Riot

Ah, the Riot World Championship of 1936 in Chicago. A memorable come from behind win for the teamsters, who followed that up with victory the following year in Detroit.

A riot is a form of extreme sport and considered the national pastime in many countries. A riot usually has two opposing sides - the police and the rioters - but in some international competitions the rioters compete alone. A Riot, much like a decathlon, typically involves competing in multiple disciplines, these include: vandalism, projectile throwing, brawling, window smashing and incineration. Points are awarded in each discipline for causing damage to police (the opposing team), shops, cars and restaurants; state-owned institutions and religious buildings score triple points. Police are awarded points for preventing damage and injuring the Rioters.

Riots are held on normal streets that are normally barricaded off by fences or goal posts, though riots may be held in a stadium to provide post game entertainment after a sporting match.

Riots are not to be confused with Protests, a poor copy of riots for hippies and people who failed to qualify for riot competition, replacing the highly energetic disciplines of missile hurling and window smashing, with the lazy disciplines of banner waving and sit-ins. Yawn.

A riot, like chess is a subtle and nuanced game, requiring strategic thinking and a sharp intellect. It takes a special kind of genius to throw a fire extinguisher into a police van, one that cannot be taught. You either have it or you don't. Indeed, Bobby Fischer famously said that if he hadn't got into chess he would have become a rioter.

There have been arguments for Riots to become an Olympic sport, most notably a proposal from famed Dutch rioter Herman Von Smachenlottz in 2004. However when presenting this proposal, Sir Hubert Blockington, deputy head of the IOC, rose to object. "What, What old chum?" he growled angrily. "The Olympics is for gentlemanly sports such as poloh and pipe smoking. Don't you know?. Not for common folk and their vulgar... activities. Absolutely top hole - I must say.!" The IOC unanimously rejected the Von-Smachenlottz proposal.

Riots ensued. Most of the players who take role in Riots on the "rioters" team are Chavs brought up in rougher sides of town. They think rioting is natural. Some of the known sponserships for Riot games include McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, Tesco, Asda, who always happen to be there when riot games are been held. The amount of money they make during riot games is typically around -£10,000. It is typical that ITV and BBC broadcast offiial riot events on the television.

Disciplines of a True Riot[edit]

Isn't it a beautiful sight. The Riot torch at the 2005 Riot World Championship (RWC) in Paris.

All Rioters must wear a scarf to differentiate them as competitors. A person who has been to 3 or more RWC is allowed to wear a balaclava.

There are five main disciplines for a competitor dubbed a "Rioter" in a sanctioned Riot - vandalism, missile hurling, window smashing and incineration. The role of the side dubbed the "police" is to prevent the Rioters scoring points and mainly to injure as many rioters as possible (which scores the police team points). A typical riot begins with the rioters parading around holding banners and chanting slogans, usually about pressing global issues, before the actual competition begins. The Riot torch is then lit (usually a police car) to signify the beginning of the competition.

Medals are awarded individually, to the rioter with the highest point score, and to the group with the highest point score.

Vandalism[edit]

The first discipline for the Rioters in a sanctioned riot is Vandalism. A Rioter is awarded points for each object they deface with a spray can.

Each picture (or in some cases sculpture) is then scrutinized by an esteemed panel of beret wearing French artists who mark it on colour, form, style and lack of relation to reality. The wining rioter is then awarded the converted golden skivvy and a years supply of artistic critique.

If the artwork is considered post modern enough it will be entered into, or in some cases returned to, the nearest museum of modern art.

Projectile[edit]

"And an excellent throw by the Danish youth, thats got to be about 20 points. What do you think Bill?" - Greg "Well Greg that boy has some real talent, just look at his arm movements, he could be a star of the future." - Bill

The second discipline for the Rioters in a sanctioned riot is Missile hurling, considered by many as the most skillful discipline. First the police and rioters assemble at each end of the field, the police forming a distinct line. Rioters then throw projectiles at the police line, points are awarded for the distance and difficulty of the target. Bonus points are awarded if the projectile hits a police officer. Double points are awarded for throwing Molotov cocktails and fire crackers. If you manage to throw fecal matter and get it in the mouth of an officer, you instantly win and we all go for a cup of tea.

The police score points by firing tear gas, fire hoses and rubber bullets at the Rioters. Bonus points are awarded if they hit a Rioter. Man's best friend can also play along, however for some odd reason you can't use a swarm of bees, even though you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

Gradually the police line moves towards the rioters (much like space invaders), once they reach the Rioters the Missile hurling discipline is declared over, the points are calculated and a winner declared.

Brawling[edit]

The Brawling discipline is the most confusing discipline of a riot. Really it is just a huge fight between the Rioters and Police where almost any object can be used. Basically those left standing after the brawl score 100 points, those not, score a massive hospital bill.

There have been allegations that all brawls are staged (like pro-wrestling) and that the iron bars used are actually foam, but these are all firmly denied by the world riot governing body.

In South American riot competition, brawling has been all but replaced with a salsa dancing competition, the winner is decided by number of hip movements and, in some cases, pregnancy.

Window Smashing[edit]

Double Points. It was Windows XP too.

Page 67 of the International Riot Rule Book, documenting the correct procedure for throwing a Molotov cocktail.

The Window Smashing discipline is a timed event, where the rioters must smash as many windows as possible within an alloted time (usually 1 - 2 hours). The windows can be on anything from cars to Starbucks but double points are awarded for smashing computers using Windows. A rioter receives 2 points for every window they break. When the broken glass is cleaned up it is sent to USAid which then gives it to less fortunate countries as padding in pillows and in teddy bears, each clearly marked with the American flag.

Incineration[edit]

The Incineration discipline is also a timed event, where the rioters must set fire to as many things as possible within the set time limit. The police score points for each fire extinguished or Rioter sprayed with the water cannon. Thanks to awareness of climate change the incineration discipline may be forced to adopt more sustainable methods to meet its emissions targets, such as torching only hybrid cars and filling Molotov cocktails with biofuels.

Running Away[edit]

This is one of the hardest parts of rioting because of all the bodies strewn about your arena. If you are a rioter and see a police running at you then the game has started. If you are a police, start chasing someone which will also start it. Points are based on how far you ran multiplied by how many people there were multiplied how fast you went. Here's an example: You are a rioter and you run 900 yards going at approximately Kenyan fast and had 3 police on you then you gets a shitload of points because if your going kenyan speed than you must be black. Since your black and you managed to run away from the cops and then you and some other homeboys all ate some grilled chicken at your local KFC.

Closing Ceremony[edit]

After all the points have been calculated and the winners announced there is a traditional pool party at a local beach or pool, with conga lines, tropical cocktails and water rides. Copious amounts of beer is consumed and the bottles are kept to make Molotov cocktails for the next riot.

Race Riots[edit]

NO! NO! NO! You stupid American twat!

A race Riot is where the riot competitors compete against the clock to destroy as much property as possible within the alloted time - this may be from 1 hour to 10 days. Points are awarded for each object destroyed; the group with the most points at the end of the alloted time is declared the winner. This creates much rivalry between the competitors, with some even resorting to targeting other rioters to win. A competitor caught doing such dirty play is usually punished with a tear gas penalty or police brutality. Race riots are considered by most respected rioters as an inferior version of rioting for the poor and mentally challenged.

The current world record is held by the African American (Black) Team in the 1992 L.A. Race Riot. This is disputed as to their illegal use of Mr.T (who is banned under the Riot Act 1985).

History[edit]

"We are witnessing history in the making here in Dublin as the legendary IRA score their 100000th point. Sure it has taken them nearly 100 years but it is a momentous achievement for any group." Unfortunately this achievement has been soured by accusations of terrorism.

Riot, pronounced woo-lets-smash-stuff, is derived from the Latin word Riotus which means yay pointless destruction.

The original Riot was first invented by Sir Harold Walter Charlingston, of the Royal Civil Disobedience Gentleman's Club, in 1859. One night, after many whiskeys, he became particularly tipsy and stumbled up to the counter of "The White Horse Inn", where he asked for a refill of his pipe. The boy at the counter refused. For the next 12 nights, violence reigned on the streets of Lancashire, with many a horse and coach torched. During this Sir Harold Walter Charlingston was heard remarking "My word, I am having a riot of a time, this would be a mighty fine sport, old sport."

Riots grew in popularity across the world over the next 50 years, particularly amongst the working class in the USA, with many using the excuse of "I'm going off to riot about rights and stuff" to get out of work and family duties (this is still popular today).

The International Riot Authority (IRA) was formed in 1909 to govern all sanctioned Riots, their first successful sanctioned riot being the Tonypandy Riot of 1910. Unfortunately World War One caused the first Riot World Championship to be postponed until 1920, when it was held in Winnipeg. Unfortunately most rioters could not grasp the multiple disciplines of a true Riot so Race Riots soon became the most popular form of Riot, with True Riots only taking place every 2 years at the World championships.

In recent years True Riots have enjoyed a boost in popularity, particularly in Europe. This may be due to globalisation or sponsorship from many large organizations such as G8 and the EU. Riots are also becoming more popular in the growing markets of India and China.

Junior Rioting[edit]

Awww. They start so young.

Rioting is a great way to get exercise for all ages, particularly children, as kids love throwing things, having temper tantrums and playing with matches. The next time your kids are bored just hold a riot, it would be great, invite some of your kids friends over and find some minor grievance with a neighbor or, even better, the council. Then give your children rocks or Molotov cocktails to hurl at them, you can even start little competitions, such as, "How many of Mrs Winch's pots can you break" or "How many cats can you set alight". It will entertain your children for hours AND will allow you to take revenge on your bickering neighbors.