Conker tournament introduces ‘airport-style’ security after steel conker scandal

Competitors at the World Conker Championships were subject to “airport-style” security after last year’s tournament was plagued by controversy surrounding a steel conker and cheating accusations.

Some 256 people from nine different countries, including Japan, entered this year’s competition, which was held in Peterborough on Sunday, organisers said.

Competitors take part in the annual World Conker Championships in Peterborough (Jacob King/PA)PA Archive/PA Images - Jacob King

Security at this year’s event was enhanced to prevent further scandals after the 2024 tournament was thrown into turmoil when its men’s champion, David Jakins, was accused of using a conker made of steel.Mr Jakins claimed his title after a “fantastic” one-hit win, but this led to his defeated opponent, Alastair Johnson-Ferguson, raising concerns about the conker Mr Jakins used during their face-off.

The controversy escalated when a steel conker was found inside Mr Jakins’s pocket, leading the World Conker Championships to launch an investigation into the cheating claims.

The probe, which considered video and photographic evidence as well as testimony and examination of winning conkers, concluded and that Mr Jakin’s win – his first since he began competing in 1977 – was achieved fairly.

Organiser St John Burkett said of this year’s arrangements: “We had an airport-style scanner which competitors had to pass through, including a tray for them to empty their pockets in.

“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.”

Conker string is measured as competitors take part in the annual World Conker Championships (Jacob King/PA)PA Archive/PA Images - Jacob King

He added that a man was disqualified from Sunday’s event after he had set off an alarm while attempting to bring in his own conker, which is against competition rules.

Asked whether he thought the new measures were “too harsh”, Mr Burkett said: “Well, who knows? Who knows? The magnet will tell.”

The event, which took place at the Shuckburgh Arms in Southwick, sees participants go head-to-head using conkers threaded onto a string to try and smash their opponent’s nut.

Each player takes three alternate strikes at the opponent’s conker.

This year’s overall champion, Matt Cross, from Lincolnshire, said he was “speechless” after winning the competition, which was the first time he had ever played the game.

Asked what it took to win, the 37-year-old who was crowned King Conker at the event, said: “Accuracy, you know, they’re not they’re not big targets, so, yeah, making sure you’re on target with it, if you hit it, you’ve got a chance of doing something.

He added: “You can see here, it’s brought a village out and it’s more than just the village as well, it’s bringing people from around the world to traditions that are hundreds of years old, it’s great to see this many people here and still applauding.”

Of her win, women’s champion Mags Blake said she “can’t believe it”, having initially only come to the event to play the coconut shy and have fun.

The championships are in its 58th year (Joe Giddens/PA)PA Archive/PA Images - Joe Giddens

“Everybody was saying ‘Oh, she’s a champion, she’s a champion’.

“I was like, ‘Oh my goodness’, you know, I never even thought I’d get this far to even play the champion,” she added.

The 55-year-old, who is from Northamptonshire, said it was “very important” to keep traditions such as the competition going.

“I think some traditions are lost and I think this has been going on for so long, the 58th year of it, and I’ve played a part in three of those years,” she said.

“So yeah, so hopefully I’ll have a few more years. I’ve got to come back now, haven’t I?”

Mr Burkett said of the history of the event: “The very first tournament, back in 1965, was some men who were going to go fishing and couldn’t and held the tournament.

“One of them had a relative who was blind, so they decided they would all chip in and raise the money for her and, since then, we’ve always raised money for blind and partially sighted, both charities and organisations but also for individuals.

“So if you’re an individual who is blind partially sighted, then get in contact with us if there’s anything you need, and we’ll see if we can help.”