World Poohsticks Championship: A fun sporting event inspired by Winnie the Pooh 

Have you read the book The House at Pooh Corner (1928), the second volume of stories about Winnie-the-Pooh written by A.A. Milne from London and illustrated by E.H. Shepard? If yes, then you must definitely be aware of a game called the Poohsticks, played by Winnie, the fictional teddy bear protagonist of the book, and his friends. Well, you too can play this game. In fact, in Oxfordshire, England, there is an annual competition of Poohsticks. It is inspired by a 1983 Walt Disney animated featurette named Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore, based on Milne’s stories featuring the bear and his friends. Isn’t that thrilling? Also, the bridge on which Winnie and his friends first played this game, exists in the real world. Continue reading to learn about the Poohsticks game and the bridge. 

The game of Poohsticks has a fun origin 
In the beloved children’s book, Winnie has been described walking on a bridge in a 100-acre wood. However, he trips, owing to which his fir cone (dry fruit from fir tree) falls into the river. He notices the cone floating away when he looks over the other side. So, he drops two more cones into the river, intrigued. This time, a big one and a small one to see which one appears first on the other side of the bridge. Winnie then brings his friends to the bridge and tells them about a new game he has invented. The group has a gala time dropping sticks in the river and seeing whose stick comes out of the water first! Yes, they switched from fir cones to sticks as they floated easily on the water. This incident of an amusing stroll through the woods inspired the creation of the game Poohsticks. 

There is a World Poohsticks Championship!  
Over 1000 Winnie the Pooh fans gather in Oxfordshire every year to compete in the World Poohsticks Championship, held on a bridge over River Windrush in Oxfordshire, which you may have seen in the television drama Downtown Abby (2010). However, it all started in 1984 on the Little Wittenham Bridge, a footbridge across England's River Thames, which is also in Oxfordshire. It’s a charity event in which participants race sticks under a bridge. The proceeds from the event are split between local and national charities. The championship will celebrate its 40th anniversary on May 28, 2023.  

Rules of the Poohstick championship 
The game can be enjoyed by both young people and those who are young at heart and the rules are no big deal. First, you choose a stick and line up with your fellow competitors. The oldest or youngest competitor is then chosen as the starter. The competitors’ sticks must now be held at arm’s length, at the same height as the shortest competitor’s stick. Sounds fair, doesn’t it? On the starter’s call, all players drop their sticks into the water at the same time. But remember that you must drop the stick rather than throw it! As you may recall, Pooh dropped the fir cone and did not throw it. The players then cross the bridge to the other side and wait for the sticks to emerge. The first stick to emerge from beneath the bridge wins. What a charming little game!  

There’s a real-life counterpart of Milne’s fictional bridge 
The place where Pooh trips and accidentally discovers a new game is inspired by a real bridge in England’s Ashdown Forest. Following the success of Winnie the Pooh, in 1973, Milne’s son Christopher Robin officially renamed the bridge ‘Poohsticks Bridge’. It has since become a literary landmark. However, due to heavy foot traffic, the bridge was worn out and replaced in 1999 with a new one. But what became of the old bridge? Two anonymous buyers purchased the original bridge to rebuild it. Maybe, we will get to see the classic bridge once it’s rebuilt.