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Published: August 27th 2007
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Well it's not every day you can proudly say you have competed at an international level in sport but I can now! Today I competed in the World Bog Snorkelling Championships! This wacky event is organised annually by a group of Welshmen who seem to enjoy thinking up crazy things to do over a pint of beer. Check out their website at green-events.co.uk.
The event took place at Llantwyrd Wells (not pronounced at all like it looks....you kind of need to do a hacking 'kl' sound at the start followed by numerous vowel sounds which are unfamiliar to Aussie English, finished with a rolling 'r'!) The town is situated in the middle of Wales close to the beautiful Brecon region, amongst rolling hills dotted with grazing sheep and tiny roads fenced in by hedges. It involves the competitors 'swimming' 120 yards through marshy bog (read foul smelling, muddy water filled with weeds and tadpoles) in an effort to beat the world record! Some competitors come along for the fun complete in crazy fancy dress and some are more serious in wetsuits and extra long flippers.
You are allowed to wear flippers, snorkel and a mask for the event and
the only rules are that you are not permitted to do any recognised swimming stroke which involves your arms exiting the water and you are only allowed to lift your head to regain orientation (it is impossible to see where you are going underwater as the water is too thick and brown).
Karen, Mick, Jas and I had read about the event in the rough guide and decided that we may as well go along and have a look as it was definately a once in a lifetime opportunity. Upon arrival at the paddock we paid our £2 donation to John the farmer who kindly lets the Boggers use his property every year, and quickly registered before I could change my mind. We had a long wait before my heat came up as I was registered as number 81. The nerves started to build a little as my turn got closer.....I put a call over the PA system to borrow someone's snorkel, flippers and mask as I had only come armed with my bikinis! The man before me was wearing a toilet seat around his neck so expectations for my speed weren't too high.
The starter counted down
to three and I was off.....it was bloody freezing in the water and I quickly regretted having ever said I would do this stupid event. I resisted the urge to take my snorkel out and regain my breathing as the icy cold had taken it away, and soon settled into my bog snorkelling technique....kick like mad and lift your head every now and then to stop from running into the edge of the trench. I completed the 120 yards in a commendable 2 minutes 22 seconds which I thought was pretty good considering it was very very cold and the water was about as thick as tomato soup.
I had a lot of trouble getting out of the trench as my poor legs were in complete shock. Ten minutes of solid shivering ensued as I tried to get as much mud as I could off me before getting dry clothes back on. I would have to wait until we got home to have a shower so Karen, Mick and Jas put up with the lovely muddy, boggy aromas for the two hour drive back home!
Needless to say I am not the world champion but certainly should be
within the top eighty in the world for Bog Snorkelling! Will have to wait till the results come online as we weren't able to stick around for the presentation ceremony. I did not come very close to the women's world record time of 1 minute 45 seconds but it was my first year and there is always next year!????
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Trudie
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Well done!
Well done you! Nothing would have got me in there. I just got back to Portsmouth after a great day out watching all those crazy people getting really cold and muddy in the bog, long drive, worth every minute. Great event, and I can let you know that there is in fact a new World Bog Snorkeling Champion...... 1 min 34.18 secs sees a girl take the title - hurrahhhh! Go Girls. Top event and can recommend it to any slightly competitive nutters out there, or even if you just want to have some fun.