Welly Wanging
May 4th 2008 01:31
Ok folks, I think its about time for another Random Sport of the Day.
If I asked most of you to show me how good you are at wanging your welly (or wellie) im pretty sure I would get some puzzled looks. Contrary to what you might think, the sport of Welly Wanging does not involve genitalia of any sort. And yes, it is actually a sport.
Keeping with my tradition of writing sports blogs about random household objects, todays post highlights the true capabilities of the humble gumboot.
Welly Wanging is one of those kooky traditional British folk sports. Competitors are required to throw a gumboot (Wellington boot) as far as possible within a set of boundary lines, from either a standing or running start. Each competitor gets three turns and then the person who’s ‘wang’ is the longest is the winner, its almost like some kind of mutant cross breed between shot-put, discus and gumboots. For those wanting to take their welly to the extreme, there is a variation of the sport which involves flinging the boot off the foot.
These competitions are not only found in English villages, oh no, both New Zealand and Finland hold annual events, Finland even holds a world championship in the event. And there you were thinking that gumboots were just for keeping your feet dry.
Now, in case you were wondering what sort of competition you would be up against if you decided to have a go at this sport, I decided to have a look for some results. Strangely enough I had a hard time finding results for this sport, so keep in mind that these will be outdated. In 2001 there were reports of an 11 year old girl who wanged her welly 19.5m at the Flamstead village fete. But over in Bow Brickhill the men’s division was won with a wang of 42.8m.
If you just happen to be in the village of Worlington on the 25th of may this year, you should check out (or enter) the Welly Wang at the village fete, its free and the gates open at 11am.
Until next time, Happy Wanging.
If I asked most of you to show me how good you are at wanging your welly (or wellie) im pretty sure I would get some puzzled looks. Contrary to what you might think, the sport of Welly Wanging does not involve genitalia of any sort. And yes, it is actually a sport.
Keeping with my tradition of writing sports blogs about random household objects, todays post highlights the true capabilities of the humble gumboot.
The overarm technique
The horizontal 'flying saucer' technique
Welly Wanging is one of those kooky traditional British folk sports. Competitors are required to throw a gumboot (Wellington boot) as far as possible within a set of boundary lines, from either a standing or running start. Each competitor gets three turns and then the person who’s ‘wang’ is the longest is the winner, its almost like some kind of mutant cross breed between shot-put, discus and gumboots. For those wanting to take their welly to the extreme, there is a variation of the sport which involves flinging the boot off the foot.
These competitions are not only found in English villages, oh no, both New Zealand and Finland hold annual events, Finland even holds a world championship in the event. And there you were thinking that gumboots were just for keeping your feet dry.
Now, in case you were wondering what sort of competition you would be up against if you decided to have a go at this sport, I decided to have a look for some results. Strangely enough I had a hard time finding results for this sport, so keep in mind that these will be outdated. In 2001 there were reports of an 11 year old girl who wanged her welly 19.5m at the Flamstead village fete. But over in Bow Brickhill the men’s division was won with a wang of 42.8m.
If you just happen to be in the village of Worlington on the 25th of may this year, you should check out (or enter) the Welly Wang at the village fete, its free and the gates open at 11am.
Until next time, Happy Wanging.
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