New conker championships to be staged at Lancashire pub

And entrants into the ‘Bourne Arms Knott End and Preesall World’ Conker Championships don’t even have to bring their own conkers.

Organiser Stuart Ward, who runs the Bourne Arms pub, on Bourne May Road in Knott End, says he wanted to bring back the traditional game after reminiscing with regulars about childhood pastimes.

This inaugural event, which will follow clearly designated rules on the day, takes place on Saturday October 21, beginning at 6pm.

All funds raised from the competition, which costs £5 to enter, will go towards Stuart’s chosen charity, Help For Heroes, which assists wounded ex-service people in a variety of ways.

Children don’t play it now

Ex-serviceman Stuart, 62, who served with the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment, said: “We were all just saying that children today probably don’t know what the game of conkers is.

"When we were young, loads of children played it and it was one of the big things in autumn.

"I suggested we could hold an event at the pub and now we’ve got 15 people without even advertising it yet.

"It seemed to snowball very quickly!

"It’s not actually a world championship – the title is just a play on words – but people from all over are invited to take part, including youngsters if accompanied by an adult.”

Entrants will not choose their conkers

Entrants will not choose their own conkers but will pluck them out of a covered bucket.

They will already be stringed and holed, ready for battle!

Contestants will stand roughly a metre apart and take turns to hit their opponent’s conker with their own, and the person who smashes the other conker is the winner.

Stuart aims to have 32 entrants, which can be whittled down to four semi-finalists and two grand finalists, with the winner receiving a trophy.

He said: “There is an element of a luck because you’ve no ideas what kind of conker you’ll pull out, but it’s all a bit of fun for a good cause.”

Stuart said the average age of people putting their names down was 60, with one entrant being over 80 years old.

Anyone interested should phone the pub on (01253) 810400.