Welly wanging
Some sports take years of training to perfect, require expensive equipment and have complicated rules. The sport of welly wanging is nothing like that. All you have to do is throw a Wellington boot as far as you can. It’s simple, satisfying and seriously silly.
It’s hard to say for sure exactly why, where and when the sport of welly wanging began. Variations of the game are played around the world, including in Italy, New Zealand and the UK. According to the organisers of the Welly Wanging World Championships in Upperthong in West Yorkshire, England, the game started as a result of a quarrel between two farmers in the village. This resulted in one of the farmers hurling (or “wanging”) his Wellington boot at the other. The village now hosts an annual welly wanging contest.
Welly wanging isn’t a sport with a fixed set of regulations. To play, you just need a large outdoor space such as a field, park or garden. Before launching anything into the air, make sure that it is safe to throw the boot and that it will not hurt anyone or damage anything nearby. Mark a start line, take a boot and prepare to wang.
The Welly Wanging World Championships have particular rules to ensure fair play. Competitors are only allowed a maximum run-up of 42 steps before throwing, and each competitor must use the same type of welly: a green size nine Dunlop boot. Once everyone has had a turn it’s time to measure each throw. Use a tape measure or count the distance in steps to where the welly lands. The person who has thrown the furthest wins. If you want to be a record-breaker in future, the Guinness World Record for throwing a welly is 40.87 metres for a woman and 63.98 metres for a man.