Anyone for a spot of Bog Snorkelling

It seems that in this day and age just about everything can be made into a sport or competition. People are always looking to try new activities where they can compete against other.

Now it seems that there is a competition for those people who would like to snorkel in muddy trenches. Wales plays host to this competition, in which international competitors from all over the world will snorkel through a peat bog.

The way this competition works is that there are two fairly long trenches, each of them being about three feet deep and filled with water. The competitors don snorkel gear and then race against each other, each stays within their respective trench until they reach the end of it. The people that are competing in the race swim for about one hundred and twenty yards in the water.

This unique event has been occurring annually for about thirty years now. The idea came from a night at the pub with friends; now it has been happening each year for thirty years, drawing people to come and compete from all over the world, becoming more and more popular with each passing year.

The crazy thing about the competition is that since the water is placed in a trench cut out of a peat bog and is full of mud, there is almost no visibility; those people who have competed in this competition have said that you really cannot see a thing while you are swimming. They obviously get plenty of water in their mouths in the process of racing to get to the end of the trench the quickest and beat their opponent. Those competitors have stated that the water has a really unpleasant taste. Who would have thought?!

Many of the people that join this competition not only come from all over the world but they also wear fun outfits so that they can get a little more wild while swimming in the trenches.

This is a great and unique event for people to try and a good excuse to travel while also competing in a fun competition with a bunch of different people doing something that is very uncommon.

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 (Paddys sister) won the ladies event in the same year.

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 (a 120-yard (110 metre) swim, a 19-mile (31 kilometre) bike ride and a 7.5 mile (12.1 kilometre) run).

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.