Inside Out

This page has been downloaded from www.insideout.net. It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2010.

Wigan’s sporting spectacle WORKSHEET A

Every year, a pub in the town of Wigan in the north-west of England hosts what its

owner Tony Callaghan calls an ‘exciting sporting spectacle’. It’s a competition that

doesn’t require any athletic ability – indeed, competitors gain more calories than they

burn – but the competitors would probably say that technique and training are

important.

The event in question is the World Pie-Eating Championship.

Actually, ‘World’ is a bit misleading, as most of the competitors are from near Wigan,

and the pies they eat, made of meat (beef) and potato with a pastry crust, are a

traditional British food that is particularly popular in the north-west of England. The

pies used in the competition are round, with a diameter of 12cm and a depth of 3.5cm.

Although competitive pie eating isn’t the healthiest of sports, in 2006 the

championship did respond to anti-obesity guidelines from the British government: it

changed the objective from eating as many pies as possible in three minutes (the

record was seven, set in 2005 by a local man nicknamed ‘The Anaconda’) to eating

just one pie as quickly as possible. The current champion is Barry Rigby, who won

the 2009 event by finishing his pie in 45 seconds.

Another concession, also in 2006, was the introduction of a separate competition for

vegetarian pie eaters. (There has been a big increase in the number of non-meat eaters

in Britain in the last 40 years or so: currently around 10% of the population don’t eat

red meat, which includes at least 3% who are strictly vegetarian.)

Unfortunately, just like professional athletics and cycling, the World Pie-Eating

Championship has had problems with illegal substances. Some competitors want to

eat their pies with gravy – which used to be allowed, but isn’t any more – and there

are suspicions that others have unfairly lubricated their throats by taking cough

medicine just before the competition.

The worst thing that happened in recent years was in 2007, when all the pies

disappeared on the day before the competition. Competition organiser David Williams

had just had the pies delivered to his home when unfortunately he took his eye off his

pet dog, Charlie, who went into the kitchen and ate every one. Fortunately, however, a

local pie-maker was able to make a full set of replacement pies. Seeing the funny side,

Williams decided to enter Charlie in the competition, having already found out that he

could eat a pie more quickly than any human. When the time came, however, Charlie

didn’t even want to finish his pie, probably because he was still full from the previous

day.

Inside Out

This page has been downloaded from www.insideout.net. It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2010.

Wigan’s sporting spectacle WORKSHEET B

Exercise 1

Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F), or if the text doesn’t

say (D).

1. The pies eaten in the competition contain nothing apart from meat.

2. The competition for vegetarian pie eaters began in 2007.

3. David Williams’ dog ate about twenty pies that were going to be used in the

competition.

4. Meat and potato pies are only popular in the north-west of England.

5. The pies eaten in the competition all have the same shape.

6. Because of David Williams’ dog it was not possible for the 2007 competition to

take place.

7. Barry Rigby has taken part in the competition more than once.

8. The rules about the use of gravy have changed.

Exercise 2

Answer the questions below.

1. What does Tony Callaghan own?

2. In what way has the competition become slightly healthier since 2006?

3. In what way is the competition similar to professional athletics and cycling?

4. In 2007, what did David Williams do that allowed his dog to eat the pies?

5. Apart from ‘World’ (in ‘World Pie Eating Championship’), can you find anything

else in the text that most people would probably find misleading?

6. What (or whom) do you think the introduction of a separate competition for

vegetarians was a ‘concession’ to?

7. Why might a competitor want to take cough medicine immediately before the

competition?

8. Why do you think the winner of the 2005 competition was nicknamed ‘The

Anaconda’?

Inside Out

This page has been downloaded from www.insideout.net. It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2010.

Wigan’s sporting spectacle WORKSHEET C

Exercise 3

Complete the crossword below. If all the words are correct, the current ‘world’ record

time (in seconds, to the nearest second) for eating one pie at the Wigan pie-eating

competition will read from top to bottom.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1. All the pies eaten in the competition have the same ___________.

2. Competitors are not allowed to take ___________ medicine just before the

competition.

3. The change to eating just one pie was made in response to government

___________ about healthy eating.

4. The part of a meat and potato pie (or indeed any pie) that is made of pastry is called

the ___________.

5. Barry Rigby and ‘The Anaconda’ have both been successful ___________.

6. Fortunately David Williams was able to see the ___________ side of what Charlie

did.

7. Not eating red meat doesn’t necessarily mean a person is ___________ vegetarian.

8. The ___________ of the man who won the competition in 2005 was ‘The

Anaconda’.

9. Tony Callaghan seems to think the competition is ___________ to watch.