Campaign for Real Conkers
Press Release September 28th Contact Keith Flett, 07803 167266
Conker Trees not at risk in UK, conker playing is
Photo: Hazel Potter
The Campaign for Real Conkers, the group that opposes bans on conker playing, has said that as the 2019 conker playing season is reaches a peak, with large numbers of conkers falling to ground, fake news stories about the demise of the game are again to be found.
The campaigners say that conkers is one of the most mis-reported of traditional games. For some years the false story that the Health and Safety Executive had said playing conkers was unsafe circulated and led to bans.
This year the story is that conker trees are facing extinction.
The story comes from genuine research by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The Guardian has reported (27th September)
The horse-chestnut – beloved by generations that played conkers as children – has been classified as vulnerable due to the spread of an invasive leaf-miner moth that damages its leaves. This adds to existing pressures from forest fires, tourist resort expansion and logging.
However the report goes on to underline that horse chestnut trees are actually under significant threat in three countries, Bulgaria, Greece and Albania, and certainly not at the moment in the UK
Campaigners say that the real problem is that conkers lie on the ground uncollected.
The CFRC has warned that the game of conkers is in significant decline in some areas and unless a new generation of players is found it may not exist in 20 years, well before any likely shortage of horse chestnut trees
The campaign believes that conkers is a game that is free to all play and should also be free of rules and regulations whether imposed in contests or petty bureaucrats who argue wrongly that playing conkers is in some way dangerous.
Campaign organiser Keith Flett said, the issue is not a shortage of conkers but a shortage of people prepared to give the traditional game a go. Our aim is to encourage conker games wherever we can. The season is a brief one and will be over in the next few weeks.
The Campaign for Real Conkers promotes free for all conker playing across the UK an alternative event to the World Conker Championships on Sunday October 13th where it encourages people to have a go at playing conkers without the need for rules, regulations and teams.
Where We Stand
The CFRC believes that conkers is one of the few sports that can be played for free. All that is required is a conker and some string.
It is opposed to championships, rules, regulations and commercial sponsorship.
It seeks to encourage young people to play conkers. It should not be the preserve purely of those of mature years.
‘World Conker Championships’
https://www.worldconkerchampionships.com/
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