Toe wrestling championships in full swing as one heated bout ‘mired in controversy’
The eccentric sport dates back to medieval times, but only really gained traction when a bunch of drinkers at a Staffordshire boozers thought they’d come up with a game ‘the English could actually win’
Toe-tal chaos(Image: toewrestling/Instagram)
The Winter Olympics might be on right now, but there appears to be a new show in town – the Toe Wrestling Championships (TWC). That’s right – that’s a sport. Have you been living under a rock?
The ancient art of toe wrestling – which dates back to the medieval times – is sweeping the nation. Much like cricket, rugby and football there is lively debate about who really invented it, but the widely accepted view is that the sport as we know it today has its roots in the north of England.
According to the official Toe Wrestling Championships’, in 1974 a group of pals at Ye Olde Royal Oak Inn in Wetton, Staffordshire, decided to come up with a new sport that “England could actually win”.
The rules of their game? Competitors had to lock big toes over a big wooden board and then try and pin the rival’s foot to the canvas, sorry ‘toedium’. A bit like thumb wrestling, but with your big toes. Are you following?
Unfortunately the sport faded into obscurity after a Canadian visitor wandered into Ye Olde Royal Oak Inn in 1976 and absolutely cleaned up the opposition, thus robbing his English counterparts of their very raison d’être.
But – by 1994 the game had wholeheartedly returned, after the pub landlord at the Royal Oak stumbled upon the rulebook when he was deep cleaning. Sponsors jumped onboard and the deeply knit toe community spread across the country like verucc– ahem, I mean – wildfire.
Now 32 years later the sport has never been healthier, being played up and down the country (the European Championships are being held in London this spring).
Toe wrestling’s notoriety was aided by the existence of the game’s superstars. Alan ‘Nasty’ Nash is the sport’s Michael Jordan – the hallux that launched a thousand ships.
He’s won the most toe wrestling matches of all time. The mere notion of Nash’s sole makes grown men weep in train stations. But there have been other supporting players in the game’s rise to dominance.
Ben “Toe-tal Destruction” Woodroffe is the reigning champion. Then there’s Paul “Predatoe” Beech, Paul “The Toeminator” Beech and of course, Gareth Alcott.
The women’s division is equally as competitive, with Karen “Kamikaze” Davies notching up a scintillating run of victories, proving the sport is far from a men-only affair.
These days, thrilling clips of competitors locking their digits together and grappling desperately are quagmiring social media. In one recent bout, one match even came to a controversial ending after one of the player’s feet slipped out of the tape that strapped it to the opposing foot.
The game continues to gain traction, with Daily Star tipping it for inclusion at the next Olympics.
