Shin-kicking champion crowned at the Cotswold Olimpick Games
The shin-kicking competition at the Cotswold Olimpick Games has crowned a new champion. The contest took place yesterday at Dover’s Hill, near Chipping Campden, reports BritPanorama.
The annual celebration of rural sporting traditions drew enthusiastic crowds, with Andrew Bailey receiving his title from Mike Newby, a three-time former champion known as Shindiana Jones, who currently officiates the events as the stickler or referee.
In a notable departure from tradition, the new champion competed unpadded, foregoing the customary straw padding worn by many participants. The Cotswold Olimpick Games boast a heritage extending back over four centuries, having been established in 1612 by local lawyer Robert Dover to channel the competitive spirit of the area’s residents.
Throughout its long history, shin-kicking has remained a key feature of the festivities. Competitors grasp each other by the shoulders while attempting to strike the opponent’s shins with their legs, a move that aims to bring them down. The stickler plays a vital role in ensuring that only legitimate kicks count toward a fall, while participants must wear trousers, albeit with the straw padding being optional.
Gareth Way, competing under the name Gaz, offered insight into the contest’s physical nature, stating, “The kicking is not the biggest part. I think that there’s an element of the pushing, the shoving. That’s at least 50 per cent of it, I think.” He further shared that the effects of the competition linger long after the event: “Your shins hurt days after.”
The event, which has encountered interruptions over its lifespan—including a temporary closure in the mid-1850s due to overwhelming crowds—attracted over 2,500 spectators this year. The shin-kicking bouts elicited considerable reactions from the audience, with audible winces and sympathetic groans noted from those watching.
As always, the appeal of the games transcends local boundaries, with participants and spectators arriving from as far away as North Carolina, USA. Beyond the headline shin-kicking event, attendees enjoyed an array of traditional rural competitions, such as tug o’ war, the wooden pillar throw, and sack races. The day concluded with a fireworks display and a beacon-lighting ceremony, following which the crowds made their way toward Chipping Campden, carrying torches.
In the end, the Cotswold Olimpick Games serve not just as a testament to the lingering spirit of rural competition, but as a vivid reminder of how tradition can inspire contemporary gatherings, with every kick echoing an unbroken chain of local heritage.
