Wednesday, April 15, 2020

A look back at the World Bun Throwing Championships in Abingdon

A look back at the World Bun Throwing Championships held in Abingdon in 2012.


It's been eight years since the inaugural World Bun Throwing Championships were held in Abingdon.


The event set out to find the town's best bun throwers who were then selected to join the town's mayor and other dignitaries atop the old county hall for that year's bun throwing event.

Throwing a currant bun at the World Bun Throwing Championships at Abingdon Vale Cricket Club
Throwing a currant bun at the World Bun Throwing Championships at Abingdon Vale Cricket Club on the 14th April 2012

The 2012 bun throwing was held to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and saw 6,000 currant buns rain down on the thousands of people in the market place.

Abingdon Bun Throwing by Alastair Fear AbingdonBlog.co.uk 030612
Abingdon Bun Throwing by Alastair Fear / Abingdon Blog

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The last bun throwing held in Abingdon-on-Thames was in November 2018 to mark 100 years since the end of the First World War.

Bun throwing in Abingdon-on-Thames, November 2018
Bun throwing in Abingdon-on-Thames, November 2018

That bun throwing was the 35th event since 1761. The last bun throwing held before the 2018 event was to celebrate the Queen's 90th birthday in 2016.


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I wonder when it will be possible to hold another bun throwing event?


As a mass gathering and celebration event it'd be nice to think a bun throwing could be held to mark the safe ending of the coronavirus pandemic once a vaccine is created, distributed and working.


The first bun throwing in Abingdon marked the Coronation of King George III in 1761.

1 comment:

  1. I was the second person from the town to step-up for a throw and had selected four fine currant buns for my attempt at the title. After a couple of throws between the 18 and 21 metre marks I hit a personal best of 25m 10cm to set (and temporarily hold) the new World Record and clubhouse lead. In the event report on the excellent Abingdon Blog, it's noted that the World Record was broken a number of times in this inaugural event!

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