View source for Poohsticks

{{Short description|Simple game played on a bridge over running water}}
{{For|the band|The Pooh Sticks}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2017}}
[[File:Pooh sticks bridge.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Poohsticks Bridge in [[Ashdown Forest]] ({{coord|51.085459|0.097783|display=inline|format=dms}})]]
'''Poohsticks''' is a [[game]] first mentioned in ''[[The House at Pooh Corner]]'', a [[Winnie-the-Pooh]] book by [[A. A. Milne]]. It is a simple game which may be played on any [[bridge]] over running water; each player drops a [[branch|stick]] on the upstream side of a bridge and the one whose stick first appears on the downstream side is the winner. The annual World Poohsticks Championships have been held at [[Day's Lock]] on the [[River Thames]] in the UK since 1984.<ref name=23rd>{{cite news |title=23rd world Pooh-sticks race held |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=2006-03-27 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/oxfordshire/4845136.stm |access-date=2008-11-03}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:The House at Pooh Corner (1961) (page 112 crop).jpg|thumb|left|Pooh, Piglet, Roo, and Rabbit playing Poohsticks]]
Poohsticks was invented by English author A.A. Milne for his son [[Christopher Robin Milne]].<ref name=Chris/> The game first came to prominence upon Milne's description in his 1928 book ''The House at Pooh Corner'',<ref>[[A. A. Milne|A.A. Milne]]. (1928) ''[[The House at Pooh Corner]]'', London: Methuen. {{ISBN|0-7497-0116-1}}.</ref> as well as the 1983 [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] animated featurette ''[[Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore]]''. As first depicted, [[protagonist]] Pooh accidentally drops a [[pine cone]] into a river from a bridge and, after observing how it appeared on the other side of the bridge, devises the rules for Poohsticks, later playing the game with the other characters, [[Christopher Robin]], [[Tigger]], and [[Eeyore]].<ref name=BBC1>{{cite news |title=New 'pooh-sticks' World Champion |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=2003-03-16 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2853091.stm |access-date=2008-11-03}}</ref><ref name=Davies/>

Milne first played the game at a bridge located in [[Ashdown Forest]], close to the village of [[Upper Hartfield]], [[East Sussex]], England. Built in 1907 and originally called Posingford Bridge, it is considered to be the bridge on which Milne and his son first played the game.<ref name=Davies/><ref name=Disney>{{cite news |title=Disney to save Pooh Bridge |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=1999-09-11 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/444815.stm |access-date=2008-11-03}}</ref> However, it is uncertain whether the game was first played at the bridge and then written into the story, or vice versa.<ref name=Chris/> The bridge maintained the public's interest and a campaign to rebuild it in the late seventies was considered important enough to feature on the [[BBC]] ''Nine&nbsp;O'Clock News''. The bridge was subsequently reopened by Christopher Robin Milne and officially renamed as ''Poohsticks Bridge''.<ref name=PC>{{cite web |title=A Short History of Pooh and Winnie |publisher=PoohCorner |url=http://www.poohcorner.com/A-Short-History-of-Pooh-and-Winnie.html |access-date=2008-11-03 |archive-date=9 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509183253/http://www.poohcorner.com/A-Short-History-of-Pooh-and-Winnie.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The site was so popular that, in 1999, the East Sussex county council made an appeal to Disney as the old wooden bridge had been worn down by an overwhelming number of visitors, and was in need of a replacement.<ref name=Bridge>{{cite news |title=Appeal to save Winnie the Pooh's bridge  |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=1999-08-10 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/416892.stm |access-date=2008-11-03}}</ref> The company provided a substantial donation towards the estimated £30,000 needed to replace the bridge. Partly rebuilt in 1979, the donations from Disney, building firms, and members of the public funded its complete reconstruction. The newly-built and modernised bridge retained its precursor's original style.<ref>{{cite news |last=Halstead |first=Robin |title=Great escapes: Days out with a difference |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=2008-03-21 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/great-escapes-days-out-with-a-difference-798923.html |access-date=2008-11-03 |location=London}}</ref> A plaque was also placed to commemorate the occasion and thank those who financially contributed to the project.<ref name=Disney/> The game can still be played in Ashdown Forest to this day and the site regularly attracts tourists from as far afield as the United States and Japan.<ref name=Bridge/> However, visitors are now advised to bring their own sticks, as previous visitors have caused damage to the trees in the vicinity.<ref name=Chris/><ref name=Marsh>{{cite news |last=Marsh |first=Stephanie |title=Want to win at Pooh Sticks? It's all in the throw |newspaper=[[The Times]] |date=2004-10-19 |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article496177.ece |access-date=2008-11-04 |location=London}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

The 'original' Poohsticks Bridge, reconstructed from parts of the original supplemented by similarly aged timber, and located near [[Penshurst]], Kent, was sold at auction for over {{GBP|131,000|2021|round=-3|about=yes|long=no}} in October 2021. The buyer, [[William Sackville, 11th Earl De La Warr|Lord De La Warr]], intends to give it "pride of place" on his estate, [[Buckhurst Park, Sussex]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Winnie the Pooh: Poohsticks Bridge sells for more than £131k |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-58818291 |website=BBC News |access-date=8 October 2021 |date=7 October 2021}}</ref>

The traditional game has inspired filmmakers and screenwriters and has been portrayed in the 1998 film ''[[Into My Heart]]'' with [[Rob Morrow]] and [[Claire Forlani]], BBC sitcom ''[[To the Manor Born]]'' and also in a [[Marks & Spencer]] clothes advert where models, including [[Twiggy]] and [[Myleene Klass]], played the game. The popularity of the game was underlined when it featured as a question on long-running British quiz series ''[[University Challenge]]''.<ref name=Davies/> The "Pooh-stick method" of estimating the flow of a stream gets its name from the use of one or more floating objects (typically passing under a bridge of known width) to calculate the speed at which the water is flowing.<ref>"[https://nt.global.ssl.fastly.net/mottisfont/documents/teacher-information---measuring-the-flow-rate-of-the-font-stream.pdf Teacher Information: Measuring the Flow Rate of the Font Stream] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612014210/https://nt.global.ssl.fastly.net/mottisfont/documents/teacher-information---measuring-the-flow-rate-of-the-font-stream.pdf |date=12 June 2021 }}", University of Southampton; accessed 2020.05.01.</ref><ref>"[https://crowdwater.ch/en/app-2/ Water level & streamflow]", Crowdwater; accessed 2020.05.01.</ref>

==Rules and strategy==
A game for two players or more, in the traditional version of poohsticks the participants must drop a stick simultaneously on the upstream side of a bridge and run to the other side. The winner is the player whose stick first appears on the other side of the bridge.<ref name=23rd/> Alternatively, players may decide upon a starting point on a [[river]] and a finish line farther downstream. The winner is the player whose stick first passes the finishing point.<ref name=BBC1/>

It is generally agreed that the stick must be made of organic materials, preferably [[willow]], and not of any artificial materials.<ref name=Marsh/> All participants must drop their sticks at the same time, usually after a referee shouts "drop", "twitch" or any other agreed keyword. Additionally, no advantage may be gained through either dismantling the bridge or the use of any self-propelling stick devices.<ref>{{cite web |last=Barritt |first=Owen |title=The Official Poohsticks Rules Of The Pembroke College Winnie-The-Pooh Society |publisher=The Pembroke College Winnie-The-Pooh Society 2000-2007 |date=2003-03-21 |url=http://www.poohsoc.org.uk/sticks/rules.html |access-date=2008-11-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725094128/http://www.poohsoc.org.uk/sticks/rules.html |archive-date=25 July 2008 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The stick must be dropped, not thrown, into the water and any player who is deemed to have thrown their stick is disqualified.<ref name=Marsh/>

Poohsticks is considered to be a game of chance yet some players, including the 2024 World Champion, claim skill is involved. Some strategies involve the way in which the stick is held before it is dropped and trying to find the fastest route in the river.<ref name=Davies/> Author [[Ben Schott]] outlined a throwing method as a winning strategy in his third book, ''[[Schott’s Sporting, Gaming and Idling Miscellany|Schott's Sporting, Gaming and Idling Miscellany]]'', but his method was dismissed as cheating by competition organisers.<ref name=Marsh/> In any event, the [[turbulence]] around the bridge supports make the path of the stick very difficult to predict, and its route may vary according to the season.

==World Poohsticks Championships==
[[File:LittleWitBr01.JPG|left|thumb|[[Little Wittenham Bridge]] with the lock keeper's house at [[Day's Lock]] beyond]]
Poohsticks was brought to a larger audience by the annual World Poohsticks Championships. Originally, these took place at [[Day's Lock]] on the River Thames near [[Dorchester-on-Thames]], [[Oxfordshire]], but were later moved to Langel Common in [[Witney]], also in Oxfordshire, and have attracted over 1,500 visitors, including many from overseas.<ref name=BBC1/> The championships features an individual event and a four-person team event.<ref name=Chris>{{cite web |title=Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and You |publisher=BBC |date=1998-03-13 |url=http://pooh-sticks.com/ |access-date=2017-05-29 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020636/http://pooh-sticks.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Players come from a wide variety of countries including the United States, Japan, Kenya, Australia and England.<ref name=BBC1/><ref name=Davies/><ref name=PoohTime>{{cite web |title=It's Pooh Sticks Time! |publisher=BBC |date=2007-12-23 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/oxford/content/articles/2007/03/12/world_poohsticks.shtml |access-date=2008-11-03}}</ref> Before its move to Witney, the event took place from [[Little Wittenham Bridge]] but now uses a bridge over the [[River Windrush]] near [[Cogges Manor Farm]].

The sporting event was started at [[Little Wittenham Bridge]] in 1984 by the [[lockkeeper]], Lynn David, as a fundraising event for the [[Royal National Lifeboat Institution]] (RNLI).<ref name=Chris/> He noticed that people occasionally snapped sticks from nearby hedges to play the game and he then came up with the idea of a competition to aid the charity. He put out a box of sticks and a collection box and it soon became an annual event.<ref name=Davies/> In this championship version of the game, a finish line is set up farther downstream and the winner is the first to pass this point.<ref name=Czech>{{cite news |title=Czech team takes Pooh-sticks gold |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=2004-03-29 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/oxfordshire/3578055.stm |access-date=2008-11-03}}</ref> The competition originally took place every January, but it was moved to March due to icy weather in 1997.<ref>{{cite news |title=Thaw to bring wave of misery |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=1997-01-04 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/thaw-to-bring-wave-of-misery-1281491.html |access-date=2013-05-10}}</ref>

[[File:DaysLock04.JPG|right|thumb|upright|Day's Lock, viewed from [[Wittenham Clumps]] (or Sinodun Hills) in summer]]
The event proved popular with the local community and even attracted the attention of the foreign media.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pooh's Pastime Noted In a Village on Thames |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=1987-01-06 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE0DF153CF935A35752C0A961948260 |access-date=2008-11-03}}</ref> After Lynn David's retirement, the running of the event was taken over by the former [[Rotary Club]] of Sinodun, based in nearby [[Wallingford, Oxfordshire|Wallingford]].<ref name=Davies>{{cite news |last=Davies |first=Caroline |title=Poohsticks fans club together to save the game |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |date=2008-11-02 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/nov/02/uk-news |access-date=2008-11-03 |location=London}}</ref> Additionally, the funds raised were divided between the RNLI and charitable projects supported by the Rotary Club.<ref name=Czech/> Twenty years after its first edition, the event had grown in popularity, attracting visitors from across the globe, and had been broadcast on television in countries including Russia, Japan and the Czech Republic.<ref>{{cite web |last=Townsend |first=Ian |title=Oxford rotary club steps in to save Pooh Sticks championship previously run by a Wallingford rotary club |publisher=Herald Series |date=2008-10-27 |url=http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/search/3793580.print/ |access-date=2008-11-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214135101/http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/search/3793580.print/ |archive-date=14 February 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Additionally, [[VisitBritain]], the official British tourist board, named it as a highlight in its collection of "Quirky British Events".<ref>{{cite web |title=Quirky British Events For 2008 |publisher=[[VisitBritain]] |year=2008 |url=http://www.visitbritain.us/Images/quirky_events_2008_tcm20-119321.pdf |access-date=2008-11-03}}</ref> Throughout its existence, it has raised around £30,000 for the RNLI.<ref name=Oxford>{{cite web |title=Pooh sticks championships return |publisher=thisisoxfordshire |date=2002-03-01 |url=http://archive.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/2002/3/1/43157.html |access-date=2008-11-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20081104141540/http://archive.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/2002/3/1/43157.html |archive-date=4 November 2008 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

The Championships were at risk of decline when, in 2008, Sinodun Rotary Club declared that its members were simply too old to stage an annual event of its size. The then Sinodun president, David Caswell, stated: "The trouble is there is a lot of heavy work staging the event. Some of our members are over 70, and it was just getting too much". However, the Rotary Club of Oxford Spires declared that its members would continue hosting the event, thus preserving the competition for future generations. The President of Oxford Spires for 2008–2009, Liz Williamson, stressed that it should continue as the event was popular locally and demonstrated quirky English nature to a worldwide audience.<ref name=Davies/>

The organisers announced in January 2015 that they had decided that the [[Little Wittenham]] site was no longer suitable, citing increasing logistical difficulties as the event had become more popular and the use of the land had changed. In June, the World Championships were held at their new home, one of the cycle-track bridges (coordinates: {{coord|51.7070|-1.2337|}}) over the [[River Windrush]] on Langel Common, near the [[Cogges Manor Farm|Cogges Manor Farm Museum]] in Witney, Oxfordshire.
[[File:Footbridge over the backwater at Sandford - geograph.org.uk - 1231153.jpg|left|thumb|The bridge at [[Sandford Lock]] in 2009]]
The organizers decided not to hold the 2015 team games, but they were restored in 2016. In 2019, the event was not held due to resourcing issues, and between 2020 and 2022 it was cancelled due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. It restarted on 28th May 2023, commemorating the 40th anniversary, at [[Sandford-on-Thames]].<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-65719425 'World Pooh Sticks Championships returns to Oxfordshire']</ref>

The winners of both the individual and team events receive a trophy or medal, and the second and third-placed individuals and teams also receive a smaller trophy or certificate. Despite claims that the game involves skill more than luck, no team or individual has ever won the competition more than once. The individual competition usually involves winning three rounds of matches before receiving an entry to the final.<ref name=Davies/>

<div style="display:inline-table; vertical-align:top;">
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Winners of World Poohsticks Championships
|-
! Year 
!Month
!Series!! Individual Champion 
!Team Champion!!Venue
|-
|1991
|
|8th
|Ben Salter
|
|Day’s Lock, Little Wittenham
|-
|1992
|
|9th
|Sue Rayner
|
|Day’s Lock
|-
|1993
|
|10th
|
|
|Day’s Lock
|-
|1994
|
|11th
|
|
|Day’s Lock
|-
|1995
|
|12th
|
|
|Day’s Lock
|-
|1996
|
|13th
|Théo Welch-King
|
|Day’s Lock
|-
|1997
|
|14th
|
|
|Day’s Lock
|-
|1998
|
|15th
|
|
|Day’s Lock
|-
|1999
|
|16th
|Daisy
|
|Day’s Lock
|-
|2000
|
|17th
|Blair DeBart
|
|Day’s Lock
|-
!2001
! colspan="5" |Event Cancelled (frozen river)<ref name="2001result">{{cite web |date=28 March 2010 |title=Health and safety fears scupper Pooh sticks race |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/headlines/5199094.Health_and_safety_fears_scupper_Pooh_sticks_race/ |access-date=11 June 2025 |website=Oxfordmail.co.uk}}</ref>
|-
|2002
|March
|18th
|Rachel Banham<ref name="2002result">{{cite web |date=12 March 2002 |title=Welsh conquer in sticks contest |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/6596931.welsh-conquer-sticks-contest/ |access-date=11 June 2025 |website=Oxfordmail.co.uk}}</ref>
|Wales {{flagicon|Wales}}
|Day’s Lock
|-
|2003
|March
|19th
|Becky Aram
|Australia {{flagicon|Australia}}
|Day’s Lock
|-
|2004
|March
|20th
|Susan Young
|Czech Republic {{flagicon|Czech}}
|Day’s Lock
|-
|2005
|
|21st
|Callum Alexander
|Japan {{flagicon|Japan}}
|Day’s Lock
|-
|2006
|March
|22nd
|Harry Norton Shaw<ref name="2006result">{{cite web |date=27 March 2006 |title=23rd world Pooh-sticks race held |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/oxfordshire/4845136.stm |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=BBC.co.uk}}</ref>
|Team Natural Colour Cotton
|Day’s Lock
|-
|2007
|March
|23rd
|Bob Jones<ref name="2007result">{{cite web |date=23 March 2007 |title=It's Pooh Sticks Time! |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/oxford/content/articles/2007/03/12/world_poohsticks.shtml |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=BBC.co.uk}}</ref>
|Bears for Life
|Day’s Lock
|-
|2008
|March
|24th
|Lydia Leece
|Sticking to the Prize
|Day’s Lock
|-
|2009
|March
|25th
|Phil Davies<ref name="2009result">{{cite web |date=30 March 2009 |title=Winnie the Pooh's favourite game brought to life |url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/92195/Winnie-the-Pooh-s-favourite-game-brought-to-life |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=Express.co.uk}}</ref>
|Cytoarchitechno
|Day’s Lock
|-
!2010
! colspan="5" |Event Cancelled (heavy rainfall)<ref name="2010result">{{cite web |date=1 April 2011 |title=Pooh sticks declared a danger |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/8947185.pooh-sticks-declared-a-danger/ |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=Oxford Mail}}</ref>
|-
|2011
|March
|26th
| Saffron Sollitt<ref name="2011result">{{cite web |date=27 March 2011 |title=Girl wins Oxfordshire World Pooh Sticks Championships |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-12874674 |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=BBC.co.uk}}</ref>
|Team Kelly
|Day’s Lock
|-
|2012
|March
|27th
|Aiden Eltham<ref name="2012result">{{cite web |date=April 2012 |title=In the media 2012 |url=https://poohsticks.uk/in-the-media/in-the-media-2012 |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=BBC.co.uk}}</ref>
|The Tiglets
|Day’s Lock
|-
|2013
|October
|28th
| Alex Marshall {{flagicon|Australia}}<ref name="2013result">{{cite web |date=14 October 2013 |title=Australian Alex Marshall is world Pooh sticks champion |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-24516717#:~:text=An%20Australian%20man%20is%20world,Thames%20in%20Oxfordshire%20on%20Sunday. |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=BBC.co.uk}}</ref>
|We don't spell love we feel it
|Day’s Lock
|-
| 2014
|March
|29th
| Simon Critchley<ref name="2014result">{{cite web |date=May 2014 |title=2014 Championships |url=https://poohsticks.uk/previous-years-championships/2014-championships |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=Poohsticks.uk}}</ref>
|Blantz Family
|Day’s Lock
|-
| 2015
|June
|30th
| James Smith<ref name="2015result">{{cite web |date=May 2015 |title=2015 Championships |url=https://poohsticks.uk/previous-years-championships/2015-championships |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=Poohsticks.uk}}</ref><ref name="2015resultb">{{cite web |date=9 June 2015 |title=Pooh Sticks champion sees off 600 rivals |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/13319876.pooh-sticks-champion-sees-off-600-rivals/ |access-date=14 June 2025 |website=Oxford Mail.co.uk}}</ref>
| -
|[[Sandford Lock]], Witney
|-
| 2016
|June
|31st
| Charlie Roman<ref name="2016result">{{cite web |date=May 2016 |title=2016 Championships |url=https://poohsticks.uk/previous-years-championships/2016-championships |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=Poohsticks.uk}}</ref><ref name="2016resultb">{{cite web |date=6 June 2016 |title=Seven-year-old boy crowned World Pooh Sticks Champion 2016 |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/14537535.seven-year-old-boy-crowned-world-pooh-sticks-champion-2016/ |access-date=14 June 2025 |website=Oxford Mail.co.uk}}</ref>
|Hundred Acre Edwards
|Sandford Lock
|-
| 2017
|June
|32nd
| Daniel Gooding<ref name="2017result">{{cite web |date=May 2017 |title=2017 Championships |url=https://poohsticks.uk/previous-years-championships/2017-championships |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=Poohsticks.uk}}</ref>
|Kanga Roo Pooh
|Sandford Lock
|-
| 2018
|June
|33rd
| Innes Turnbull<ref name="2018resultteam">{{cite web |date=May 2018 |title=Hundreds compete in World Poohsticks Championships 2018 |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/16266638.PIC_GALLERY__Hundreds_compete_in_World_Poohsticks_Championships/ |access-date=11 June 2025 |website=Poohsticks.uk}}</ref>
|Kids 4 Us<ref name="2018result">{{cite web |date=May 2018 |title=2018 Championships |url=https://poohsticks.uk/previous-years-championships/2018-championships |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=Oxfordmail.co.uk}}</ref>
|Sandford Lock
|-
!style="background-color: light grey;"|2019
! colspan="5" |Event Cancelled (resourcing issues)
|-
!style="background-color: light grey;"|2020
! colspan="5" |Event Cancelled (COVID-19)
|-
!style="background-color: light grey;"|2021
! colspan="5" |Event Cancelled (COVID-19)
|-
!style="background-color: light grey;"|2022
! colspan="5" |Event Cancelled (COVID-19)
|-
| 2023
|May
|34th
|Bertie S<ref name="2023result">{{cite web |date=28 May 2024 |title=The World Poohsticks Championship 2023 |url=https://abingdonblog.co.uk/?p=30827#:~:text=The%20red%20stick's%20handler%20was,Robin%2C%20Tigger%2C%20and%20Eeyore. |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=Abingdonblog.co.uk}}</ref>
| -
|Sandford Lock
|-
| 2024
|May
|35th
| Bradley Mee<ref name="2024result">{{cite web |date=28 May 2024 |title=We have winners! |url=https://poohsticks.uk/archives/3098 |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=Poohsticks.uk}}</ref>
| -
|Sandford Lock
|-
| 2025
|May
|36th
|Amanda McCann<ref name="2025result">{{cite web |date=28 May 2024 |title=The World Poohsticks Championships |url=https://www.facebook.com/TheWorldPoohSticksChampionships/?locale=en_GB |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=Facebook page}}</ref>
| -
|Sandford Lock
|-
|}
</div>
Note: All participants are British unless denoted by a flag

== Notable Poohsticks societies ==
[[File:MCPSSLogo.jpeg|thumbnail|right|The logo of the MCPSS, circa 2013]]
Although not a Poohsticks Society as such, the Rotary Club of Abingdon<ref name="Oxford Spires Rotary">{{cite web |title=The Rotary Club of Abingdon |url=http://www.abingdonrotary.org.uk |access-date=2014-04-12 |publisher=Rotary Club of Abingdon}}</ref> is now responsible for the World Pooh Sticks Championships held annually since 1983, first at Days Lock on the River Thames, then in Witney 2015 to 2018.<ref name =BBC2011>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-12874674|title=Girl wins Oxfordshire World Pooh Sticks Championships|work=[[BBC Online]]|access-date=27 March 2011|date=2011-03-27}}</ref> and the event held in 2023. The Championships were voted 'Britain's Favourite Quirky Event' by ''Countryfile'' magazine readers in 2012<ref name="CountryFile Awards">{{cite web|title=CountryFile Awards at Poohsticks.com |publisher=Rotary Club of Oxford Spires |url=http://www.pooh-sticks.com/node/219 |access-date=2014-04-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407091312/http://www.pooh-sticks.com/node/219 |archive-date=2014-04-07 }}</ref> and are carried out with the aim of raising money for a variety of charities.<ref name="Championships Information">{{cite web|title=All you need to know for 2014 at Poohsticks.com |publisher=Rotary Club of Oxford Spires |url=http://www.pooh-sticks.com/content/all-you-need-know-2014 |access-date=2014-04-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407091325/http://www.pooh-sticks.com/content/all-you-need-know-2014 |archive-date=2014-04-07 }}</ref>

Revival of the Oxford University Pooh Sticks Society has begun thanks to students in Magdalen College, Oxford, with the creation of the Magdalen College Pooh Sticks Society (MCPSS) founded in April 2013 which mixes classic Pooh Sticks games with commentary and rules in the style of radio programme ''[[I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue]]''. Of late the club has become increasingly well known inside the university and is no longer restricted solely to members of Magdalen College.<ref name="The Oxford Student">{{cite news |title=Pooh Sticks Society a Winnie-er |publisher=[[The Oxford Student]] |date=2014-02-13 |url=http://oxfordstudent.com/2014/02/13/pooh-stick-society-a-winnie-er/ |access-date=2014-04-12}}</ref>

Founded in 1993, members of the Pembroke College Winnie the Pooh Society of [[Pembroke College, Cambridge]], pay homage to the works of A.A. Milne in a variety of ways, including playing games of Poohsticks alongside events such as visits to the 'real-life' Hundred Acre Wood.<ref name="Pembroke College">{{cite web |title=The Poohsticks Cam Bridge Crawl |publisher=Pembroke College Winnie the Pooh Society |url=http://pooh.soc.srcf.net/sticks/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140407012316/http://pooh.soc.srcf.net/sticks/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2014-04-07 |access-date=2014-04-12 }}</ref>
{{clear}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://poohsticks.uk/ World Pooh Sticks Championships Home Page]
*[http://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/homepage.asp?ClubID=568 The Rotary Club of Sinodun] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100504181841/http://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/homepage.asp?ClubID=568 |date=4 May 2010 }}
*[http://www.oxfordspiresrotary.org.uk The Rotary Club of Oxford Spires]
* Map and aerial photo sources for [[british national grid reference system|grid reference]]:
** {{mmukscaled|TQ470338|25|TQ 470 338}} — Poohsticks Bridge near [[Hartfield]] — marked on the [[Ordnance Survey]] "25k" map
** {{mmukscaled|SU567934|25|SU 567 934}} — Day's Lock and the [[Sinodun Hills]]
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20051119234953/http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp904/html/BruceHemming.html Bruce Hemming's page about the Poohsticks Bridge] with QuickTime panorama — note that the coordinates given are in error by 25&nbsp;km

{{Winnie-the-Pooh}}

{{good article}}

[[Category:Outdoor games]]
[[Category:Winnie-the-Pooh]]
[[Category:Bridges in the United Kingdom|*]]
[[Category:Culture associated with the River Thames]]
[[Category:Fictional games]]