Kokova Magazine

The 9th of July 2011 at Witcham sees the 41st holding of the World Pea Shooting Championship and Village Fair on the Green - opening at noon with the competition starting at 1pm.

The World Pea Shooting Championship has been held annually since 1971 in the village of Witcham near Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. It was conceived as a fund-raising idea for the Village Hall by the then headmaster of the village school, John I. Tyson (1925–2002).

In 2003 the Parish Council funded the purchase of the John Tyson Shield on which the champion's name is recorded each year.

The competition tends to be dominated by local entrants, though a small number travel from around the world, notably the USA, and American personnel from the nearby US airbases of RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath have competed.

The day is combined with village fete featuring games, stalls etc.

Competition is fierce and contestants have to shoot a pea through a tube from 12 feet away towards a 12 inch target.

Laser-guided shooters are not unknown, taking the sport into the 21st century.

Several years ago there was a row over 'modified' shooters, including the use of lasers to help guide the peas but this has now been resolved, said John Wells from the committee.

We've been running it since the 1970s. It started from a village school situation where a teacher was reprimanding some of the pupils for pea shooting in class.

We had a little bit of a hiccup when the committee decided to ban pea shooters with sights. We also had some laser-guided ones.

The person who was most against the advanced sights left the village and we decided to have open competition again. The contest had grown in popularity in recent years and I think it's the quirkiness really and it's origin that appeals to people.

Lots of people who have been previous champions carry on.

This is the main fund raising event of the year for the upkeep of the Village Hall.
Entry on the day: Price £2 ( £1 for juniors).
Peashooters and peas (maple peas) will be on sale.
Practice area available, anyone can do it, even Grandma!

This a great fun day out for all the family and apart from the Championship they also have: - Novelty Games, Face Painting, Draws, Cake & Bottle Stalls, Bric-a-Brac, Books, Plants, Bouncy Castle, Soft Drinks, Ice Cream, a Lunch-time Barbecue, and Cream Teas served in the Hall.

A Licensed Bar will be provided by the White Horse Witcham.