World Bun Throwing Championships

Check out the Abingdon Blog for a report and photos of the recent World Bun Throwing Championships held in the town.

The contest was the second edition of the event to find the town's best Bun Throwers. The winners are invited to join the Mayor and other dignitaries to throw buns to the townsfolk in the Market Place below at the next Bun Throwing on Saturday 11th June.

I competed in the first World Bun Throwing Championships in 2012. I hit a personal best of 25m 10cm to set (and temporarily hold) the new World Record and clubhouse lead. The record was eventually set at 222 feet (67m) 

This year's winner managed to throw their currant bun over 150 feet.

The 2016 bun throwing will be the 34th since the tradition began in 1761.

On special occasions since then townsfolk have gathered in the marketplace in front of the old county hall in attempt to catch a special hot cross bun. The first event was held to celebrate the coronation of King George III.

The last Bun Throwing was held in 2012 to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

World Bun Throwing Championships - Update

More information about the upcoming Royal Bun Throwing Championships announced.

Further details on the first-ever Royal Bun Throwing Championships have been announced on the Abingdon Vale Cricket Club website. The club will be the host venue for the event, that is also being called the World Bun Throwing Championships!

The poster for the event (below) also states that the event is the 'First Annual Bun Throwing Championships'. So, a great new tradition will begin on the 14th of April 2012. The traditional Bun Throwing spectacle is not an annual event, but instead takes place to mark special national or royal events and milestones. The 2012 Bun Throwing is taking place to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Poster for the first-ever World Bun Throwing Championships

The competition will cost entrants £1 per Bun Thrown with all of the proceeds going to the Mayor of Abingdon-on-Thames' three charities - the Felix Fund, Macmillan Nurses and the War Widows Association.

The 33rd Bun Throwing will be taking place in Abingdon-on-Thames on Sunday 3rd June 2012. The winners of the World Bun Throwing Championships will get the chance to become a Bun Thrower atop the old County Hall!

Related Blog Post:

- Latest News on the 2012 Royal Bun Throwing in Abingdon-on-Thames

Links:

- Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council

- Abingdon Vale Cricket Club

A new ‘Royal Bun Throwing Championships’ to be held at Abingdon Vale Cricket Club

My brother Jon who still lives in my hometown of Abingdon sent me details from the Oxford Mail (and Abingdon Herald) about a brand new event that will be taking place later this year – a Royal Bun Throwing Championships!

Since 1761, Abingdon has carried out the wonderful and unique tradition of Bun Throwing to celebrate Royal events, or mark significant milestones.

The new Mayor of the town, Mike Badcock, has teamed up with Abingdon Vale Cricket Club to create the new Royal Bun Throwing Championships to find the town’s best bun throwers, who will join Councillors and other dignitaries atop the old County Hall (now the town's Museum) at the next Royal Bun Throwing to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in June. The reasoning is that for those people who are at the back of the Market Place during the Bun Throwing rarely catch many buns!

The old County Hall in Abingdon - the Bun Throwers launch the buns from a great height!

The new event sounds brilliant. I love the fact that Abingdon has Bun Throwing as a tradition and adding the new element of the separate Throwing Championships is a great idea.

I have attended all of the Bun Throwing events in my lifetime, twelve to date, with the last taking place on Friday 29th April 2011 to celebrate the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.

Chris Gottfried, me (Richard Gottfried) & Jon Gottfried proudly show off our Buns after the 2011 Royal Bun Throwing

On more than one occasion I have seen Bun Throwers use other means to deliver buns to the crowd – including tennis rackets and catapults! Some catchers also go to great lengths to catch a bun, with some people using upturned umbrellas! There’s always plenty of jostling amongst the townsfolk too as it is such a great achievement to be able to walk away with a special Bun.

I have been informed by the Town Council that The Royal Bun Throwing Championship will be taking place at Abingdon Vale Cricket Club on Culham Road between 2pm and 4pm on Saturday 14th April. The event will see competitors paying a fee to attempt to thrown the buns the furthest (with proceeds going to the Mayor’s three charities).

Further details will be advertised in the next issue of the town’s Spring Town Crier council newsletter (w/c 20th February).

I can’t wait to give it a go.