The weird and wacky sporting events taking place over Easter

Never mind the Premier League title race or multi-million dollar boxing bouts taking place across the the globe.

The very best of sport at this time of year is to be found in Maryland eateries and pubs in Peterlee.

Here, Press Association Sport takes a look at some of the more unusual Easter sporting endeavours.

Hungry for success

Few sports stars come hungrier for success than competitive eating contender Matt Stonie. He smashed the Peeps-eating world record in Maryland in 2017 by downing more than 255 of the chick-shaped marshmallows, the Easter candy of choice in the United States, in five minutes.

Cock and bull story

Uppies and Downies

Uppies and Downies, a form of medieval football, has been played on Good Friday in Workington for hundreds of years. Players, divided by where they live, have to get a ball into an opponents’ goal across an area incorporating much of the town centre. It can take hours and feature hundreds of players. Deaths and serious injuries have never stopped it, but the proposed building of a new Tesco Extra smack-bang in the middle of its ‘pitch’ briefly put its future in doubt in 2010.

Eggs-ellent Easter weekend in Peterlee

The World Egg Jarping Championships take place every Easter in the Hearts of Oak pub in Peterlee. Competitors each select a boiled egg which are bashed together until one of them cracks. Strict rules are in place to ensure no cheating, which can include dipping eggs in beer, painting them with nail varnish or holding them against radiators. Two-time egg jarping world champion Jack Smedley confirmed: “There isn’t any special skill involved.”

Lost your marbles?