<b>Sky Sports has won the TV rights to screen the World Series of Crabbing live from across East Anglia this summer.</b>

In an exclusive deal worth £50million, the World Series of Crabbing (WSOC) will feature four championship events screened live on Sky, building up to a grand final in Walberswick, Suffolk in August.

With Sky Sports shelling out millions there has never been a better time to catch crabs, and this year's series is expected to attract high-profile crabbers from around the world.

But what makes the sport most appealing is that children can enter the WSOC event, making it possible an eight-year-old could win the final and pocket the £1 million first prize.

The WSOC today unveiled the dates for the events, which will all take place on a Sunday afternoon, beginning in Cromer, Norfolk, on July 9:

Cromer,  Norfolk, July 9
Orford, Suffolk, July 23
Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, August 6
Bawdsey, Suffolk, August 13
Walberswick, Suffolk, Grand Final, August 27

<center><div class="getty embed image" style="background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:507px;"><div style="padding:0;margin:0;text-align:left;"><a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/139839185" target="_blank" style="color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;">Embed from Getty Images</a></div><div style="overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:0;padding:66.666667% 0 0 0;width:100%;"><iframe src="//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/139839185?et=9F7IwdLYTex3RFigESMP6A&viewMoreLink=off&sig=r_Z3O-JS7_CbhI8D9yqD9G9OPcxcppj1PYo_Xe4wSWs=" width="507" height="338" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;"></iframe></div><p style="margin:0;"></p></div></center><center><i>Pincer movement: Participants jostle to get the best crabbing spot at Walberswick</center></i><br><br>

The championship events will be scored by who has caught the most crabs in an hour-long period. All participants will get a point per crab, and the 20 crabbers with the highest score from all events combined will be invited to the exclusive grand final, which is expected to draw a television audience of millions.

Crabbers use their skills to attract the most custaceans, but bacon is a popular bait. Only one line is allowed per crabber. Although seen as a leisurely sport, things can get feisty as crabbers seek the best spot on shoreline.

Sky Sports, which will screen the events in high-definition, is expected to bring a host of innovations to the coverage, including slow-motion underwater replays of a great catch, fancy in-studio graphics, multiple on and off-shore camera angles, together with some of the sport's greatest commentators and analysts.

WSOC director Gary "Sideways" Walker told the Suffolk Gazette: "We are delighted to have Sky Sports on board to televise the championship events and Grand Final, it will really put crabbing on the map.

"And it will also be a great advert for Suffolk and Norfolk, where young people have enjoyed catching crabs for generations."

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