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World Pooh Sticks Championships returns to Oxfordshire

PA An illustration titled "For a long time they looked at the river beneath them…" from The House At Pooh Corner which sold at auction in 2014 for more than £300,000PA
The game originates from the author's The House At Pooh Corner

The World Pooh Sticks Championships will return for the first time after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The event will take place in Sanford-on-Thames, in Oxfordshire on 28 May, marking its 40th anniversary.

The game was inspired by AA Milne's classic Winnie the Pooh books.

Each player will be asked to drop a stick from the upstream side of a bridge and the stick which appears first downstream at a designated point will be the winner.

World Pooh Sticks Champsionship Flooding under Sandford BridgeWorld Pooh Sticks Champsionship
Sandford Bridge wasn't suitable for Pooh Sticks during a site visit in January but organisers are expecting sunnier conditions on Sunday

The money raised will go to Yellow Submarine, an Oxfordshire charity supporting people with learning disabilities.

This year's event, which is organised by Abingdon Rotary Club, will start at 11:00 BST.

The event started in Little Wittenham 32 years ago, but had to move due to "logistical problems".

World Pooh Sticks Championships Piglet and Pooh toys with sticksWorld Pooh Sticks Championships
Piglet and Pooh have been helping organisers prepare the regulation size official Pooh Sticks
World Pooh Stick Championships Two people dressed as Pooh and TiggerWorld Pooh Stick Championships
In previous years people have dressed in Pooh-themed costumes

An appeal was launched to find a new venue in 2015, after an increase in popularity meant the original spot on the Thames at Day's Lock was no longer suitable.

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