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Peru wins first ever Balloon World Cup

Balloon World Cup - Level 4

A new fixture has been added to the global sporting calendar - the Balloon World Cup. We all know the "sport" of keepy-uppy ballooning. This is keeping a balloon in the air without letting it touch the floor. Spanish soccer star Gerard Pique loved this so much he made it into an international event. The first Balloon World Cup was held on Thursday. Peru's Francesco de la Cruz is the first world champion. He beat Germany's Jan Spiess 6-2 in the final.

Mr Pique got the idea from TikTok videos. He watched clips of an American family playing the game during the COVID-19 lockdown. This developed into a local league. Pique then made the game global. Teams from 32 countries took part. The contests took place on a court full of living room furniture as obstacles. Pique said: "Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone and try new things." There are hopes it could become an Olympics event.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Balloon World Cup - Level 5

A new fixture has been added to the calendar of world sports events - the Balloon World Cup. We are all familiar with the "sport" of keepy-uppy ballooning. Most of us have partaken in the decades-old pastime of keeping a balloon up in the air without letting it touch the floor. Spanish soccer star Gerard Pique loved this so much he developed it into an international event. The inaugural Balloon World Cup was held in Spain on Thursday. Peru's Francesco de la Cruz was the very first world champion. His athleticism saw him fend off Germany's Jan Spiess in the final with a 6-2 victory.

Mr Pique got his inspiration for the tournament from TikTok videos that went viral. He loved watching clips of an American family playing the game during the COVID-19 lockdown. It then developed from the family's living room into a "Keep-Up Balloon League". Pique then made the game global. The contests took place on an 8m x 8m court, full of living room furniture as obstacles. Teams from 32 countries participated. Pique said: "Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone and try new things." There are hopes it could become an Olympics event.

SPEED READING

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Balloon World Cup - Level 6

A new sporting fixture was added to the calendar of world sports events this week - the Balloon World Cup. The "sport" of keepy-uppy ballooning is probably a familiar one. We have all, at one time or another, partaken in the decades-old pastime of keeping a balloon up in the air without letting it touch the floor. Spanish soccer legend and Barcelona star Gerard Pique loved this sport so much he decided to develop it into an international event. The inaugural Balloon World Cup was held in Tarragona, Spain, on Thursday. Peru's Francesco de la Cruz was crowned as the very first world champion. His athleticism and deftness saw him fend off a challenge from Germany's Jan Spiess in the final with a 6-2 victory.

Gerard Pique got his inspiration for establishing the annual tournament from videos that went viral on the social media site TikTok. He loved watching clips of the Arrendondo family from the USA playing the game during the COVID-19 lockdown. It developed from the family's living room into a "Keep-Up Balloon League". Pique then intervened and made the game global. The World Cup contests took place on an 8m x 8m court, which contained living room furniture as obstacles. Teams from 32 countries participated. Pique said: "It's been amazing. It's something totally different. Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone and try new things." There are hopes it could become an Olympics event.

SPEED READING

Speed 1    |     Speed 2    |     Speed 3    |     Speed 4

MORE

25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson