Foto: Když šneci vydělávají peníze - Aktuálně.cz

World Snail Racing Championships in Congham, Norfolk, Britain - 18 Jul 2010 2010-07-18 00:00:00 Mandatory Credit: Photo by Geoffrey Robinson / Rex Features ( 1208528b ) Snailmaster Neil Risborough lines up the snails World Snail Racing Championships in Congham, Norfolk, Britain - 18 Jul 2010 More than 200 snails slugged it out at the annual World Snail Racing Championships in a tiny Norfolk village this weekend. The garden snails spent Saturday afternoon sliming over a challenging 13 inch course to win a silver tankard stuffed with lettuce. The quirky competition, which has been running for nearly 40 years, is held in Congham, near King's Lynn in Norfolk and attracts thousands of spectators every year. Although there are a number of imitations, it is the only recognised World Championship. This year saw its oldest ever winner with a snail belonging to 62-year-old Claire Lawrence, from Litcham in Norfolk, coming first. Her snail, named Sidney, crossed the finishing line in 3.41 minutes. "I'm shell shocked my mum has won, as it's the first time she has entered," said her son Harry Lawrence, 21, from Litcham. "She selected Sidney a couple of days ago and she has been training him in our garden and feeding him on a diet of rocket salad." The championships are part of Congham fete and were originally started to help raise money for the 13th century village church. Today it attracts hundreds of entrants of all ages, many whom have spent days training their snails for the big event. "Congham is ideal snail breeding and racing country as they like damp conditions and the village sits in a low-lying area surrounded by ponds," said organiser Hilary Scase. "People love coming along because it is quirky and something different "A lot of the children like to choose their snails a long time in advance and train them. "Surprisngly the snails seem to respond to being talked to and small snails seem to do better as they have smaller shells so they can move mo... For more information visit http://www.rexfeatures.com/stacklink/EPKKVYUIW

Na hlemýždích se ale dá vydělat i jinými způsoby. Například sázením na vítězství hlemýžďů - "sprinterů", kteří se mezi sebou utkávají na závodech. Světový šampionát šneků se konal v britském Conghamu. | Foto: ISIFA