Hundreds to gather at Sandford Lock for World Poohsticks Championships
One of Oxfordshire's whackiest traditions returns for its 43rd year
The 43rd annual World Poohsticks Championships returns to Oxfordshire today, bringing competitors to the banks of the River Thames for one of the county's most unusual traditions.
Held at Sandford Lock, the event sees hundreds of participants drop sticks from a bridge before dashing across to see whose emerges first downstream.
Inspired by the game featured in A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh stories, the event has been running since 1983 and has become an internationally recognised competition.
Organiser Richard Kirby, a volunteer with the Rotary Club of Abingdon Vesper, said today's event is expected to attract even more attention.
“Winnie the Pooh is 100 years old this year,” he said. “There’s a little bit of additional interest from that.”
The championships began at Days Lock near Little Wittenham after lock keeper Lynn Davies noticed children playing Poohsticks on the bridge and placed a box of sticks there to raise donations for the RNLI.
The competition later moved between different Rotary clubs before settling at Sandford Lock in 2023.
Mr Kirby described the event as “a genuine World Championships”, with competitors from around the world often taking part.
“We’ve had Canadians, Chileans, French, Dutch, Danish, Germans, Iranians, Swiss, New Zealanders, Americans,” he said.
As well as celebrating a literary tradition, organisers say the event also supports the surrounding area.
“Rotary are very keen on helping the local economy,” Mr Kirby said. “This is one of the small things we can do which will attract people to come to visit Oxfordshire.”
More than 30 volunteers will help run the event on the day, including international postgraduate students supported by Rotary programmes, who will act as official line judges.
This year, proceeds from the championships will support the Alzheimer’s Society, although organisers say preserving the long-running event is their main motivation.
Mr Kirby said: “The most important thing is that it's a tradition in Oxfordshire we just don’t want to lose.”