Locals and First-timers Could be Rewarded at Grasmere Sports

Get your running shoes on, if you are local to the Grasmere area, or channel your inner resilience and resolve to have a go at a sport you’ve never tried, as both could see you picking up some rewards this weekend.

Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show offers trophies to the best placed local who competes in its fell races, regardless of whether they cross the finishing line in one of the top places. Here, a local is defined as a resident of Grasmere, Rydal, Chapel Stile, Skelwith, Elterwater, Wythburn or Loughrigg. Runners have to specify and show proof of their parish or residency but it can be well worth doing, to be on the podium.

Should that local also do what so many have tried before them and break the 1978 record of Fred Reeves (12 minutes and 21 seconds), whilst winning the men’s Senior Guides race.  There is also a £500 bonus to be had.  A new record-setter in the women’s race has the same incentive, if they can beat Victoria Wilkinson’s 2017 record (15 minutes and 5 seconds).

This year, there is also a £50 prize for any over-11, first-time wrestler who progresses beyond the first round in the Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling competitions.  If more than one person manages it, the reward will go to the one who advances furthest, or the prize could be shared.

Seeking to foil this attempt could be the contingent of Icelandic wrestlers, who believe they will be the ones to watch in this year’s contest, according to a podcast recorded ahead of the sports.  The Bretons, who will be heading over from Brittany, do not agree, believing they have some fine wrestlers in their squad.

With so much silverware just waiting to be won, a local resident could go home with something new for the mantelpiece.  This includes a new trophy, dedicated to Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling champion, Roger Robson, as well as an Under-18s (10 stone) World Championship trophy for younger wrestlers.  There is also a new wrestling trophy sponsored by Lowther Castle, in the women’s All Weights wrestling competition. 

Add to this over £7000 in prize money, excluding the extra £500 incentive in the men’s and ladies’ Senior Guides’ race and there’s a lot for which to compete.

“Whatever a local person attempts to win on the day, their pockets will be beneficiaries of free parking.  They will also be immersed in the culture and tradition of a truly great day out, of the kind rare to find in England today,” says Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show manager, Richard Hooper.”

Best-value tickets are those available online until 7pm. If your competitive spirit is at play, buying one of those, and entering an event, could see you heading home a winner, or with a little extra spending money.

Ends

Editors notes

Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show is an iconic event taking place in the heart of the English Lake District on the August Bank Holiday weekend. Its long historic roots date back to 1868 and it is renowned for its fell running, hound trails and Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling competitions, as well as being a fantastic family day out.