ladbible logo

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Dorset Knob-Eating Contest Taking Place On Zoom Amid Lockdown Measures

Dorset Knob-Eating Contest Taking Place On Zoom Amid Lockdown Measures

Many competitors opt to dip them in tea or cider to help get them down their necks

Jake Massey

Jake Massey

Coronavirus has all but emptied the sporting calendar. No longer do we have the Euros and the Olympics to look forward to this summer, while the unresolved Premier League feels like a distant dream.

But if there's one thing lockdown can't stop, it's knob gobbling.

The Dorset Knob Eating competition is taking place online for the first time.
Shutterstock

For the first time ever, the Dorset Knob Eating Competition is taking place online today (Sunday), with contestants racing to ram as many down their throats as they can remotely via Zoom.

The annual contest sees ravenous rivals devour as many of the county's traditional biscuits as they can within one minute.

The biscuits have been made by Moores of Morecombelake for more than 150 years, and while one or two can be delicious with some cream or cheese, they can be quite dry without any spreads to help lubricate the baked treats, which makes swallowing lots of them in rapid succession rather tricky.

As such, many competitors opt to dip their knobs in tea or cider to help get them down their necks in the charity event.

Festival chairman, Ian Gregory, said by far and away the greatest exhibition of knob devouring took place in 2015.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "The world record stands at 13 or 14 - that was a momentous performance in 2015. But since then no-one has done more than seven."

The knobs are quite dry, which makes them hard to swallow.
Shutterstock

Ordinarily the competition takes place at Cattistock Fete, in west Dorset, but seeing as though that was cancelled, organisers had to think outside the box to make sure the people's appetite for knob noshing was met.

The online heats got under way at 10am and are being live-streamed on the Dorset Tea Facebook page, with more than 100 entrants expected to take part from all over the country, from the likes of Castle Donington, Ellesmere Port and Cockermouth.

You can follow all the drama as it unfolds, with each heat live-streamed through Facebook Live ahead of the final at 4.00pm.

Eating knob remotely is so 2020.
Facebook/Dorset Tea

Tim Holmes is currently looking like a tough man to beat, having devoured an impressive six knobs in the third heat, receiving praise from the organisers for his 'noshing technique'.

Careful before you back him though, as there's a chance he might not have enough room for more knob in the 'knob off' later on.

The knob eating antics are helping to raise money for Weldmar Hospicecare Trust, and you can donate here.

Featured Image Credit: Helen and Stephen Jones

Topics: UK News, lockdown, Funny, Community, Weird