A couple of years ago the World Pooh Sticks Championships was voted by Countryfile magazine readers as Britain’s favourite quirky event. Now in its 31st year, it attracts competitors from all over the world and raises several thousand pounds for charity. This year (unlike last) the weather was gorgeous so it seemed the perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday.
For those of you unfamiliar with the game, Pooh sticks involves dropping a stick into the water on one side of a bridge, and then rushing to the other side to see which one makes it to the finish line first. The game was invented by A.A. Milne for his son, and made famous by his Winnie the Pooh books.
As the weather was so lovely a lot of people had turned out for the event. After buying our competitor tickets we had to queue for a while before our first round. During this time we chose our sticks, each a different colour but similar in size to the other sticks in the round. We were in a group of six, and when the time came for our heat we were taken to the bridge where we had to line up against the designated colour spot for our stick.
The starter shouts Ready Steady Go, at which point we dropped our sticks into the river. A couple of kids in some of the rounds eagerly threw their sticks in a little too early but fortunately they kept spare sticks on the bridge.
After dropping the sticks you race to the other side of the bridge (if you’re a kid) to see which colour wins. The finishing line was several metres from the bridge so there was plenty of time to cheer your particular stick on. The kids were full of theories as to how to make the sticks go faster but it’s really just a game of chance.
The recovery boat was kept busy picking up the sticks and although a few got away most were recycled for the next heat. The man in the picture below had the job of deciding the winner for each round, which he announced by holding up a card with the winning colour on it.
Amazingly my blue stick won the first round. I was a little surprised as I’d heard (after choosing a colour) that the pink sticks had the best position on the bridge, but it really is down to chance. I was even more amazed to win my 2nd and 3rd rounds and gain a place in the final. I felt slightly guilty that my kids hadn’t got past the first round but hey, it was Mother’s Day, so I decided it was justified.
There was a bit of hanging around before the final as there were a lot of competitors to progress through the rounds. During this time we had a look at some of the stalls and ate lunch whilst I eyed up the competition.
Eventually it was time for the final. It was a tense moment when the finalists headed up to the bridge. Someone was about to be crowned the Pooh sticks world champion.
And sadly, it wasn’t me. However it was a fair battle and I take my hat off to the winner, he’d obviously trained harder. I did get a Runners Up certificate though and had my photograph taken with Pooh and Tigger.
The individual championships were followed by the team event, but we decided to head home at this point. Roll on next year!
Hello
Love your Blog on Pooh sticks its fabulous, so glad you enjoyed your day. We (the committee) loved organising it!
Deborah
(Twitter & Facebook Bod Rotary Club of Oxford Spires)
Thanks Deborah – we had a great day out, thanks for organising. Hopefully you had a bumper year, it was good that the weather behaved itself this time!
Looks so much fun =) #letkidsbekids
Thanks Merlinda, it was.
Ahhhh we were at the farm next door to this on Mother’s Day! Such a cool idea!! X
The lambing looked very popular!
Looks really good fun, great photos xx
Thanks Wendy, it’s certainly a different way to spend a Sunday.
I used to love this game – I didn’t know there was a bona fide competition!
#Letkidsbekids
Thanks Kate, it’s a good game as adults and kids can compete equally.
Wow, that looks like a great fun day. What a good idea. Well done for being runner up.
Thanks for linking #LetKidsBeKids
Thanks Karen, it was fun and completely unexpected!
What a great idea! So simple and something the whole family can join in with. Looks like lots of fun!
Thanks, yes definitely a good family activity. Although we normally play it on small streams, not a river!
Looks like you all had great time together. My little girl would love being there, I am sure.
#letkidsbekids
Thank you, yes, I’m sure she’d like it.
This is such a nice idea, and it’s good to see that so many people participate. Looks like you had a great time! #LetKidsBeKids
Thanks Tarana, it’s a pretty popular event with both local families and international visitors – I heard lots of American accents this year!
That sounds like such a lovely, relaxing day out! Mel
Thanks Mel,it was fun.
We love this game! I didn’t know there was a championship for it – looks so much fun! #PoCoLo
Sometimes the simplest games are the best!
What a great event! It looks so much fun!!
Thanks Kim, yes it was.
What a fun day. I’ve yet to play Pooh Sticks with my Little ones and it came up in a story the other day so now they are really keen to have a go. We’ll have to find somewhere to go and play.
Hi Anne, it’s a great game for little ones. Just about any stream will do!
How absolutely wonderful 🙂 I had heard that they did this but I didn’t realise it was such a big event! Looks like a great day out. Thank you for linking to PoCoLo x
I think it was helped by the weather this year, it was very busy.
Classic! I didn’t know about this. And now I must go off and work out where I can teach my kids to do pooh sticks. #pocolo
Hours of fun await Kriss!
This looks like so much fun! Well done on reaching the final 🙂 x
Thank you, I was very surprised to.
Very impressive, we often play pooh sticks here on the farm river but I’ve never heard of the championships! What a great day of family fun and I’m sure it became very competitive, well done and a Mothers Day to remember. Thanks for linking up and sharing with Country Kids.
Thanks Fiona. I think there’s a championship for most things nowadays!
oh my goodness thats fantastic!!
Thanks Jaime x
Wow, as a pooh sticks fan I am ashamed to admit I didn’t know there was a championship! I shall be practising my pooh sticks throw and taking it more seriously from now on. Great post #pocolo
Hi Jude, thanks for popping by. Sounds like I’ll have some competition next year, will have to start putting the training in now!
Love that you have a recovery boat!
It was needed (for sticks, not small children!)