Unusual Sports: World Conker Championship 2025
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
After six hours of competing, the new King and Queen Conker Champions have been crowned after a closely fought contest at this year’s World Conker Championships, which took place in the village of Southwick, near Oundle, in Northamptonshire, in the United Kingdom.
Some 256 competitors, from nine different countries around the world, including Japan, took part in the competition, its 60th year.
The men's winner was Matt Cross from Bourne, a newcomer, who was crowned the World Conker Champion, after defeating the women's victor, Mags Blake, of Corby.
He stated:
"I am absolutely speechless!"
After incidents of cheating last year, strict arrangements were in place this year.
Organiser St John Burkett stated:
"We had an airport-style scanner which competitors had to pass through, including a tray for them to empty their pockets in.”
And added:
"We also had a hand-held scanner, and sirens and flashing lights should anything untoward be detected by the scanner. And, in keeping with the event, the ringmaster had a big magnet on a stick."
The aim is for competitors, using conkers already threaded onto a string, to try to smash their opponent's conkers, with each competitor taking three alternate strikes to do so.
There were fears that this year’s competition would have to be cancelled, for only the third time in its history, due to the hot, dry summer, which caused conkers to fall from horse chestnut trees early, with suitably large ones being donated by the royal estate at Windsor Castle, as well as from Italy and France.
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
