Here’s where you’ll find a list of our growing bunch of hobbies. This is still under construction, so if you don’t see anything here that’s to your liking, don’t panic! Send us a message with what you’d like to do, and we’ll see if there’s already an active, like-minded group…or if we need to make a new one.
Underwater Chess
The first alternative hobby to come to Lismore, Underwater Chess (sometimes known as ‘Diving Chess’) is still well-loved with a surprisingly robust spectator scene despite the fact that almost the entire thing is below the surface.
The rules vary, as there’s no global standard, but Lismore rules are that a board is submerged in a pool. Players can wear goggles, but no extra breathing equipment. You dive downwards, make your move and then come back to the surface, with players only allowed one move per dive. As soon as your opponent comes to the surface, you have to dive.
This means that you only have as much time to make your move as you can hold your breath! An optional rule is that every time you lose a piece, you have to swim a length of the pool and come back, with exhaustion being one way you can batter your opponent into submission.
Applications are currently closed for new entrants to the league until the end of this competitive season, but tryouts are held at the start of every month.
Come along to one of our Tuesday night training sessions and see what you think of the game in motion!
Extreme Ironing
Productive and thrilling, extreme ironing is simply taking your ironing board, setting it up in an alternative location and eliminating creases from your clothes as normal.
Although this one is mostly a hobby, a competitive league does exist in Lismore, with its own methods of scoring. Participants have to demonstrate their ‘extreme’ location in front of official judges, who then award points based on a number of factors: level of extremity, originality, style, speed at which the location was attained and the neatness of the final product.
As you can expect, this competition is a fairly slow burn, with the competitive season lasting all year and the winners announced near Christmas.
The ‘I Hate Lismore Heights’ Club
Hey, if it’s a hobby then we’re not going to deny people the chance to enjoy it.
This is a group of like-minded people who, for whatever reason, hate Lismore Heights and enjoy meeting to discuss it. Meetings are held on Saturday mornings in the Gisborne Pub at the northern end of Main Street, with members encouraged to write fiction, compose poetry, paint pictures and otherwise engage artistically with the cause of despising Lismore Heights and wanting the entire locale to be carpet-bombed into oblivion.
Disclaimer: La Vida Lismore is simply a means for locating like-minded hobbyists and does not condone acts of violence or property damage.
Tea Infusion
Tea leaves are quite powerful, given a bit of time and proximity.
The Tea Infusion Club is a group of enthusiasts who are passionate about experimentation, trying out all sorts of foodstuffs and blends to see which combinations work best.
All new members are welcome, provided they swear to abide by the scientific method and bring at least one new combination along for the group to try.
(quick note from Holly: these guys and girls are so much fun! I brought along my combination of sencha and blue stilton, and though it was super awful, everyone was so nice about it. And you haven’t LIVED until you’ve tried their patented assam + banana splits combo)
Hamster Ball Duelling
Gotta say, this is one of my favourites…to watch.
The concept of Hamster Ball Duelling is super simple, and takes two forms: the first is a giant battle royale in the middle of a wide-open space, where everyone suits up in hamster balls (giant, soft plastic spheres that protect you from impact but let you ‘run’ forward) and try to knock each other out of the playing field.
The other has either 1v1 or 2v2 battles, with the same objective.
This one was so amazingly popular that we have a waiting list on Saturday nights for anyone wanting to get involved, AND we had some American-style bleachers custom built so that spectators can watch without danger of being run over. League teams welcome tryouts, but be warned that it gets pretty rough, and those guys and gals do not pull their punches!
Or rather, their blunt hamster ball tackles.
Silent Morris Dancing and Knitting Disco
This one’s for you folks who want to get physically involved, and don’t want to do it alone, but also don’t want to have to talk. Talking to people is sometimes overrated, can confirm.
One evening per week, the premiere Lismore nightclub Dark Charlotte goes totally quiet as people are invited to come along with knitting needles in hand, grab some wireless headphones and Morris Dance their hearts out as they attempt to make scarves jumpers or whatever they like!
It requires a bit of coordination and stamina, so don’t be put off if you come along for the first time and find yourself quitting after the third ruined stitch. If you find yourself really getting into things, there are competitions every season where Morris Dancing knitters compete in front of an audience to make the loveliest knitting creation, with spectators able to switch to any track they like using their headphones.
Extreme Dungeons and Dragons
We’ve had a lot of requests for a nerd-friendly activity, and we thought Extreme D&D would be perfect. It’s your classic game of Dungeons and Dragons with a twist: if your character dies, you’re out of the game forever. Talk about being invested in your character!
Join a group of fellow adventurers and take on your Game Master, who will be trying his/her best to cause character fatalities and total party kills. If you want a roleplaying game with high stakes, Extreme D&D might be just for you.
In addition to our Game Masters, we also have referees at each table, making sure that there is no cheating or unfairness from both players and GMs. This way, you can be sure that you’re getting a fair game, while still having a legitimate chance of perma-death.