Almost 3,000 take part in Pilates world record attempt at Knockaloe

Record for largest ever class remains unbroken, but crowds achieve separate accolade

Almost 3,000 people have taken part in a world record attempt for the largest ever Pilates class today (19 July).

Despite the strong turnout (2,804 participants) at Knockaloe Farm it wasn’t enough to beat the existing record of 3,486 participants, set in Turkey in 2013.

Separate record broken

However, a separate record for the most amount of people performing the “standing roll down exercise” for one minute was broken just before the larger record attempt.

The site of today’s record attempt holds extra significance because it was home to the world’s largest civilian internment camp during WWI.

Among those detained here was Joseph Pilates, who began developing his physical training system rooted in physical and mental wellness, which eventually became known as Pilates and is now practised by millions worldwide.

There was a short delay to the record attempt getting underway due to the volume of people arriving at the farm. 

The class itself was a 30-minute standing Pilates class to allow for people of all abilities and experiences to take part.

It was led by instructor Hannah Storey of Exhale Pilates and included some “old school” exercises first developed by Joseph Pilates at Knockaloe over 100 years ago.

Actor John Rhys-Davies, Noel Edmunds, Lieutenant Governor Sir John Lorimer and Chief Minister Alfred Cannan were among those taking part.

Today’s event was organised by Ramsey Crookall in collaboration with 34Moves and Visit Isle of Man. All proceeds go to Island charities.

Tune in to Manx Radio Breakfast on Monday morning (20 July) to hear more from today’s world record attempt.