The SportTwo people.
Ten toes.
No mercy.
Toe wrestling is a real, regulated combat sport. Invented in a Derbyshire pub in 1974, it's now played to a written rulebook with referees, VAR and a world championship. Here's the 90-second version.
"It's like arm wrestling,
but with your feet."
Three steps. One winner.
- 01LOCK THE TOES
Two competitors sit barefoot on the Toedium, backsides on the line, and interlock big toes. Non-wrestling foot up, hands flat on the floor.
- 02"Three, two, one, toes away."
On the ref's call the round begins. Twist, lever, leverage, get your opponent's competing foot down and onto the upright stanchion.
- 03Toe Down
Touch the stanchion and the round ends instantly. Best of three rounds (best of five in finals). Coin toss decides the starting foot.
Every sport has an arena.
Ours is foot-shaped.
The Toedium is the official platform toe wrestling is played on: a rigid, non-slip, foot-shaped deck with two upright posts, called stanchions, at either side. Two competitors sit facing each other, lock big toes across it, and try to drive the other's foot into one of those posts.
What you're looking at.
- 01The Heel Deck
The foot-shaped playing surface, around 120 cm long and raised a few centimetres off the floor. Topped with grippy rubber so heels stay put when the leverage really kicks in.
- 02The Stanchions
Two rigid steel posts, roughly a foot square, bolted upright at either side. Both the scoring targets and the side boundaries. They do not flex, lean or wobble. Ever.
- 03The Red Centre Line
A red line across the middle of the deck, and running back along the floor, that both competitors line their heels up against. Nobody starts with an advantage.
Touch the post.
Win the round.
Those two stanchions are the targets. Force any part of your opponent's competing foot to touch a stanchion, however lightly, and you score a Toe Down, which wins the round instantly. No pressure, no holding it there. The lightest tap counts.