For the 14th year running, Swaton Vintage Day will be hosting the prestigious World Egg Throwing Championships.
There are five championship disciplines which competitors can take part in. If you fancy taking part in this year’s championship, then the all important disciplines are, the Russian Egg Roulette, Egg Throwing, the Static Relay, the Egg Trebuchet and the Egg Target Throwing.
Egg Throwing is a two person sport which requires accurate distance lobbing and the ability to perfectly catch the delicate missiles. Egg Throwing teams should consist of a catcher and a tosser. The team members begin by standing ten metres apart, spreading out after each successful catch. Drop or break the egg and you’re out!
The Egg Target Throwing challenge awards points for hitting the arms, legs, body and groin of the (willing volunteer) target.
Teams of eleven spread out at ten metre intervals for the Static Relay. Twelve eggs then have to be passed individually along the line. The fastest team wins, but there are penalty time points for breakages, so you need to be careful, as well as quick, for this contest.
The Egg Trebuchet is another long distance knock out challenge. This time, however, it is played with the aid of specially built trebuchets, to help hurl the eggs.
Our favourite competition, the Russian Egg Roulette, involves two players sitting opposite each other, wearing bandanas. The players have six eggs (five hard-boiled and one raw), and must take it in turns smashing the eggs against their foreheads. The first one to ‘find’ the raw egg loses!
The events are open to all and pre-registration is not required. Registration on the day will begin at 11am. Places are limited, so get there in plenty of time!
Egg throwing is reported to have first occurred in Swaton in the 1300s. The then Abbot of Swaton, the only owner of chickens, used to give eggs out as alms to the peasants who attended church.
However, when the river flooded, the eggs would be thrown across the torrent to the waiting masses. This eventually grew into an informal sport called the ‘egg toss’, played at many country fairs, sports days and fetes.
The World Egg Throwing Federation was formed in 2004, to cater for the growing sport and regulate the variety of disciplines involved.
This year’s Swaton Vintage Day will also have more than 400 classic and vintage vehicles, a craft tent, children’s games and rides, and a novelty dog show. The event will be served by a real ale tent, so no need to go thirsty after all that sporting activity!
When: 30th June 2019
Where: The Park at Thorpe Latimer, near Sleaford, Lincolnshire
£: Admission to Swaton Vintage Day costs £5 for adults, £3 for children and £12 for a family (children under five years go free). It costs £2 to enter the World Target Throwing with Accuracy Challenge. There is no charge to enter the other egg throwing games
More info: swatonvintageday.com and www.facebook.com/eggthrowing
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