic national language Estonian, with Nordic and German cultural aspects. The culture of Estonia is considered to be significantly influenced by that of the ...

for a long time. Traditional village swings have been prevalent in rural communal lands for centuries, places where villagers held festivities.
Translated abstract available
The construction of kiiking swings is radically different from village swings, however. Johannes Pääsuke 214 284

The first kiiking swing was made by Ado Kosk in 1993. Kosk observed that it becomes more difficult to swing over the fulcrum as the arms of the swing become longer. He then designed 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. The first modern kiiking swing with adjustable shafts was made in 1996.

Kiikingswing types

There are three models of swings: *KIKI1 – shaft height 3–4m *KIKI2 – shaft height 4–6m *KIKI3 – shaft height 6–8m

Records

The current Estonian record as well as Guinness World Record for longest swing shafts was set in 2018 by Estonian Sven Saarpere, with 7.38 metres. Estonian Kätlin Kink holds the women's Guinness World Record of 5.93 m, while the Estonian women's record of 6.08 m is held by Helga Ehrenbusch. An

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

record of 5.66 m was set by Matt Dart of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

in 2015. Maxwell White of

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set a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

record of 4.83 m in 2012. Previous Guinness records: *7.15 m,

Kaspar Taimsoo Kaspar Taimsoo (born 30 April 1987) is an Estonian rower. He is a four time Olympian and four time European champion. He is a member of Viljandi Rowing Club ( et, Viljandi Sõudeklubi). Rowing career 2004–2008 Taimsoo made his first internati ...

, 2015 *7.10 m, Ants Tamme ( :et), 16 September 2015 *7.02 m, Andrus Aasamäe, 21 August 2004

Gallery

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

References

External links

{{Commons category, Kiiking
Estonian Kiiking Association
Individual sports Sports originating in Estonia