Bog snorkelling among man's 365 sports challenge

A man who set himself the challenge of completing 365 sports in 365 days, including bog snorkelling and gravy wrestling, says he is overwhelmed with the support he has received.

Jacob Vahey, 25, from North Ferriby, East Yorkshire, started the challenge on 1 October 2025 to raise money for the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) - and has since taken part in about 300 sports.

He said although he is slightly behind, he still hoped to try 365 sports by the end of 2026, or the beginning of 2027.

He said: "It's been absolute chaos trying to plan the different sports and make sure everything is in place. But I've enjoyed every bit of it, it's been a very enjoyable chaos."

Vahey said he wanted to attempt the challenge in memory of two friends that he had lost to suicide.

"It's helped me both physically and also mentally as well. I've really just tried to raise awareness of the variety of different sports out there," he added.

Over the past year, Vahey has attempted a "real range of weird and wonderful sports", from competing at black pudding throwing, worm charming, and chess boxing.

He added that although it was "hard to narrow down" which would be his favourite, he said winning the fancy dress prize for dressing up as a potato while gravy wrestling in Lancashire was something he was "very proud of".

"It's just a strange day of improvising different wresting moves, and getting thrown around in a big tub of gravy," he said.

"It was really one of those where if you'd told me 48 hours before that I'd be doing that, I would have laughed in your face. It was a very interesting one".

Although he has found the challenge rewarding, he admitted it has been "absolute chaos" trying to find new sports and plan the schedule alongside working a full-time job.

He has almost reached his target of £5,000 and thanked people for what he described as an "overwhelming amount of support".

Here are explanations of some of the sports Vahey has taken part in:

Bog snorkelling: The event began in 1976, 10 years before the first world championship was held. It now takes place on a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wales, and sees people from around the world compete in a 120 yard snorkel in a muddy bog.

Gravy wrestling: The first World Gravy Wrestling Championship was organised for charity in 2007. Held in Lancashire, wrestlers in fancy dress grapple in a pool of gravy for two-minutes and are marked by judges.

Black pudding throwing: The World Black Pudding Throwing Championships have been taking place for more than a century, and are held in Bury, Manchester. It is thought to date back to the War of the Roses. Competitors see who can knock as many Yorkshire puddings off a ledge by throwing black puddings at them. it

Worm charming: The annual Worm Charming Championships have been held in Cheshire for more than 40 years. Charmers from across the world compete to try and encourage worms to come out of the soil.

Chess boxing: The sport combines playing chess and boxing. Opponents play a round of chess, followed by a round of boxing, until one player is checkmated or knocked out.

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