Cooked Conker Crackdown
Devotees will be relieved to know that there is a crackdown on cooked conkers at this year's World Conker Championship, held annually in Northants by the Ashton Conker Club. For non-devotees, the conker is what is known in the US as a horse chestnut. The Conker Championships entail threading one of said conkers onto a string. Two opponents thusly armed then attempt to swing the tethered nut at the opponents tethered nut. The object of all this sport is to break the other player's chestnut while not losing your own. Confused? It actually gets worse. It seems that up until this year, contenders could bring their own conkers. And contestants were routinely indulging in the horse chestnutty equivalent of doping: they doctored their nuts.
Generations of boys have had tried and tested methods for giving their conkers the upper hand in any contest.
These usually involved soaking in vinegar or baking, to ensure a tough skin and maximum impact. It may have been in breach of the spirit of the game, but that did not necessarily mean a mighty "sixer" would be disqualified.
Today, however, as the Ashton Conker Club in Northants holds the annual World Conker Championships, rules is rules. Baking or soaking is banned (indeed, competitors are not allowed to use their own conkers, instead picking them at random from a bag).
The conkers are pre-drilled and the string is also supplied. Cheating at conkers? It's worse than we thought last year! (We would have filled ours with lead.)
Weird Stuff, World news | Gaius Saturday, 13 October , 2007
By feeblemind, Sunday, 14 October , 2007 @ 8:39 am
This is why I visit the Crabitat. I always learn something new.
By wheels, Monday, 15 October , 2007 @ 7:43 am
Must have been after my time. I remember playing conkers as a young boy, and I never knew about “cooking” them, nor were there Championships, to the best of my recollection.
Then again, I wasn’t much into the news at that age.