Bad Koenig, Germany - An unusual spectacle greeted the residents of a small town near Darmstadt on Saturday, as participants took to the streets to race each other on office chairs. At Germany's second annual office chair championships in Bad Koenig, 30 kilometres south-east of Darmstadt, around 80 participants competed on a downhill stretch of road using especially adapted desk furniture.

The downhill course measured 200 metres and included an additional challenge in the form of a small ramp. Competitors reached speeds of up to 25 kilometres per hour, organizer Rene Karg said.

Additional propulsion methods such as rockets or motors was banned, so competitors fine-tuned their racing vehicles with in-line skating wheels and adopted a variety of positions, sitting upright or streamlining their bodies in a lying position.

Competitors, who came from across the country, were not just awarded for speed, but also for the originality of their chair designs. Around 2000 spectators cheered the desk chair daredevils.

The idea for the race had originated in Switzerland and was adapted by a local German club of young men who organize the regular town fetes.

Having started out as a joke last year, the idea had since taken on a life of its own, Karg said.

"Media interest even spread as far as Japan," the organizer added. (dpa)