BOGNOR REGIS INTERNATIONAL BIRDMAN COMPETITION FROM ENGLAND!

   The Bognor Birdman event first started on the South coast of Britain in Selsey in 1971, where a prize was given for anyone who could fly the grand distance of 50 yards. Nobody managed it! After a few years the event started to attract quite a crowd and in 1978 the term Bognor Birdman was coined when the event moved to its present location in Bognor Regis. Why Bognor Regis is open to debate - perhaps it was some forward thinking person at the local council - perhaps it's because the sea has a strong incoming tide to help bring people back to the beach, perhaps it is because one of the original competitors came from Bognor, it certainly isn't because it is an easy place to get to. Anyway, the event has evolved and gets ever more popular. Every year a collection of brave daring men and women dress up in bizarre outfits and become Bognor Birdmen. They compete against one another by trying to fly through the air the furthest. Some people would say that they are just a bunch of adventurous nutters who jump off the end of a pier and end up getting cold and wet when they land in the sea. Either way, it's a fun event which benefits a number of good causes.

Bognor Birdmen

   The event gets bigger and bigger every year so much now that the, ahem, "organisers" at the ludicrously named Arun District Council restrict the numbers of Birdmen taking part! However local government workers cannot stop people having fun. Today the birdmen of Bognor event is very popular and has a tremendous following with many nationalities taking part and the whole event attracts media interest from all around the world. Many spectators go along for a day out in the sunshine and take great pleasure in seeing people jump off a pier. The spectators also witness a number of 'professionals' who make quite an effort at seriously trying to fly! These brave souls are normally unhitched extreme sports types and/or experienced hang gliding types who generally don't mind having their hang glider get trashed when it crashes into the sea!

The Bognor Birdmen event also attracts serious international competitors and in 1984 German Harold Zimmer flew 57.8 metres and walked away with £10,000 so it's not all totally batty! In fact, during the 1980s the event was dominated by the Germans and by 1990 the record stood at an incredible 71 metres. Also in 1990 the Germans took 1st, 2nd and 3rd places.

These days if anyone "flies" 100 metres, the prize is a cool £25,000 - about 40,000 US Dollars !    Although Carl Christensen made a valiant attempt in 1999, and won the prize for best fancy dressed Bognor Birdman, but his magic flying carpet stalled so he did not fly too far - something like 5 metres, so he was some way short of the record distance. The current unbroken record which stands at a staggering 89.2 metres, was set in 1992 by a local lad, Dave Bradshaw. International Birdman 2010    Bognor Birdman 2010 could be the biggest ever, and lets hope the local Arun District council do not try and wiggle out of staging the event, as they did in 2008 and 2009, handing the event to Worthing, citing ludicrous PC elf and safety excuses. As the popularity of the event has spread, more people want to come and watch and see who will be the crowned best International Birdman 2010. Of course, everyone who takes part will have fun, and as the cliché goes, everyone will be a winner atthe 2010 event. The day will as always be popular for the spectators, the competitors, their friends and families. Maybe if the council get their act together they could stage a successful Birdman 2011, but don't hold your breath. They seem to forget Bognor is more famous for its Birdman competition than it is for anything else, including the local Butlins.    The event has now got so popular, it has gone international, with competitors from many different countries eager to take part and entertain the crowds which often number up to 25,000. Most of the International Birdmen will be jumping trying to raise money for charity. Every year feathers fly as birdmen from around the world compete for the title of International Birdman. There have been all sorts of    International Birdman entries over the years including a flying tardis from Dr Who, a skateboarding cow and even a chicken and mushroom pie. Historical note - the first Birdman competitors were not international - as competitors such as Mary Poppins, Peter Pan and a naked man called John were all British, but now International Bognor Birdmen come from throughout the world. Bognor Birdman Competition    If you are considering being a competitor, please bear in mind it isn't really a competition in the normal sense of the word. Sure there will be a winner, so it is a competition, but very few of the people who take part are truly competitive when it comes to wanting to win the event. Most people taking part in the Bognor Birdman competition are well meaning folks, trying to do their bit for charirty, and have no intention of winning the competition. They are doing it primarily for fun. That is not to say that people taking part are not competitive, it's more that they are fun loving nutters.    Although the event is now very popular, the fun is in watching all sorts of people who come to Bognor for the event. The competitors are a right mix, and there is generally a Batman or a Superman there each year. Amongst the many foolhardy folks there, you may find a green magic dragon whose wings misfunction, a fun loving chap with a flying carpet that stalls, a nutter who is the spitting image of Dracula, whose cape mysteriously fails to open, a crazy American  with a beak and a three inch propellor on his head, or maybe an alien from the planet Zarg whose alien antennas do not give him the lift he expected.    One or two souls are semi-serious and take part in hang glider-esque contraptions. One man, Ron Freeman does such a thing year after year, and each year his aircraft, as he lovingly refers to his battered old hang glider, needs serious repair work. Good for Ron though to take part - most serious hang gliders won't put their gliders anywhere near the competition for fear of personal ridicule and damage to their flying machine. Look around this Bognor Birdman site and you will get a feel for the kind of nutters who have been Bognor Birdmen in the past. These are just a few Bognor Birdman pictures. As you can see some Bognor Birdmen are nutters, some are serious, but it's a fun day out for all who take part, and their friends.    If you are the kind of person who is interested in flying through the air with big pants and string then maybe you would like to find out more about Online Dating. It works, as does speed dating - and most attendees are generally people who enjoy themselves so at least that's one thing Speeddating afficianados have in common with Bognor Birdmen! Maybe you should give it a go.

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