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Chuck Norris and Patches O’Houlihan would be proud.
What started as a playful nod to the Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller led 2004 cult-classic comedy “DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story” has grown into a staple in the ESPN universe.
ESPN8: The Ocho celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2026, delivering a lineup of sports that rarely get their moment in the national spotlight. The Ocho’s nearly 75-hour broadcast will run from Aug. 6 to 9, kicking off at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, with content across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and the ESPN App (check the schedule). There will be 10 competitions airing live from the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
From pumpkin tossing to hacky sack to corgi races, here is everything to know about The Ocho, its history and its one-of-a-kind offering of obscure competitions over the years:
Every August since 2017, ESPN dedicates some of its focus and programming to the world’s lesser-known, lesser-covered and wackier sports under the branding ESPN8: The Ocho.
Two-time sign spinning world champion Matthew Doolan has been a part of a growing yet seldom seen sport for 22 years. Doolan believes The Ocho provides athletes from emerging sports with the exposure they need to gain proper recognition.
“All of the greats before they become the greats — they go through the Apollo theater. Whether they are a comedian, a singer, an actor, so many of the greats have gone through Apollo. That’s how I kind of look at The Ocho,” Doolan reported.
“It’s that steppingstone before it gets that necessary credibility to move from ESPN8 to ESPN.”
How did “DodgeBall” inspire The Ocho?In the film “DodgeBall,” Gordon Pibb (Stephen Root) first mentions ESPN8 when telling Peter La Fleur (Vaughn) about the Amateur Curling Championships, which Pibb watched on the network the night before.”You missed a doozy. Really great stuff,” Pibb tells La Fleur.Pibb then says he discovered the channel in the fictional Obscure Sports Quarterly magazine.”I started reading it in college, you know, for the chicks,” he reported.As rival gym owners, LaFleur and White Goodman (Stiller) enter their respective teams into a nationwide dodgeball tournament that offers a grand prize of $50,000. Both teams make it to the championship game, which is broadcast on ESPN8: The Ocho.The fictional channel specializes in airing “the finest in seldom seen sports from around the globe since 1999.” Its catchphrase is, “If it’s almost a sport, we’ve got it here.” The Ocho is “DodgeBall” writer and director Rawson Marshall Thurber’s good-natured jab at ESPN for referring to ESPN2 as “The Deuce.”Competition is fierce — here, an athlete flips to the finish in the USA Dodgeball All-Star Showcase during a 2022 The Ocho broadcast. Jacob Kupferman / ESPN ImagesWhen did ESPN create The Ocho?The fictional channel became a reality on Aug. 8, 2017. Nearly 13 years after the release of “DodgeBall,” ESPN filled airtime on ESPNU with The Ocho content that included competitions such as cornhole, darts, chess boxing and sumo wrestling and a feature presentation of Thurber’s film.
Over the past decade, the event has evolved from a one-day programming stunt into a multiday, multiplatform celebration with live events, studio coverage, streaming access and fan experiences, turning a movie-inspired joke into an annual showcase for unconventional sports.
Athletes compete in Cretaceous-period inflatable get-ups as they sprint down the track at Emerald Downs.. Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty ImagesHow do The Ocho athletes prepare for an event?Every competition on The Ocho demands different levels of preparation and requirements.The T. rex World Championship Races at Emerald Downs in Auburn, Washington, are open to all. Competitors register and take part in qualifying heats to advance to the final championship race. The only rule is that all participants are required to wear an inflatable T. rex costume. In 2025, Andrew Stuber claimed the men’s world championship title after a close finish, besting more than 300 participants. “The whole race, I couldn’t see anything. I was just running blind,” Stuber told ESPN. The Houston native reported he drew confidence from his previous high school football experience.”I’ve been running and playing sports all my life,” Stuber reported. “Being able to represent my hometown and win a dinosaur race was just awesome.”Stuber was visiting a friend in Seattle when he signed up after taking in a casual suggestion to compete. As expected, it was the first and only time he participated in a T. rex race. “I had my little 15 minutes of fame and couldn’t be happier with that.” Stuber reported.
Another notable sport that has been featured on The Ocho is the world sign spinning championship, which showcases the world’s greatest professional sign spinners on Fremont Street in Las Vegas. These top performers earn their spot in the championships through regional events and qualifying competitions. Judges look for execution, style and technical ability when grading competitors. For a sport like sign spinning, preparation means years of practice, skill development and a little creativity.Doolan, the 2026 sign spinning champion, has been working on his craft since he was 14 years old. At age 15, he attended his first sign spinning boot camp in San Diego with about 20 other participants where he learned 90 tricks in one week. The training was intense; they needed to complete a trick correctly 10 times in a row. Any mistake would result in 10 pushups, and then the process would restart all over again. During this time, Doolan discovered his talent for sign spinning and has since become a key figure in the evolution of the sport.Editor’s Picks
Now, Doolan helps lead the next generation of performers. He serves as director of training and holds several other responsibilities for AArrow Sign Spinners, the company that helped transform sign spinning into a competitive sport.
When Doolan first started to train and compete, there was a trick list of only 15 to 20 moves within the company. According to Doolan, this list has grown into a collection of over 500 tricks. “We’ve documented all of them and how to do them.” Doolan reported. “Most of them come down to style and preference of each spinner.” Doolan also assists with a private mobile app that shares training content in the form of videos, trick tips and guides, and has received positive feedback from users. “We all teach each other and collaborate. It might sound weird because it’s a world that people don’t know exists, but we love spinning signs, man,” Doolan reported.
Originating from a Japanese game show of the same name, slippery stairs tests athletes abilities to maintain their balance in a remarkably unforgiving environment. The first to ring the bell at the top of the stairs is crowned champion. Jacob Kupferman / ESPN ImagesWhat are some notable Ocho moments from the past 10 years?2017: The first ESPN Ocho event began at midnight ET on Aug. 8, 2017, when American disc golf aired. Eleven scheduled events were broadcast over a single day on ESPN. “Moxie Games” made its ESPN television debut.2018: The Ocho returned for another round of alternative sports programming the following year. There was a 150% increase in total audience.2019: The 2019 WCO world cornhole championship was the first live event in the history of The Ocho. The tournament featured a doubles format with a U.S. and international bracket from Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The 2019 event also marked The Ocho debut of sign spinning.2020: ESPN aired three editions of The Ocho in 2020. Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, better known for playing The Mountain on the HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” set a world record when he deadlifted 1,104.52 pounds.2021: The 52nd annual world championship cow chip throwing contest featured participants throwing dried cow manure as far as possible in a unique distance competition.2022: ESPN8 broadcasted over 14 hours of live Ocho programming from Rock Hill, South Carolina. The World Axe Throwing League and USA Dodgeball All-Star Showcase competitions took place on site.2023: The Savannah Bananas lost to the Party Animals 4-3 in their Ocho debut.2024: ESPN celebrated the eighth anniversary with “Ocho Years of the Ocho.” The event expanded to four days of ESPN8 programming for the first time ever.2025: Competitors dressed in inflatable Tyrannosaurus Rex costumes raced at Emerald Downs during The T. rex world championship races.In Bullshooting, competitors try to best each other with electronic soft-tip darts to hit their targets. Jacob Kupferman / ESPN ImagesWhich sports are new to The Ocho this year?Combat Archery All Stars: Presented by ICAA: Combines elements of archery, paintball and dodgeball. Two teams of six players compete to eliminate the opposing team by hitting their opponents with foam-tipped arrows. United Grid League: A co-ed competition in which two teams compete across the grid through a series of intense challenges that test speed, strength and teamwork. Paddle Smash World Championship: Often described as a blend of pickleball and spikeball, paddle smash is a fast-paced 2-on-2 game in which players use a paddle to hit a ball back and forth. ISSA Housekeeping Games: Competitors race through cleaning challenges and are judged on speed, accuracy and technique.Broom Hockey Championship: Imagine hockey, but with a broom, a regulation broom ball and special rubber-soled shoes.Fire Department Racing: Teams execute rapid physical fire drills, such as racing to scoop, pass and dump water pails and scale ladders against the clock.
Death Diving League: Extreme divers fly through the air, leap horizontally, and hold a flat-out or piked position before curling up ahead of impact.
Bronco Off Course, Desert Scramble: An unhinged, octane-fueled off-road and golf hybrid that requires participants and viewers to buckle up.
Optima Moto Rodeo: A horsepower-based rodeo/off-road style competition.
Blaster Tag Invitational: This competitive foam-dart tournament features elite teams from across the U.S. playing to win it all.
Brewskee-Ball: Legends of the Lane: The ultimate skee-ball competition.
Meadowlands Racetrack Wiener Dog Derby: One hundred dachshunds compete to determine the fastest wiener dog at the 8th annual derby.
The Goodyear Blimp Tri in the Sky: A one-of-a-kind blimp challenge featuring unusual aerial competitions, including a watermelon target challenge from above.
Red Bull Soapbox Race Denver: Teams guide nonmotorized, gravity-powered vehicles racing down a course with jumps and obstacles.
Red Bull Spin Off DC: Duos create custom-made bicycles and attempt to cross the finish line on a floating race track.
Red Bull Flugtag Dallas: Participants will launch uniquely designed flying machines to travel as far as possible before splashing down.
Red Bull Non-Stock 600: Teams hop into a go-kart to compete in the ride of a lifetime.
Hacky Sack 2026 Championship: From the college dorms and quads to the big leagues.
Pumpkin Toss: Participants use devices like catapults and slings to launch pumpkins for distance and accuracy.
Nok Hockey: A tabletop board game in which players use small sticks to send a wooden puck across a hardboard rink into the opponent’s goal slot.
Bare Knuckle Fighting Ice Wars: A combat sport on the ice, and yes, there are regulations.
Two Goalies All Goalie Game: Imagine an all-goalie hockey game.
Great Bahamian Crab Races: Racers claw their way to the finish line.
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