5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1 … conker! The first conker championship to be held in Rye was underway on a sunny Sunday afternoon at the Cinque Ports pub in Rye, its aim to raise funds to help conquer cancer.
Spectators and participants gathered in the garden of the Cinque Ports on Sunday, October 27 with over forty competitors taking part in the competition. Ruth and Jeremy Sperring, landlords of the pub, donated the use of the venue and supplied food. “We wanted to help because cancer is something that affects us all in one way or another and we think the event is a great way to bring the community together to raise funds,” said Ruth.
The awards were presented by Mayor Andy Stuart and event sponsor Andi Rivett of Rock Channel Marine. The adult award, won by Jake, included a silver cup and special trophy (including a swinging conker) designed and made by Andi Rivett, intended to be unique each year. The children’s award, won by Xavier, was a conker board engraved with the tournament name and winner. The children’s runner-up won a sweet box donated by Isabel Ryan.
The event raised over £600, all of which has been donated to Cancer Research and Macmillan Cancer Support.
We are pleased to report that there was no cheating and there were no steel conkers.
Conker Cancer, the name of the charity event, has been an idea of the organisers David Angell and Mark Baker for over six years: this year it grew into something real.
“We wanted to bring back a bit of our childhood and remember the fun days of analogue games. We hoped that combining that with an opportunity to raise money for a disease that has affected so many of us and our families would be a great way to bring people together to Conker Cancer,” said David.
In the UK around 1,000 new cancer cases are diagnosed each day. Cancer remains the leading cause of death, with over 165,000 cancer-related deaths each year.
The competition will return in 2025. Well done, David and Mark: yet another Rye tradition has been born.
Image Credits: Kt bruce , David Angell , Mary & Mick Design .