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The Guardian
06-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Play it for laughs: wonderfully madcap UK sports
'The sheer madness of it is the appeal' Each year around May, people flock to the village of Blackawton in Devon. Divided into teams of three, they are given a plot of land measuring 3m x 3m. While their dignity is sometimes lost in the process, ferocious bangs to the ground, war cries, singing and silly costumes are most certainly invited. But why? Well, if they can coax enough worms to the surface, there are prizes at stake: this is the World Worm-Charming Championships after all. It's a proverbially ancient art, with a questionable origin story. Chris Oughton, head of the worm-charming committee explains: 'Back in 1980, two gentlemen were on the way out from the pub and needed to stop, for a certain emptying reason. While they were both stood watching the field opposite, they noticed seagulls doing a dance in order to get the worms out of the ground.' And so, each year, about 300 competitors (and similar numbers of spectators) arrive in the small village. 'The sheer madness of it is the appeal,' smiles Oughton, the guy who 'makes sure the competition happens.' Digging is strictly prohibited, instead the worms have to be 'charmed' to the surface. In 2009, Sophie Smith broke the world record – held since 1980 – by charming 567 worms. Often competitors remain empty handed. The competition starts with prep time during which each team is given a numbered plot and are allowed to 'prod and play'. But noxious liquids are banned. 'You're allowed to shower the ground with any liquid you are prepared to drink,' Oughton explains, although it sounds rather ominous – just how far are people willing to go? Teams are in threes due to the roles that need to be assigned: a charmer, a picker-upper and a worm-counter. The rules are simple: in 15 minutes you want to pick up as many worms as possible from the assigned plot. It's an international affair, with people coming from Estonia, South Africa, Japan, Cyprus, France and Germany. 'It all happens in secret fields. Nobody knows where it is until that day,' explains Oughton. 'Before the competition, there's an ode to the worm that we sing. We also do a little prayer to make sure that the sun comes up every day, and then we process to the secret field.' The entire competition is prepared and run by volunteers and there's an entrance fee of £5, which is donated to charity. While there aren't too many recurring champions (apart from a team called the Frogs who have won three times in a row), there are some signature moves to up your chances. 'Liquid and vibration are the two winners really. You've got to replicate that sound or feeling of rain.' Winners received worm-themed trophies, handmade by local potter, Imogen Nobel. 'The lengths people will go to are hilarious, we've had saxophone players, druids, people playing cellos and, of course, lots of dancing and stamping,' Oughton says, adding, there's no occupational hazard to the worms: 'We're very strong in our worm welfare, and we've been building that over the years. Half worms will get you disqualified – no cruelty to the worms. And they are immediately counted and then put back in a pre-dug trench, so they can get straight back out there. We provide containers so that people don't handle the worms too much at all.' 'It was pretty serious stuff. People were chanting my name in the streets' There's nothing better to accompany a Sunday roast than a crispy, battered boat ready to be filled with gravy – also known as a Yorkshire pudding. For one weekend a year in September, however, a pub in Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester, becomes the gathering place for those trying to destroy this well-loved roast accompaniment – by throwing a black pudding at it. The competition has been held here since the 1980s, in a lighthearted (if that's possible) homage to the Wars of the Roses, fought by the House of Lancaster and the House of York in the 15th century. There are 12 Yorkshire puddings to start with. They sit on a 20ft-high scaffolding plinth, placed in four pudding towers that are each three puddings high. The aim of the game is to lob a black pudding, via underarm throw only, high enough that it knocks the Yorkshire puddings from their tower. Each competitor gets three goes and the person who can knock off the most wins. Competitors must also have one foot standing on a golden block to ensure they are not too close. In a moment of spontaneity in 2024, 17-year-old Harry Hogden decided to join his family and 50 fellow Swinton locals on a coach trip to Ramsbottom. Having never seen pudding-throwing in real life before, he figured it would be a quirky, fun day out. Although technically a junior, standing at 6ft 4in meant he had to compete in the adult division. 'As soon as I got out of the coach, it was like entering a football match. One group of people was wearing a football kit with four stars on top of their badge, showcasing that they had won four times. It was pretty serious stuff,' he explains. In the end, Harry managed to knock six puddings off the plinth, making him the champion. 'People were picking me up, throwing me up over their shoulders and chanting my name in the streets,' he beams. He was awarded £100, a trophy and a necklace of black puddings. 'A week after, I went to a festival not far from where I live, called Manchester Rocks. A stranger came up to me and asked if I was the pudding-throwing champion!' Harry very much hopes to fight for his title in the next competition. Does he have any advice on technique? 'Swing and pray,' he says. 'Some maggots don't even start and some get halfway and then start going backwards' Around 30 years ago, 75-year-old Barrie Butler went abroad on holiday with his wife – today he doesn't remember where they went, but what he does remember is being introduced to maggot racing by a man outside a local social club. After coming home to the UK, cab-driver Barrie decided to build a six-lane race track suitable for maggots. Like horse-racing, but with smaller subjects, bets are placed by spectators as to which maggot might win and six races are run over the course of the night. Maggots are kept in labelled lanes in order to tell them apart. The money from each betting programme sold goes to charity. Each winning maggot then gets entered into the final race. 'Some maggots don't even start and some get halfway then start going backwards,' says Butler. While he is based in Lincolnshire he's adamant he will take bookings anywhere there is a demand. He currently hosts around two races per month with up to 120 people attending, details of which are uploaded on his website ( Each race is shown on a 120in screen. 'It's not like fishing; you don't have to warm the maggots up in your mouth or anything, but they are supplied by my local fishing shop,' he says. 'I then place them in boxes that can be joined together so that all the maggots can be tipped on to the track at the same time when the race begins.' With each race lasting on average two and a half minutes, Butler likes to keep things interesting by sometimes adding matchsticks as hurdles. 'We make sure to give the maggots names so that spectators can cheer them on: Sweet Caroline, Smiling Susie and Brian are the most popular ones.' For Butler, the night is all in the commentary and he refers to himself as 'Big Bad Baz' during races. At the end of the race, the winning maggot is auctioned off to the highest bidder. The highest a single maggot has ever sold for was £530, which was donated to charity at the end of the night. 'The first time I competed there was a lot of bruising, but it got better each time' Dating back to 1612, shin kicking today makes up part of the Cotswold Olympick Games, which takes place every May and includes more standard running races and tug o' war. Shin kicking isn't for the faint hearted, although steel toe caps were banned decades ago, it is still very much a contact sport. Competitors battle one on one, placing a hand on each other's shoulders with arms straight while kicking each other in the shins, the aim is to unbalance the opponent and force them to the floor. The winner is whoever is able to achieve the most throwdowns within three rounds. Five-time champion Adam Miller hasn't competed since his last win in 2020, but still watches each year. 'You can use as much straw as you can for padding between your knee and ankle,' he explains. Miller grew up locally in Honeydale, Chipping Norton, and has been used to watching the match each year. He describes it as 'a game that gets the community together'. He was first signed up in the pub in 2015, but never imagined winning: 'I thought, what have I got myself into? 'Everyone is provided with a lab coat-style jacket to give you something to hold on to, but also they protect people's clothing from ripping,' he explains. But there's no sure way to protect yourself from the inevitable pain of being kicked in the shins. Miller might have more advantage than others though. 'I can take a good kicking,' he admits, adding that, as he's a farmer, 'I've been used to cracking my shins on equipment and having sheep kicking me and all sorts.' Which leg you use to kick the shin doesn't matter, the goal is to unbalance someone enough to get them on the floor. Some even compare the moves of the sport to jiu jitsu. On average there are between six and 10 pairs competing each year, and are partnered up at random. 'The first time I competed there was a lot of bruising, but it got better each time I entered,' says Miller. Every year the winner gets a medal and an engraved cup, which they have to return. 'People watch this and think we are all stupid, but this is tradition, people think it's brutal, but it's the sport,' says Miller. While he encourages everyone who is thinking about applying to 'give it a go', if this one feels more of a spectator sport, then there are plenty of food and drink stalls to keep you occupied. 'You should only enter if you're prepared with the mindset that your toe might break' 'The aim is to interlock your big toe with your competitor's and then get your opponent's foot on to a horizontal board,' explains 36-year-old Ben Woodroffe, the four-time world toe-wrestling champion, under the moniker 'Toe-tal Destruction'. The game begins on the right foot and continues until someone has pushed a foot on to the horizontal part of the board, also known as the 'toedium'. Once a point is scored, competitors then switch feet and play again on their left. They do a final third round on their right. The sport celebrated its 50th birthday in 2024 and originated in Derbyshire at a pub called the Bentley Brooke, when a booze-fuelled brainstorm was held between a group of friends, who jokingly decided to create a sport they could be good at. (They were beaten by a Canadian in the second year of the championship.) Today around 200 spectators turn up in Ashbourne's market square each year, with some competitors so loyal to the sport that they have entered yearly for the last 15-plus years. Alan 'Nasty' Nash remains the longest-reigning champion, with 17 wins under his belt. He officially retired in 2024. A tattoo on his leg reads: 'In a ring of toes where champions dwell, with nimble digits they cast their spell.' The sport was turned down by the Olympic committee in 1998, but with a recent rebrand it's hoped they can push for the 2033 Olympics. Woodroffe started recruiting people in Paris last year. 'This sport has what it takes,' he says. Woodroffe has been watching toe wrestling since he was 14 years old and always dreamed of winning the championship. He campaigns for people to take the sport more seriously, but is aware that many believe it's all a joke. In 2024, 28 competitors entered the tournament, which lasted around three hours. A waiver must be signed by competitors before entering to acknowledge that they are 'free from foot infections or conditions that could be contagious or harmful to other participants'. A referee also confirms foot hygiene after each competitor washes their feet in a bucket of soapy water. If the toes won't grip, either because they're too sweaty or different sizes, talcum powder can be used, and if that fails, they will be strapped together with gaffer tape and bandages. While being bandaged toe-to-toe with a total stranger might be too extreme for some, last year marked the first year when winners were handed a cash prize of £500 each alongside their medal and trophy. 'You should only enter if you're prepared with the mindset that your toe can break,' Woodroffe warns. 'Mine broke at a 90-degree angle last year, but I kept going. Pain is temporary, being a champion is for a lifetime.'
USA Today
29-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Notre Dame falls to TCU, goes out in Sweet 16 for fourth straight year
Notre Dame falls to TCU, goes out in Sweet 16 for fourth straight year Notre Dame had national championship aspirations months before the 2024-25 season began. The roster was stacked with enough talent to make those aspirations a reality. Instead, for the fourth straight year, the Irish's NCAA Tournament run ended in the Sweet 16. Led by led by a longtime nemesis, TCU won, 71-62, in Birmingham, Alabama for its second win over the Irish this season. For three quarters, the Irish (28-6) showed they could compete with the Horned Frogs (34-3). They went up by as much as nine near the midway point of the third quarter. Even after the Frogs took the lead near the end of the quarter, Liatu King put the Irish back in front with a layup at the buzzer. The fourth quarter was a different story though as the Irish shot only 3 of 18 from the field. Hailey Van Lith, who now has a 7-2 record against the Irish going back to her days at Louisville, took advantage by scoring 12 of her game-high 26 points and grabbing three of her nine rebounds in the frame. By the end of the game, she was being praised by everyone: Sedona Prince scored 21 points for the Frogs, and Madison Conner added 13. While their defense also factored into the decision, they also were part of a collective effort in which they had far more efficient shooting than the Irish. Both teams made 22 field goals, but the Frogs attempted 25 fewer shots. King achieved a double-double in her final college game with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Hannah Hidalgo had 15 points and four steals. Olivia Miles, perhaps also in her last game with the Irish, scored seven of her 10 points in the second quarter. However, she and Hidalgo collectively missed all eight of their field-goal attempts in the fourth. Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions. Follow Geoffrey on X: @gfclark89 More: Notre Dame star Hannah Hidalgo named finalist for two national awards More: Will JuJu Watkins injury cost Notre Dame fans chance to see her play? More: Photo gallery of Hailey Van Lith vs. Notre Dame
NBC Sports
28-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
‘Old' Frogs have TCU women in NCAA Sweet 16 after roster was rebuilt with experienced transfers
FORT WORTH, Texas — These old Frogs have taken TCU deeper than it has ever been in March Madness. TCU's roster has been rebuilt through the transfer portal since Mark Campbell became their coach two years ago, when the Horned Frogs were coming off a 1-17 record in Big 12 play. Now with 11 transfers, eight of them who had previous NCAA Tournament experience, they are in the Sweet 16 for the first time after sweeping the Big 12 regular season and conference tournament titles, then winning their first two NCAA games as a host team. 'Because of their maturity, age, understanding the magnitude of what's in front of us, how I get to coach them, how our staff gets to communicate with them, it's almost like you're coaching a pro team in how you manage them, which is just a blast,' Campbell said. 'I think they're one of a kind, and they are the oldest team in the country.' Campbell said he is apt to crack a few jokes at halftime with his players. He usually makes fun of their age. There are no freshman Frogs. The players for TCU (33-3) have an average age of 22 1/2 years old — a full year older than Oklahoma, the nation's next-oldest power conference team, and also still playing. Half of TCU's 14 players were at least that old going into the NCAA tourney. Sedona Prince, whose college career began with Oregon during the 2019-20 season, is the oldest Frog — she turns 25 on May 12, four days after Agnes Emma-Nnopu's 24th birthday. Emma-Nnopu was on Stanford's 2021 national championship team as a freshman, then went to another Final Four with Cardinal. 'We all came here for this reason. We all wanted to build a program and get to this point, obviously see how far we could take it thing,' said Madison Conner, a 21-year-old senior guard in her second season in Fort Worth after transferring from Arizona. 'The experience we have on the roster will help us.' The second-seeded Frogs play third-seeded Notre Dame (28-5) in Birmingham, Alabama. TCU won 76-68 when the teams played in the Cayman Islands on Nov. 29. Oklahoma (27-7) plays UConn in Spokane, Washington. Oklahoma players have an average age of 21 1/2 years old, with five players being older than TCU's average of 22 1/12. One big difference between those two old rosters is that the Sooners returned 98% of their scoring from last season's Big 12 championship team, including all five starters and six other letter winners who were part of the team's move into the Southeastern Conference this season. TCU's starting lineup now has graduate transfer Hailey Van Lith, who is about to play in her fifth consecutive Sweet 16, and sophomore guard Donovyn Hunter, who scored 11 points for Oregon State when the Beavers beat Notre Dame in the Sweet 16 last March. Prince, Conner and Emma-Nnopu were returning starters. The 23-year-old Van Lith is TCU's leading scorer at 17.6 points a game, and was both the Big 12 player and newcomer of the year. She went to a Final Four and two Elite Eight games in three seasons with Louisville before going to another Elite Eight last season with LSU. At 20, Hunter is one of only two TCU players under 21. The other is 19-year-old Ella Hamlin, who was added to the roster in the middle of last season after open tryouts on campus during a stretch when the Frogs had to forfeit two Big 12 games after a series of injuries, including to Prince and Conner. Hamlin has played in only briefly in 11 games this season. 'It's cool to come into a program and see the beginnings point of it, talking to Mark and seeing the vision he had for the team and all of us transfers that came in and trusted his process and the plan that he had for us,' Hunter said. 'I think he took a huge risk on us, and we took a risk on this program, not necessarily knowing what was going to come out of it. ... But I'm not surprised at all that we're breaking all these record points in history. It's all a testament to, really, just the team.'
Associated Press
27-03-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
‘Old' Frogs have TCU women in NCAA Sweet 16 after roster was rebuilt with experienced transfers
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — These old Frogs have taken TCU deeper than it has ever been in March Madness. TCU's roster has been rebuilt through the transfer portal since Mark Campbell became their coach two years ago, when the Horned Frogs were coming off a 1-17 record in Big 12 play. Now with 11 transfers, eight of them who had previous NCAA Tournament experience, they are in the Sweet 16 for the first time after sweeping the Big 12 regular season and conference tournament titles, then winning their first two NCAA games as a host team. 'Because of their maturity, age, understanding the magnitude of what's in front of us, how I get to coach them, how our staff gets to communicate with them, it's almost like you're coaching a pro team in how you manage them, which is just a blast,' Campbell said. 'I think they're one of a kind, and they are the oldest team in the country.' Campbell said he is apt to crack a few jokes at halftime with his players. He usually makes fun of their age. There are no freshman Frogs. The players for TCU (33-3) have an average age of 22 1/2 years old — a full year older than Oklahoma, the nation's next-oldest power conference team, and also still playing. Half of TCU's 14 players were at least that old going into the NCAA tourney. Sedona Prince, whose college career began with Oregon during the 2019-20 season, is the oldest Frog — she turns 25 on May 12, four days after Agnes Emma-Nnopu's 24th birthday. Emma-Nnopu was on Stanford's 2021 national championship team as a freshman, then went to another Final Four with Cardinal. 'We all came here for this reason. We all wanted to build a program and get to this point, obviously see how far we could take it thing,' said Madison Conner, a 21-year-old senior guard in her second season in Fort Worth after transferring from Arizona. 'The experience we have on the roster will help us.' The second-seeded Frogs play third-seeded Notre Dame (28-5) on Saturday in Birmingham, Alabama. TCU won 76-68 when the teams played in the Cayman Islands on Nov. 29. Oklahoma (27-7) plays UConn on Saturday in Spokane, Washington. Oklahoma players have an average age of 21 1/2 years old, with five players being older than TCU's average of 22 1/12. One big difference between those two old rosters is that the Sooners returned 98% of their scoring from last season's Big 12 championship team, including all five starters and six other letterwinners who were part of the team's move into the Southeastern Conference this season. TCU's starting lineup now has graduate transfer Hailey Van Lith, who is about to play in her fifth consecutive Sweet 16, and sophomore guard Donovyn Hunter, who scored 11 points for Oregon State when the Beavers beat Notre Dame in the Sweet 16 last March. Prince, Conner and Emma-Nnopu were returning starters. The 23-year-old Van Lith is TCU's leading scorer at 17.6 points a game, and was both the Big 12 player and newcomer of the year. She went to a Final Four and two Elite Eight games in three seasons with Louisville before going to another Elite Eight last season with LSU. At 20, Hunter is one of only two TCU players under 21. The other is 19-year-old Ella Hamlin, who was added to the roster in the middle of last season after open tryouts on campus during a stretch when the Frogs had to forfeit two Big 12 games after a series of injuries, including to Prince and Conner. Hamlin has played in only briefly in 11 games this season. 'It's cool to come into a program and see the beginnings point of it, talking to Mark and seeing the vision he had for the team and all of us transfers that came in and trusted his process and the plan that he had for us,' Hunter said. 'I think he took a huge risk on us, and we took a risk on this program, not necessarily knowing what was going to come out of it. ... But I'm not surprised at all that we're breaking all these record points in history. It's all a testament to, really, just the team.'
CBS News
22-03-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
March Madness at home for Frogs as TCU women win 73-51 over FDU
Hailey Van Lith is in her fifth NCAA Tournament, while Sedona Prince and Madison Conner have also already made multiple postseason appearances. Now together at TCU, they got a March Madness victory at home. Conner had 23 points with four 3-pointers and Prince overcame two early fouls to have 16 points and 10 rebounds as the second-seeded Frogs won 73-51 over Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday in their first women's NCAA Tournament game at home — and first anywhere in 15 years. "I've had a pretty good amount of success in March Madness. So I kind of know what it feels like... what kind of vibe a team is in when they're going to have a good run," said Van Lith, who has been to Elite Eights with second-round opponent Louisville (three) and LSU. "That game was really good for us." Van Lith added 13 points and seven assists for the Big 12 champion Horned Frogs (32-3), who have an 11-game winning streak. Teneisia Brown had 18 points and Ava Renninger 12 for 15th-seeded FDU (29-4), the Northeast Conference champions who had won 22 games in a row and were in the NCAA Tournament for the first time. "With this team, there was just something that told me that we were going to be competitive," FDU coach Stephanie Gaitley said. "Obviously we got outmatched talent-wise, but I couldn't be more proud of what we did today, obviously what we've done all year." There were nine early lead change, the last when TCU went ahead to stay on Conner's 3 to make it 21-20 with 7 1/2 minutes left in the first half. Those were the first of 10 points in the second quarter by Conner, who sometimes gets overshadowed by her teammates. "I have two great people beside me," said Conner, sitting between Van Lith and Prince on the postgame podium. "I don't think our egos affect how we play on the court. ... That's what makes it so special. And why I think we've had such a great season, is just because we're so unselfish in that way." TCU had its first double-digit lead soon after halftime when Conner, one of the nation's best long-range shooters, took a pass from Prince and made a 3 to make it 40-29. FDU's biggest lead came with Prince on the bench after her second foul, when reaching for an offensive rebound with 2:46 left in the first quarter. Brown then had consecutive layups on assists from Renninger for a 17-12 lead. Prince didn't have any more fouls after returning early in the second quarter, right before TCU took the lead for good. The first foul against the 6-foot-7 Prince was on a charge against 5-6 guard Abaigeal Babore. "I like taking charges," Babore said. "Anything that I can do to provide for the team, I'll do it. If that's putting my body on the line against someone that's 6-7, why not. I mean, when are you going to have the chance to do it again? So why not?" Babore did it again in the second quarter, drawing a charge against 6-1 Taylor Bigby. FDU: The Knights hadn't lost since an 83-58 loss at instate New Jersey foe Rutgers on Dec. 11. This was their second season with Gaitley, who made her 10th NCAA appearance with her fourth different team over a four-decade career. TCU: While it took the Frogs a little bit to settle in 12 days after winning the Big 12 tournament, they got their first NCAA victory since 2006 and extended their home-court winning streak to 23 games in a row. This win came two years to the date after Mark Campbell was hired as TCU's coach, with the team coming off a season when it was 1-17 in the Big 12. The Horned Frogs, who never made past the second round in their previous nine NCAA appearances, play at home again Sunday against Louisville after the Cardinals beat Nebraska 63-58. Van Lith went to the Elite Eight three times, once getting to the Final Four, with the Cardinals from 2021-23.
