After six years in the Nissen Hut, the bicycles, briefcases, hobby horses and bowler hats are coming out to play again.
Contestants observe the Chap Olympiad motto: Slower, Drunker, Better-dressed
The Chap Olympiad began in 2005 and soon became one of the summer’s social fixtures in London. Growing from 25 people, two bottles of gin, one bottle of vermouth and a handful of vintage sports props in a corner of Regent’s Park, eventually it was a huge ticketed spectacle in Bedford Square Gardens, Bloomsbury with 1,500 attendants.
A ten-metre raised track covered in Astroturf played host to some of the most bizarre ‘sports’ ever concocted. From Hop, Skip and G&T to Cucumber Sandwich Discus to Umbrella Jousting, they ranged from the relatively simple and very silly, to the rather difficult and downright dangerous – step forward Ironing Board Surfing, in which contestants had to be carried on a wobbly ironing board by four inebriated assistants along a gruelling ten-yard track.
Popular favourite Umbrella Jousting had two contestants go at each other on bicycles, armed only with a furled umbrella and a briefcase. The winner was the first to unseat his or her opponent. The battle often continued afterwards in a first-past-the-ferrule contest. For the less physically robust, points in Hobby Horse Racing were awarded more for elegance and panache than speed. The most risk averse contestants put themselves forward (or rather put their behinds forward) for Riding Crop Rumpus. The guests, clad in everything from full Regency military wear to 1940s Land Girls, would take part in every event, producing some of the most unforgettable images ever seen at a sporting occasion.
The Chap Olympiad ran for fifteen consecutive years at a number of locations across the UK, including a brief stint as a sideshow at the actual London Olympics in 2012. The last Chap Olympiad took place in July 2019 and it is now considered ripe for a triumphant return. The first stage of this revival will be the publishing of a book, The Chap Olympiad: The Tournament of Tomfoolery. The proposed book would feature many of the glorious colour photographs taken at each event over the years by professional photographers, capturing both the eccentric spirit of the event and the wonderful clothing of the participants, with text written by Gustav Temple, editor of the Chap Magazine.
The book will be launched on Saturday 8th November in London, at a grand event which will be a Chap Olympiad in itself, the first to be staged in six years. Both the book and the event are being funded by a campaign on Crowdfunder, where one may purchase in advance a copy of the book or a ticket to the event, or both. Please show your support for this much-loved spectacle of eccentricity and play your part in ensuring that the Field of Pleasant Dreams returns triumphant to this green and pleasant land.
