Tree knocked out by sheep in nail-biting, nut-shattering World Conker Championships
More than 250 competitors – some dressed as chickens, one as a tree – descended on a Northamptonshire village to smash each other's nuts. The overall champion is a 28-year-old from Oundle.
Every October, Britain holds its breath as the finest nut-swingers on Earth gather outside a pub in Northamptonshire. This year did not disappoint.
More than 250 “conker combatants” – including entrants from Japan, the Netherlands and Germany – turned up at the Shuckburgh Arms in Southwick for the World Conker Championships. The rules are gloriously simple: conker on a string, up to three strikes each, last nut standing wins.
Frankie Hooper, 28, from Oundle, was crowned Queen Conker and took the overall title after beating the men’s champion, Simon Griffiths, in what the BBC described as a “nail-biting, nut-shattering showdown”. “I came into it this morning for a chilled fun day with my friends, and now I am a world champion,” she said.
Griffiths, 35, from Stamford, took defeat on the chin: “My wife is never going to hear the end of it… I am going to change my name I think.”
Elsewhere, Gary Ward from Milton Keynes arrived dressed as a tree, having done “boxing” training in preparation. He was knocked out in the first round by an opponent dressed as a sheep. “It’s just outrageous,” he said.
Couple Amy Smart and Will Fern, both dressed as chickens, were drawn against each other in round two. Amy won, avenging last year’s defeat. Dinner that night was presumably a quiet one.
Past championships have been rocked by allegations of a metal conker. This year, mercifully, was scandal-free.
