Saturday, July 08, 2006

World pea shooting championships

It began when naughty schoolboys lost their pea shooters to an observant headmaster. Now, girls, boys, their parents and grandparents compete to see who is the surest pea-shooter at the World Pea-Shooting Championship in Witcham, which was held today at 1pm.

In 1971, residents of Witcham were looking to raise funds for their newly built Village Hall. Eagle-eyed headmaster Mr. John Tyson thought of a constructive way to harness his pupil's penchant for pea-shooting.

The community organized a pea-shooting challenge during the Village Fair. The event was a shooting success. Over the years, it has grown into the World Pea-Shooting Championship, attracting competitors from all over the world. Pea-shooters have travelled from the United States, Europe and New Zealand to challenge locals in a contest to hit the bulls eye with a pea.

Former world champion George Hollis of Witcham says, "it's all about selecting the right pea."

The innovative headmaster Mr. Tyson passed away in 2003. But the World Pea-Shooting Championship shoots on. The names of pea-shooting winners will be added to a shield in his memory.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

leave it to old eagle eye... most definitely more respected than the eagle shagger... who found it both illegal and messy..

dom said...

didn't you mean ill eagle ?

yellowdoggranny said...

u 2 are goofy

dom said...

Love does that to you, I'm off to plough a field , once I've found a field and erm a plough.