Bog snorkelling

Bog snorkelling

Competitor of the World Bog Snorkelling Championship
First played 1976, Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales, United Kingdom
Characteristics
Team members Single competitors
Mixed gender Yes, but in separate leagues
Type Outdoor, aquatic
Equipment Snorkel and flippers
Venue Water-filled trench cut through a peat bog

Bog snorkelling is a sporting event that consists of competitors completing two consecutive lengths of a water-filled trench cut through a peat bog in the shortest time possible. Competitors must wear snorkels and flippers and complete the course without using conventional swimming strokes, relying on flipper power alone. A wetsuit is not compulsory, but is often worn alongside the bog crown of 1963.

The length of the trench is 60 yards (55 m), traversed twice for a course of 120 yards (110 m).[1]

The current world record holder, Paddy Lambe, finished the Irish championship event in a time of 1:19 in September 2016.

History of bog snorkelling

The activity of bog snorkelling was started in 1976 near Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales, United Kingdom. It began as a result of an over-the-bar conversation in The Neuadd Arms between Gordon Green and a few regulars.

World Bog Snorkelling Championship

The World Bog Snorkelling Championship, first held in 1985, takes place annually every August Bank Holiday at the dense Waen Rhydd peat bog, near Llanwrtyd Wells in mid Wales. In 2014 Kirsty Johnson broke the previous world record set by Dineka Maguire in 2013. Kirsty's time was 1:22.56 secs. The world and men's champion for 2016 is Daniel Norman in a time of 1.26.38. The ladies' champion in 1.33.10, Anna Lohman, is also the reigning Swedish champion. Paddy Lambe, the 2016 Irish champion set a time at the Irish Bog Snorkelling Championships in September 2016 of 1:19 which set a new world record for bog snorkelling. The Irish event in 2016 was also the first time a brother and sister won the national championship in the same year. Moira Lambe, Paddy's sister, won the ladies' event in the same year.[2]

Other bog snorkelling events take place, particularly in Wales, but also in Australia, Ireland, and Sweden. Associated events include the associated mountain bike bog snorkelling, where competitors must ride through the bog on specially prepared mountain bikes, and the Bog Snorkelling Triathlon, which consists of a 120-yard (110 metre) swim, a 19-mile (31 kilometre) bike ride and a 7.5 mile (12.1 kilometre) run).[3][4]

Proceeds from the championship go to a local charity each year. Charities include the Cystic Fibrosis Trust (2005) and the Motor Neurone Association (2006). The 2006 charity was chosen in memory of the Green Events treasurer, Ron Skilton, who died in December 2005.[5]

Results

Men

Women

A photo of the World Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling Championship

Junior

Children's

Local Men's

Local Women's

References

  1. ↑ Irish Bog Snorkelling (2009). World Record Smashed Twice!! 1st ever Irish Bog Snorkelling Championships a Huge Success. Irish Bog Snorkelling. Retrieved on 2012-07-29 from http://www.irishbogsnorkelling.com/index-09.htm.
  2. ↑ "Mayhem in the muck at bog snorkelling championship - Independent.ie". Retrieved 2016-09-12.
  3. ↑ "World Bog Snorkelling Championship". Retrieved January 2010. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  4. ↑ "Teenager in bog snorkelling record". Belfasttelegraph. 25 August 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  5. ↑ "Llanwrtyd Wells Bog Snorkelling site". Archived from the original on 14 December 2007.
  6. ↑ "Andrew Holmes sets new world bog snorkelling record". BBC News. 28 August 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  7. ↑ "Llanwrtyd Wells bog snorkel has new world record time". BBC News. 29 August 2010.
  8. ↑ "Bog snorkellers set new world record". BBC News. 28 August 2000.
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