EGREMONT, England — Adrian Zivelonghi crossed his eyes, stretched his lower lip over the tip of his nose and revealed his twisted face to a panel of judges, who meticulously scrutinized each contortion.
Then came his clincher: The 58-year-old odd-jobs man popped out his dentures and wiggled them in his mouth, triggering a roar of approval from the audience.
The facial gymnastics — known as “gurning” — are the focus of the World Gurning Championships, a reverse beauty pageant of sorts and an ancient tradition in the town of Egremont, in northern England’s Lake District.
The rules are simple, if odd. Competitors must make a face through a horse collar, known locally as a “baffin.” They are not allowed to use their hands, artificial aids or excessive makeup.
They may, however, heighten the dramatic effect of their gurning “by thrashing around onstage and making wild, animal-like noises,” according to the official rules, which also dictate that contestants be judged on “the grotesqueness of the grimace and on the extent to which their facial features change.”
The best gurners, competitors say, are creative people with flexible face muscles and a lack of self-consciousness.
The championships, which were held Sept. 20 this year, take place every fall at the Egremont Crab Fair, which was established in 1267 by King Henry III.
According to local lore, gurning dates to the Middle Ages, rooted in the faces people make as they bite into the sour crab apples for which the festival is named.
Here are some of the competition’s best gurns and the stories behind them.
The Defending Champion
Claire Lister, who works in waste operations at a nuclear site, has been competing since she was a child. But like many local competitors, she took a break during her teen years to avoid looking uncool.
“Being a female, it gets to a point where — it’s not quite embarrassing — but as you grow older you don’t want to start competing in a sport like that,” she said.
Lister, now 38, returned to the competition in 2013 after her sister entered her as a joke. She won the women’s event, and has placed first nine times since then, including last year.
“I never, ever prepare,” she said. “We have fun, and that’s what we say it’s all about.”
The Veteran
Zivelonghi, from Coventry, England, got into gurning more than 20 years ago in an attempt to set a Guinness World Record. It wasn’t his first choice for a world title; he initially wanted to compete for the world’s longest ear hair.
“But when you look at the man who has got the longest ear hair, it’s like, ‘Forget it. I’m not going to walk around like that,’” he said. “So yeah, I went to gurning instead.”
Having some teeth missing, as Zivelonghi does, can be a bonus, he said, by enabling more extreme gurns.
The Newcomer
Stephanie Nguedia moved to the Lake District two years ago from France and was dragged to this year’s competition by her husband, Barry Morgan. At first, she had no idea what was going on.
“I didn’t understand. It was ridiculous for me,” she said.
But the 36-year-old health care worker was soon drawn in by the welcoming atmosphere.
“The whole thing was fantastic,” she said, breathless and smiling after getting offstage. “I love it. I’m happy.”
The Wunderkind
Kendall Lister, 11, Lister’s daughter, is a champion in her own right. She took the top spot in this year’s junior event, adding to several past prizes.
The worst part? “It can be scary,” she said. “What if I mess up?”
And the best? “Winning.”
The Last-Minute Entrant
As with many competitors, Robbie Carr’s participation began with a few drinks.
“It was quite a spontaneous thing really,” he said.
Before getting onstage, the 30-year-old electrical worker from Egremont jokingly asked his wife, “If I get in the top three, is that an ‘ick’?”
Her response? “Just you entering is an ‘ick.’”
He said his gurn was inspired by his little sister, who used to make a face when teasing him.
The Comeback Kid
Ryan Barton, a junior champion in the late 1990s, got his uncle into gurning.
“One night when he was drunk, I said, ‘Go on, do it,’” Barton said. “And he’d done it, and he won it, and he loved it.”
His uncle, Peter Jackman, would become a gurning legend, winning the championship multiple times.
Barton, 42, gave up gurning after he went into the British Army and his uncle died. But he brought his two daughters — Sadie, 7, and Aimee, 9 — to the competition this year. They pushed him to compete, just as he had with his uncle.
Barton took first place among the men and brought his daughters onstage with him to pose for photos.
“Two happy girls, that’s what it’s about,” he said after winning. “My uncle would love listening to that.”