Kiwis are not easily impressed - the TV show "That's Incredible" had to be renamed "That's Fairly Interesting" when it was aired in NZ, as the things the Kiwis get up to on the weekend are actually amazing.One of the more bizarre sports to come out of New Zealand is Jetboat Sprint Racing, or just Jet Sprint.

Jetboats had long been popular in New Zealand, with its many whitewater rivers, lakes and fjords. They quickly realised that tourists would pay good money to be scared witless as these boats flashed within inches of rocks and riverbanks. It wasn't too long until Jetboat racing emerged. A fairly simple concept - find a bit of river, add two or more boats and away you go. Hair raising stuff, but for some it just wasn't enough.

JetSprint was conceived by John Houston, based on the concept of short course car rallying, and the first JetSprint race took place on the Manawatu River at Palmerston North in May, 1981. Competitors negotiated their way around a series of obstacles in the river, and raced against the clock. The sport was a hit, and soon specialised courses were being constructed, usually by bulldozing channels into riverbeds to make them more demanding. Later several permanent tracks being built inland away from rivers because of environmental concerns, as well as the unpredictable weather in the mountains flooding rivers and ruining competitions.

Its a spectacular sport to watch. Imagine a lightweight boat around 13 feet (4 meters) in length, shaped more or less like a flying wedge. Add a massive V8 engine, enhanced for maximum power. Make it race around a tight, twisty course. Fun stuff. Due to these conditions, boats often leave the course, but thanks to their size, shape and velocity, they often fail to do normal things boats do when they leave the water. Like stop, for example. Luckily rules mean boats must have roll cages and harness seat belts similar to racing cars, so injuries are surprisingly few, despite the often spectacular crashes.