Sex.co.nz

I’ve heard of air guitar, but this is the first I’ve heard of “air sex.”

Air sex was invented in Japan in 2006 by a group of bored guys who weren’t getting any. To publicly express their sexual frustration, they decided to get up on stage and screw the hell out of an imaginary partner, egged on by music and a cheering crowd.

It wasn’t long before costumes, rules, judges and prizes refined the game into a true-blue competition, and the Air Sex World Championships were born.

Over in America, Chris Trew was surfing the net one day when he came across a YouTube video of the competition. He decided to try it, along with a few of his buddies, for a laugh. It was more than funny – it was hilarious. And so Stage 2 of the Air Sex “World” Championships, American-style, began.

Soon, air sex competitions became a semi-monthly thing in his hometown of Austin, Texas, where students from the University of Texas and Texas A&M obligingly battled it out for the rudest simulated sex. (Check out the first ever U.S. championships in this 2007 YouTube clip.)

Air sex is nothing new. Peer Pressure spawned the latest air sex craze back in February 207 with this ottoman-humping video set to a soundtrack of Pretty Ricky, and Fantasy Boiz followed with their own rendition, claiming that all that thrusting and hip-wiggling are simply original dance moves (yeah right).

Despite homoerotic accusations, the boys claimed that their videos were for girls’ eyes only. A member of Fantasy Boiz explained, “Girls … look at [our moves] like we’re making love in the air.”

But Trew’s Air Sex Championships aren’t intended to make girls swoon. Instead, this is about comedy. He explains, “We’re not trying to be sexy; we’re trying to laugh.”

The second annual “World Championships” kicked off June 6 in Austin and will cross-cross the States (with one stop in Toronto to justify the “World” moniker) on a 16-city air sex extravaganza.

Entrants get two minutes to show off their moves, helped out by the music of their choice, costumes, and props. The only restrictions are no nudity and no real orgasms (fake ones encouraged).

You can check out the talent of the competition on the Air Sex website, but be warned: the chicks who enter are few and far between. This is primarily a man’s sport, although it was never intended to discriminate. Trew notes that girls tend to make the mistake of acting too sexually by performing a strip tease or (worse) sex acts with a cucumber.

The final stop on the Air Sex tour is Tucson, Arizona on June 28, so keep your eyes open for the ultimate air sex showdown.

For now, be warned that the A.V. Club rates the air sex phenomenon as “Unbearable” in their Tolerability Index, calling it a “non-trend” that they compare to pet rocks and phone-booth cramming.

Non-trend or comedy gold? You decide. Visit AirSexWorldChampionships.com and see for yourself what the fuss is about.