A TOURNAMENT for a once-forgotten pastime was held last week and there are hopes its resurgence will continue.

The Dodworth Miners’ Welfare Knurr and Spell Championship was won by Dean Warden.

Dean was one of ten competitors in the event organised by Boz Davison.

He said: “After an hour’s practice the competition started, but not before there was a cheeky argument about the rules.

“Knurr and spell wouldn’t be the proper game without a traditional argument first.

“Ten players competed for the prize and, after all players had played their five hits, the three top players went into final. Each player had two more hits to try to get the top spot.

“Dean came out on top with longest knock of 100 yards, 14 inches.

“This hit is now the longest modern record, beating Jordan Lee’s Yorkshire Day record of 91 yards in Thurgoland’s competition.”

These recent games are a chance to get the game restarted with Boz also hopeful of taking the sport across the border to Lancashire with the aim of rekindling the old rivalry between the two counties.

Boz added: “All the equipment is provided, but some isn’t as traditional as we would have liked and we’ve had to adapt to what’s currently available.

“The sticks are the main difference, as getting anything like the traditional ones is impossible.

“The main thing about the game is that we get the potty to spring up out of the spell, then you can hit it with anything, within reason.

“A cricket bat, hockey stick, whittled down pick-handle or hurling sticks.

“The old long knock record using traditional long sticks was set in 1940 by Grenoside man Henry Mollard, with a hit of 353 yards.

“We are some way off that!”

Both knurr and spell, and the slightly different game of nipsey, have historically been played in the village of Dodworth.

The 1973 World Championship of Knurr and Spell was played at Dodworth Miners’ Welfare.

It was won by Stuart Greenfield from Lancashire, the runner up was Len Kershaw from Colne and third was Barnsley’s Tommy Chambers.