Есть еще вариант - литрбол.
Если исходить из изначального "спортивного" значения, то это не просто excessive drinking, а выпивание наперегонки, кто кого перепьет.

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Note added at 3 гадзін(ы) (2010-08-29 08:51:23 GMT)
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По-немецки это называется Trinken um die Wette

That is a drinking competition. Say, in Glasgow, there is a high street with many (about 50) pubs on both sides of the street. The main task - to pop in each, have a pint and manage to walk down to the end of the street without falling (what is impossible). This kind of group-entertainment is very common in Britain.

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Note added at 4 hrs (2010-08-29 09:29:26 GMT)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pub_crawl
Even Wiki has it! Seemingly, Russia is a country of alcoholics.But let me tell you: Russians wouldn't outbeat Brits, when it comes to drinking!

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Note added at 4 hrs (2010-08-29 09:33:33 GMT)
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Just... your word in question is not a folklore. It's more of a slang.

Russian term (edited): литробол

Хотя не сказал бы, что это так уж очень распространенное выражение

Литрбол (Literball) · Написать отзыв. Бар, Ресторан. Кухня: Европейская. Метро: Площадь Ильича. Адрес: Золоторожский вал, д. 40. Счет: 500 - 1000 р. ...
menu.ru/search/img/page/6?...1...195...

www.literball.ru/

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Note added at 9 mins (2010-08-29 05:10:56 GMT)
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Literball forever! (a game, where you must drink many litters of vodka to be a winer)...
axis.clan.su/forum/27-1958-1

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Note added at 4 hrs (2010-08-29 09:54:19 GMT)
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>> 2Alexandra Taggart: "Vodka"-is a drinking spirit
Ой, моя дорогая, поверьте мне (старому пню), что напиток Vodka знают ВЕЗДЕ и его ни с чем и НИКОГДА не путают!
А drinking spirit, он и в Африке (и в Рязани, и в Киеве, и в Лос Анжелесе) - это питьевой спирт. Те, кто пробовал (все мужчины подтвердят), с водкой никогда не перепутают.

Немного оффтопик, впрочем, но по таким вопросам с мужиками не спорьте. НИККОГДА!

First of all the right variant is "литрбол"

U can read about it here http://goo.gl/PWkj

As for "piss-up" - http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/piss-up
and - http://goo.gl/erwW

"booze up" - http://www.thefreedictionary.com/booze-up
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=booze up

BTW, using - http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=drinking sess... - u can find other interesting things perhaps to say "литрбол"

Hope it helped a bit =)

If you're looking for something that will be humorous and easily understood as the original, you will probably have to include vodka or another beverage, at least for a US audience since liquor is typically sold in fifths here and not liters (a fifth of what, I'm not sure :-) and forgive my ignorance that I don't know what it's sold in in the UK).

I thought about "vodkaball" or similar but it sounds like people actually running around in a game and drinking at the same time, not what the original intends.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. I realize it's farther than you may want to go from the original literal meaning.

A similar joke in English might be "the U.S. national sport is beer-drinking" or "tapping a keg."

This sounds the most natural to me

Compare to track-and-field athletics, biathlon, weight lifting, arm-wrestling

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Note added at 3 days11 hrs (2010-09-01 16:28:41 GMT)
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In my opinion there's no meaning of competition in this word. Just a one word joke:
- What kind of sport do you like?
- Drinking (alcohol athletics, beerthlon, whisky lifting, wine-wrestling).