LONDON (AP) — The World Conker Championships announced Tuesday that it is investigating allegations of cheating following this year’s men’s championships…
LONDON — The World Conker Championships said Tuesday it was investigating allegations of cheating after this year’s men’s winner discovered he had a steel chestnut in his pocket.
More than 200 fans of this traditional game took part in the annual competition on Sunday in the small village of Southwick, in central England. The game involves players using conkers – the shiny brown seeds of the horse chestnut tree – strung on a string to try to break their opponent’s chestnut. Each player performs three alternate strikes.
Veteran player Dave Jakins, 82, won the men’s tournament. But organizers said they had launched an investigation after allegations he may have used a steel chestnut.
The allegations were raised by Alastair Johnson-Ferguson, who lost in the men’s final to Jakins after his conker “disintegrated in one hit”, The Telegraph newspaper reported.
Organizers confirmed a steel conker was found in Jakins’ pocket. The investigation was ongoing, but they said it seemed unlikely he could have cheated under the judges’ scrutiny. Jakins has denied the allegations.
“He was watched very closely by four judges. It seems that it was absolutely impossible for him to cheat,” St. John Burkett, chairman of the event’s organizing committee, told Sky News.
The title of World Conker Champion this year went to Kelci Banschbach, originally from Indianapolis. The 34-year-old was crowned ‘conker queen’ after beating Jakins in the final. She was the first American woman to win the title since the World Conker Championships began in 1965.
The event has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds over the years for charity.
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