Online presence for St Mary's Village Carnival, Eaton Bray, Edlesborough, Northall, Dagnall.
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Carnival 2008 - Fairy Tales

The Olympic Worm Charming Championship is coming to Edlesborough Green in 2012.

You have just four more years to get yourself into shape and fit to compete to be the Olympic Champion. Get out on the Green this year to hone your skills and develop your technique.

2012 - Worm Charming OlympicsSo far the entries from our villages have failed to come close to matching the world record of 511 worms in half an hour but last year was a record for our event, with Katherine Lee, from Dagnall, charming 32 worms, with many others in double figures.

Entry is FREE – Collect a square on the day from Gordon Gray or from the stage. We hope you will get yourself prepared for the event – bring whatever equipment you need or consider building a 'patent' worm-charming machine. 'Strict' rules will apply (see below).

World Worm Charming Competition

The International Federation of Charming Worms and Allied Pastimes (IFCWAP) has held the World Worm Charming Competition at Willaston County Primary School, Willaston, Nantwich, Cheshire since 1980.

Their website includes pictures and results from this year's championship along with a Roll of Honour for the past 28 years.

The Rules

  1. Each competitor/team to operate in a 3 x 3 metre plot. No more than three members of a team are allowed in any one plot. Each competitor/team may collect worms from his/her own plot only.
  2. Duration of competition to be 20 minutes, starting at about 4pm.
  3. Participants areallowed to water their square in the 45 minutes before the event starts.
  4. Any form of music may be used to charm the worms out of the earth. You may sing, use instruments, dance etc. A garden fork of normal type may be stuck into the ground and vibrated by any manual means to encourage worms to the surface but worms may not be dug from the ground. Vibrations only to be used.
  5. Garden forks to be suitably covered to prevent possible injury when being transported to and from the competition. Forks to be kept in cars prior to the competition.
  6. Worms to be handled carefully and collected in damp peat in a suitable container provided by the organising committee.
  7. The competitor who ‘charms’ the most worms is the winner. In the event of a tie, the winner to be decided by a further two minutes charming.

It may help to know that the most successful method used so far is that of hand vibrating a four tyne garden fork inserted approximately 15 cms into the turf.

© IFCWAP 2002 If you wish to sing to the worms potentially good tunes are:

  • Good Vibrations,
  • Rhythm of the falling rain,
  • Flowers in the rain,
  • The green, green grass of home,
  • Handel’s Water Music,
  • Raindrops keep falling on my head etc.