The event has now become so popular that the championships will take place at a new venue for the first time this year
The event has now become so popular that the championships will take place at a new venue for the first time this yearThis month has already seen the annual Gloucester cheese rolling competition, an event where people take their lives into their own hands, hurtling 180 metres down Cooper’s Hill in the futile attempt to catch up with a runaway wheel of Double Gloucester.
Closer to home, there are more sporting oddities to be found. Every year, the World Black Pudding Throwing Championships takes place in Ramsbottom on the second Sunday in September. That one is a tradition said to hark back to the War of the Roses in 1455. But perhaps the one annual competition that really takes the biscuit is the World Gravy Wrestling Championships.
It may sound like something you wouldn’t want your mum catching you watching on Eurotrash in the 1990s, but what started as a one-off stunt in a supermarket car park in Wigan in 2007 has turned into a regular event watched by hundreds.for the annual August Bank Holiday Smack-Brown over the years. After the first event in Wigan, the World Gravy Wrestling Championships moved to the Rose ‘N’ Bowl pub garden inThe Rose 'N' Bowl pub in Stacksteads, near Bacup, has been the spiritual home of gravy wrestling for yearsThe event has now become so popular that the championships will take place at Bacup Cricket Club for the first time this year, having outgrown its pub lawn location.
Organiser Andrew Holt makes the 1,500 litres of gravy poured into the ring in his black pudding factory, The Real He previously said that the gravy is made in his factory to “competition regulations,” adding: “It is my grandma’s recipe and takes a lot of preparation.
“We have to make three types so that we can ensure the consistency is the same for all competitors. This includes thin and slippy, thick and gooey, and extra thick.
“The gravy used during the event is a combination of all three, yet we top it up with some of each depending on what the viscosity changes to and what we think it needs.it over in big barrels to the pub. We make around 1,500 litres which is enough to have on 15,000 Sunday roasts.
”As for the contest itself, there is a friendly WWE-style theatricality to the affair as costumed contenders, who are not serious competitors, wrestle for laughs and see who can make the biggest splash in the gravy pool. Past celebrity entrants include actor Will Mellor and comedian Romesh Ranganathan. A winner is declared after each two-minute bout, with both contenders then doused in a vat of the sticky brown stuff for good measure.
The final winners of the tournament are decided by a panel of four experienced judges, who focus on wrestling skills, fancy dress costumes and who got the crowd going the most. As the rules state: “Serious aggressiveness, roughness or unsportsmanlike conduct will result in disqualification,” as will anyone who appears to be under the influence of alcohol.
Winners of the men’s and women’s finals have their names engraved on the ‘Gravy Wrestling World Championship Trophy,’ which they keep for one year. But it isn’t just about the gravy grappling; families also enjoy the festival atmosphere, bouncy castles, face painting, craft ale pop-ups, and cake and tombola stands. The main aim of the event is to raise money for East Lancashire Hospice, though wrestlers can also raise funds for their chosen charity.
However, that doesn’t mean victory at the event is without glory. The most decorated gravy wrestler, Joel Hicks, who goes by names like Stone Cold Steve Bisto, was training to be a barrister when he won the first title in 2007. He chose to move away from a career in law to pursue modelling, and eventually earned a spot in the Guinness World Records for the most male wins in the championship history, having won six times.
Now in its 19th year, the event will take place for the first time at Bacup Cricket Club, away from its spiritual pub garden home.page said: “Finding the right home for the Gravy Wrestling was really important to us. After much consideration, the deciding factors came down to proximity to the original venue, access to public transport, facilities available and experience with similar-sized events.
“We’d like to sincerely thank the The Rose ‘N’ Bowl for all of the hard work put in every time and the many memorable championships held there over the years. It will always be a special part of the Gravy Wrestling’s story. But at long last, the bowling green is finally safe from all that gravy! ” The World Gravy Wrestling Championship will take place on the August Bank Holiday at Bacup Cricket Club.
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