It was the most exciting contest ever and the winner was unclear from start to finish. 4 entries lined up for the 2004 contest including the current champ Rick Barker, former champ Bear Barker, 4 times winner Julian Barker and the new challenger Jason Hoare.
After a slight delay, because Bear was trying to make everyone wait to put them off, the contest finally started with Rick and Jason tucking in straight away. However it was Julian who took up the early lead by reaching 5 with ease. Jason and Rick were only just behind with Bear taking his time. Speed is not always an issue in this contest, pacing yourself right can be very important.
As things continued Julian still set the pace and reached 10 just ahead of Rick and Jason who seemed to be going well at this stage and had already beaten Dashes total of 6 last year. Bear was adopting different tactics to the other 3 and was always a couple of eggs behind but from other years we've seen him finish strongly.
Julian still led at the 12th but Rick levelled as the 13th approached. He was going well. Jason finished his 12th egg [a new record for a newcomer] but was beginning to show signs of distress. Bear still looked confident back on 11 and a bit eggs. This was shaping up to be the best finish ever to a creme egg competition.
Now things were getting serious. Rick went into the lead after his 14th. Julian who stopped after 13 last year went for a 14th this time and sank it fairly well although he probably felt pretty rough at this stage. Jason was a big danger as he swallowed another egg and he had now eaten 14 !, could he be a shock winner? Bear was now catching up and he was just starting his 14th. Still no-one refused to give in.
Julian took a few minutes to recover after eating 14 [1 better than 2003] which left Rick in the lead and he ate his 15th but he was slowing up badly now. Jason challenged for glory as he started his 15th but the fondant was dripping down his chin and into his hairy beard by this stage. Bear seemed to be struggling on his 14th and was now almost 2 eggs behind again. Was he beaten?
Rick had gone one better than his 15 from last year and equalled his PB when the 16th was consumed and that finished Jason as he just managed to eat his 15th egg. Bear followed as well, dropping out after 14 eggs. Julian continued to battle and ate his 15th and began a 16th[he hadn't gone this far since 2001!].
Julian called it quits after 16 and made a mad dash to the bog which left Rick, who had now eaten most of his 17th, with the competition there for the taking. However some 10 minutes after starting his 17th, he called it quits 2 thirds of the way through it and left the room to let the eggs out of his stomach up against the house wall.
And so the honours were shared between Julian and Rick on 16 eggs. Jason took an excellent 3rd with 15 eggs and Bear in 4th with 14 eggs.
CONCLUSION/SUMMARY
:Most probably the best comp yet. The finish couldn't have been much
closer and the determination levels were so high that 2, maybe 3 of the
participants had to go for a puke afterwards. A record 61 eggs were consumed
this year and a new record high average of 15.25 eggs per entry which is
incredible. Next year should be a cracker.
RICK BARKER -16eggs - Long gone are the days of him being tailed off, he is now the biggest danger of all. The competition was all his but that 17th would not go down and the other 16 decided to come straight back up. A real solid effort although it was never easy. His second title and it wont be the last.
JULIAN BARKER -16eggs - The old master returned to form this year but he had to work harder than ever to win it again. The 5th title is in the bag and he must be pleased with that performance after 2 poor years. He must now believe he can win a 6th next year.
JASON HOARE -15eggs - A superb new entry who could go on to win this in the future if he can eat like that again. He stormed through those eggs like it was dinner time and everyone was impressed with that. Excellent stuff from the big friendly giant. BEAR BARKER -14eggs - Was outpaced all the way through this year and fell 4 short of his record. He will be unhappy with his performance here as he struggled again like last year although he doubled last years total. He doesn't seem to be the force of old anymore.
PREVIEW
Now in its 7th year and again we look forward to another great renewal. With 3 champions now in the field, the days of Julian Barker winning with ease are gone and these days the competition is completely wide open.
Apart from it's first ever year, the competition has always been won by eating at least 15 eggs which sets a fair standard to any newcomer who has never so much as eaten probably 2 or 3 at once ever in their lifetime.
The most hotly anticipated event was in 2002 when Julian was after his 5th title in a row and was unbeaten, Bear Barker was in great form, Rick Barker was improving every year and newcomer Matty Barker looked very dangerous. The result could never have been predicted. Julian was beaten into 3rd, Rick popped into a record 2nd place for him, Bear stormed to victory by a mile and Matty was destroyed.
After Rick won with ease last year stuffing Julian and the champ Bear out of sight, the form book for this year can almost be thrown out of the window. Rick should be up there yet again after 2 years of looking very solid and long gone are his days of being tailed off at the back. On current form he can beat Julian or Matty but is possibly beatable by an on song Bear or very talented newcomer.
Bear Barker was awful last year and couldn't cope with the hot pace; he quit early on. This was though after putting everyone in their place back in 2002 and he's looking fit for the renewal this year. A repeat of his old form should see him win with ease. It could be a straight fight out of him and Rick. This is because the 4 times champion Julian Barker is struggling these days for no apparent reason. He was in peak shape last year after many training sessions eating chocolate but he was very poor when he and Rick slugged it out up front for the title.
Is age catching up with the big man? That is one reason for his demise. He lost in 2002 as he was underweight and lacked belly space to put his eggs into when munching them down so if he cant win being thin or fat, how does he do it? We dont know except that he is still very good. You cannot wright off someone who has eaten over 10 eggs every year. His form over the last 3 years though has been getting worse, 2001=18, 2002=15, 2003=13. We shall see in 2004.
And what about an outsider for the title in 2004? There's usually at least one new entry each year who feels they have what it takes to win. Matty Barker is probably the best of those but he's been through the pain barrier of 10 eggs and rumour has it he doesn't want to go there again. Everyone knows if he had got the tactics right in 2002 he could have finished nearer the leaders but he's a doubtful entry for the 2004 comp. Steven Dash managed 6 eggs in his sole appearance in 2003 which is very average but he may go further in time but he looks another doubtful enty for 04 and who probably will never want to eat more than 2 eggs in one day agian !
Jason Hoare may have the capacity to store eggs in bulk inside that gut of his and remains the most probable man to give it a go this year while Nathan Ball would be one of the youngest ever entries to the contest. Nothing wrong with sampling the experience, I mean Bear necked 15 eggs when he was only 15 so these young ones do have what it takes. There are no other people worth mentioning as yet who look like winning this time around.
Whatever happens at this years contest, it looks like being another good battle. Can Bear or Rick win their 2nd title ? , will it be number 5 for Julian ? or will they all get the shock of their lives and get beaten by a rookie ? The contest will take place on Easter Day or Easter Monday. If not, it will be before the end of May !