The World Conker Championships is currently investigating claims of unscrupulous behaviour after the victorious competitor of the men’s division was discovered to possess a metal-based replica of a chestnut. David Jakins achieved his first-ever championship win in Northamptonshire, England on a Sunday, after participating annually since 1977. A post-victory inspection of the 82-year old retiree by the organisers revealed a metallic chestnut in his pocket, leading to cheating allegations. Jakins, a retired engineer with a history in the competition as the leading judge or “King Conker”, fervently disputes using the alleged metallic version during the contest.
Jakins is known to have assumed responsibility for preparing other competitors’ chestnuts, which involved drilling holes and threading strings. Alastair Johnson-Ferguson, the runner-up in the men’s final who faced off against Jakins, voiced his suspicion of cheating, as reported by the Telegraph. “My chestnut crumbled after one strike, an uncommon occurrence… I am sceptical of cheating and have voiced my dismay to the organisers,” the 23-year-old said.
The women’s event was won by Kelci Banschbach, a 34-year-old competitor hailing from Indianapolis, who also whittled down the men’s champion in the grand finale, thus becoming the first American victor of the tournament that attracted over 200 participants.
Jakins responded to the allegations by clarifying, “Yes, a steel chestnut was found in my possession, however, it was purely for amusement and had no role in the championship… I agree, I did prepare the chestnuts for the game, but this does not amount to cheating or fraud, and I did not tamper with the strings.”
These accusations of dubious conduct are currently under scrutiny by St. John Burkett, a representative for the World Conker Championships. He mentioned, “We have received claims that the King Conker somehow swapped his original chestnut for the metallic one eventually found on his person… Before each round, players choose chestnuts from a bag.”
It has been proposed that King Conker may have taken steps to identify the more robust nuts by marking their strings. Evidence suggests that he played a part in both the boring and threading of the conkers prior to the event. At present, inquiries are ongoing. It’s worth noting that in excess of 2,000 conkers were primed before the event took place. – Guardian