# World Conker Championships

The World Conker Championships (WCC) is a conkers tournament held annually on the second Sunday in October in the county of Northamptonshire, England. Two players use conkers threaded onto a string and take turns to strike the other's nut until it shatters. Players from around the world enter the tournament, competing in a knock-out format in both team and individual formats, with titles for men's, women's and youth categories. Up to 5,000 spectators watch around 400 players participating. from many countries, including Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, the United States and the United Kingdom.

## History

The World Conker Championships began in 1965 when a group of anglers in Ashton held a conker contest at the Chequered Skipper public house when the weather was too bad to go fishing. At the event, a small collection was made for charity, by Garth Crooks, who was having dinner in the pub with his family. Since then the event has raised over £420,000 for charities supporting the visually impaired and at least £2,500 is donated yearly. The event was held in Ashton for 45 years before moving to a larger venue at the Shuckburgh Arms in Southwick, Northamptonshire in 2009.
The tournament has been threatened with conker shortages over the years, in 1976 conkers used in the tournament had to be flown in from Jersey, in 1980 freak spring weather was one of the factors that threatened the World Conker Championships causing a conker shortage, and in 1982 a late frost killed off the horse chestnut blossom resulting in a failed conker harvest.
On 6 October 2011, organisers were forced to cancel the event over safety fears with high winds being forecast. In 2012, the championships were cancelled again when a suitable venue couldn't be found in time.
Concerns for the future of the event were voiced over the horse-chestnut leaf miner moth, Cameraria ohridella, which has appeared in the region and could have a detrimental effect on the UK's horse chestnut population affecting conker yields.
On 9 October 2017, Chelsea pensioner John Riley won the men's tournament at the age of 85, quite possibly making him the oldest world champion on the planet.
In 2022, Fee Aylmore won the women's event after 30 years of trying.
In 2024, allegations of cheating were levelled at the men's event winner David Jakins by men's runner-up Alastair Johnson-Ferguson, when a brown-painted fake steel conker was discovered in his pocket. Jakins was also one of the event's organisers, responsible for the handing out of chestnuts used by the competitors. He was cleared of any suspicion after a review of video evidence, by fellow organiser St. John Burkett.

## WCC rules

Players' Rules of Engagement for the Noble Game of Conkers as follows:
* Prior to the game, over 2,000 conkers (horse chestnuts) of the required 1.25-inch (30 mm) width are collected, drilled and strung ready by tournament officials. All conkers and laces are supplied by the World Conker Championships.
* Conkers are drawn ‘blind’ from a bag, and players may reject up to three selected conkers.
* Each game will commence with a toss of a coin, the winner of the toss may elect to strike or receive.
* A distance of no less than 8" or 20 cm of lace must be between knuckle and nut.
* Each player then takes three alternate strikes at the opponent's conker.
* Each attempted strike must be clearly aimed at the nut, no deliberate miss hits.
* The game will be decided once one of the conkers is smashed.
* A small piece of nut or skin remaining (less than a third) shall be judged out, it must be enough to mount an attack.
* If both nuts smash at the same time then the match shall be replayed.
* Any nut being knocked from the lace but not smashing may be re threaded and the game continued.
* A player causing a knotting of the laces (a snag) will be noted, three snags will lead to disqualification.
* If a game lasts for more than five minutes then play will halt and the "5-minute rule" will come into effect. Each player will be allowed up to nine further strikes at their opponent's nut, again alternating three strikes each. If neither conker has been smashed at the end of the nine strikes then the player who strikes the nut the most times during this period will be judged the winner. If this is equal, then play continues, one strike each in turn, until one player hits and the other misses.

## Results history

All players are British except where indicated with a national flag icon.
| Year | Mens Individual | Ladies Individual | Team Winner | Ladies Team | Junior (7–11) | Youth (11–15) | Young adult (16–18) |
| 1965 | Ron Marsh (1) | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1966 | Sid Walden | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1967 | L. Collins | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1968 | Tim Winham | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1969 | Peter Midlane (1) | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1970 | John M. Hillyard | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1971 | T. Dicks | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1972 | Ron Marsh (2) | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1973 | Peter Midlane (2) | - | - | - | Simon Bayliss | - | - |
| 1974 | J Marsh (1) | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1975 | J Marsh (2) | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1976 | Jorge Ramirez Carrillo | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1977 | C. Childs | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1978 | L. Treliving | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1979 | Charlie Bray (1) | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1980 | Keith Height | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1981 | Bill Cox (1) | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1982 | Jim Blackman | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1983 | S. Rowan | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1984 | R. Langer | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1985 | Peter Midlane (3) | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1986 | Charlie Bray (2) | - | - | - | Luke Bilson | Craig Belson | - |
| 1987 | John Hawes | - | - | - | - | Martin Nikel (1) | - |
| 1988 | W. Cox (2) | Sheila Doubleday (1) | - | - | - | Martin Nikel (2) | - |
| 1989 | P. Short | Christina Bateman | - | - | Fiona Kingdom | Lempriere | - |
| 1990 | Harold Watson | Mary Bedford | - | - | - | Faye Elliott | - |
| 1991 | John Bull (1) | Pauline Baker | - | - | - | Lisa Crews | - |
| 1992 | P. Canning | J. Courtney | Chequered Skipper 'B' Team (1) | - | - | M. Hutcheson | - |
| 1993 | M. Tindall | Sheila Doubleday (2) | Chequered Skipper 'B' Team (2) | - | M. Heatherington | R. Rawcliffe | - |
| 1994 | James Marsh | Tina Stone (1) | The Crocodile | - | Daniel Jack | James Nikel (1) | - |
| 1995 | Brian Jackson | Judi Rabbit | The Brigstock International Quartet | The Wilpave Swingers | Tim Maguire | James Gould | - |
| 1996 | John Bull (2) | Karen Morgan | Sebright Arms (1) | Nutcracker Suite | Richard Fuller | James Nikel (2) | Ian Smith |
| 1997 | Paul Vjestica | Louise Bunker | Nelson Nutcrackers | The Minge Petals (1) | Graham Clark | Diane Allen | - |
| 1998 | Helmut Kern | Lesley Bullock | Nauort 2 | Sebright Arms (2) | Matthew Storrow | Jonathon Lyan | Ashley Thomas |
| 1999 | Jody Tracey | Margaret Twiddy | Absolutely Hammered | Wilpave Sweeties | Charlotte Laskey | Jack Jarvis | Chris Eccles |
| 2000 | Mark Tracey | Selma Becker | Barton Seagrave Bashers | The Minge Petals (2) | Rachel Mintern | Sally Rate | Tim Linnell |
| 2001 | Neil Fraser | Celine Parachou | Royal Oak Resistance | France Fillies (1) | Duncan Winfrey | Max Aitken | Lewis Chilvers |
| 2002 | Richard Swailes | Liz Gibson | Elton Wasps | Castle Green Conkerers | Ruth Pritchard | Joseph Emery | - |
| 2003 | Brian Stewart | Debbie Oates | No Strings Attached | Magnificent 7 Minus 3 (1) | Kieran Campbell | William Pritchard (1) | Lucy Walshaw |
| 2004 | Darren Foster | Alison Everett | Daniel Lambert Dining Club | Les Filles Francais (2) | Kieran O'Connor | Jordan Witherall | James Robinson |
| 2005 | Alex Callan | Jayne Coddington | Peterborough Nutters (1) | Magnificent 7 Minus 3 (2) | Callum Owen | William Pritchard (2) | Kallom Nash |
| 2006 | Chris Jones | Sandy Gardner | Celtic Conkerors | France (3) | Philip Broomhead (1) | Jack Boon | Emma Ratcliffe |
| 2007 | Ady Hurrell (1) | Tina Stone (2) | Royal Haskoning Rest of the World | Magnificent 7 Minus 3 (3) | Philip Broomhead (2) | Nicolas Rothera | Steven Wray |
| 2008 | Ray Kellock (1) | Amy Farrow (1) | Rushden Reprobates | France (4) | Thomas Whincup | Robert Winfield | Rebecca Moss |
| 2009 | Thomas Gormley | Sue Howes | Peterborough Nutters (2) | - | Evie Driscoll-King | Oliver Mas | Brent Walker |
| 2010 | Ray Kellock (2) | Wendy Bradford | The Fairways | Sri Lankan Ladies | Louis Carpenter | Samuel Lewin | Robyn Geldard |
| 2011 | Event Cancelled (Bad weather) | Event Cancelled (Bad weather) | Event Cancelled (Bad weather) | Event Cancelled (Bad weather) | Event Cancelled (Bad weather) | Event Cancelled (Bad weather) | Event Cancelled (Bad weather) |
| 2012 | Event Cancelled (No venue) | Event Cancelled (No venue) | Event Cancelled (No venue) | Event Cancelled (No venue) | Event Cancelled (No venue) | Event Cancelled (No venue) | Event Cancelled (No venue) |
| 2013 | Simon Cullum | Sophie Knox | Woodbeeez (1) | - | Harrison Scott | Oliver Simons (1) | Georgie Spence-Jones |
| 2014 | John Doyle | Stephanie Withall | Woodbeeez (2) | - | Elliott Hurrell | Daniel Devaney | Alex Wallman |
| 2015 | Steven Prescott | Amy Farrow (2) | Woodbeeez (3) | - | Peter Rogers | Isla Watson | Charlie Dathorne |
| 2016 | Tom Dryden | Lorna Clarke | Lord Robartes Nutters | - | William Chapman | Josh Broomhead | Oliver Simons (2) |
| 2017 | John Riley | Julie Freeman | Mutts Nutts | - | Benjamin Wallace | Faith Weatherington | Oliver Simons (3) |
| 2018 | Edward Gaze | Karen Holloway | | | | | |
| 2019 | Andy Moore | Jasmine Tetley (1) | | | | | |
| 2020 | Event Cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic) | Event Cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic) | Event Cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic) | Event Cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic) | Event Cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic) | Event Cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic) | Event Cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic) |
| 2021 | Ady Hurrell (2) | Jasmine Tetley (2) | We Came, We Saw, Jasmine Conkered (1) | | | | |
| 2022 | Randy Topolnitsky | Fee Aylmore | The Britcans | Team GB | | | |
| 2023 | Mark Hunter | Jasmine Tetley (3) | We Came, We Saw, Jasmine Conkered (2) | | | | |
| 2024 | David Jakins | Kelci Banschbach | The Skuumkoppers | | Sebastian Sheffield | | |

## WCC roll of honour

Shown in alphabetical order by surname in the event of a tie.
| Individual Champion | Wins |
| Peter Midlane | 3 |
| Oliver Simons | 3 |
| Jasmine Tetley | 3 |
| Charlie Bray | 2 |
| Philip Broomhead | 2 |
| John Bull | 2 |
| Bill Cox | 2 |
| Sheila Doubleday | 2 |
| Amy Farrow | 2 |
| Ady Hurrell | 2 |
| Ray Kellock | 2 |
| J Marsh | 2 |
| Ron Marsh | 2 |
| James Nikel | 2 |
| Martin Nikel | 2 |
| William Pritchard | 2 |
| Tina Stone | 2 |
| Team Champion | Wins |
| France Fillies, Les Filles Francais, France | 4 |
| Magnificent 7 Minus 3 | 3 |
| Woodbeeez | 3 |
| Chequered Skipper 'B' Team | 2 |
| Peterborough Nutters | 2 |
| Sebright Arms | 2 |
| The Minge Petals | 2 |
| We Came, We Saw, Jasmine Conkered | 2 |

## Video history from 1970 to 2024

* Scandal rocks The 2024 World Conker Championships as winner accused of 'cheating' (Britclip)
* 2021 World Conker Championship courtesy of Britclip
* 2017 World Conker Championship by thevideoclipplace on YouTube
* 2016 World Conker Championship by BBC Northampton on YouTube
* 2015 World Conker Championship by Trans World Sport on YouTube
* 2014 World Conker Championship courtesy of YouTube
* 2010 World Conker Championship by Ben Moseby
* 1974 World Conker Championship by ITV on YouTube
* Conker World Champion Peter Midlane appears on Blue Peter (BBC) 1970