World Coal Carrying Championships
When Lewis Hartley mocked his drinking buddy Reggie Sedgewick with the words "Ba gum lad tha' looks b******d" in Gawthorpe's Beehive Inn back in 1963, little did he know that his comment would lead to the World Coal Carrying Championships.
What began as a £10 bet between two friends has become an international event (well, an American competed once), recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the proving ground for the world's greatest coal carrier - or "Coil Humper", to use the local parlance.
The men's event consists of 30 competitors carrying 50 kilos of coal over a distance of 1108.25 yards (nearly a mile; current record: four minutes six seconds), while women, having narrowly escaped the option of a rolling-pin throwing contest, now carry 20 kilos the same distance (current record: five minutes five seconds).
The racing starts around noon at the Royal Oak public house on Owl Lane, and finishes at The Maypole on the village green. The championships are sponsored by H B Clarke & Co, a local brewery, which provides modest cash prizes.
Related Information
Website: Gawthorpe Website
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Brian Wilding |
| Email: | bwilding@gawthorpe.ndo.co.uk |
| Fax: | +44 (0) 1924 215089 |
| Phone: | +44 (0) 1924 218990 |
| Address: | 61 High St, Gawthorpe, Ossett, Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF5 9RB, UK |
| Town Information: | Gawthorpe |
| Full Name: | |
| Address: | WF5 |
| Directions: | In West Yorkshire, near Ossett. |
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Brian Wilding |
| Email: | bwilding@gawthorpe.ndo.co.uk |
| Fax: | +44 (0) 1924 215089 |
| Phone: | +44 (0) 1924 218990 |
| Address: | 61 High St, Gawthorpe, Ossett, Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF5 9RB, UK |
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| Location: | York |
| Address: | De Grey Rooms, Exhibition Square, York, YO1 2HB |
| Email: | info@visityork.org |
| Phone: | +44 (0)1904 550099 |
| Name: | Yorkshire Tourist Board |
| Location: | Yorkshire and Humberside |
| Address: | Welcome to Yorkshire, Dry Sand Foundry, Foundry Square, Holbeck, Leeds, LS11 5DL, UK |
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| Location: | United Kingdom |
| Email: | enquiries@ntrust.org.uk |
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