Conkers has been accepted for talks about becoming an official sport – as its popularity booms after the King Conker steel nut cheating scandal.
It means nut-bashing could scoop National Lottery funding, allocated to formal sports.
Sport England has contacted the World Conker Championships to confirm that Government sport experts will assess conkers’ application to upgrade its status from a game.
Darts, fishing, shooting, pool and even quoits – tossing horseshoes – are all official sports.
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Conkers’ advance towards becoming a sport comes amid a surge in chestnut-walloping after King Conker David Jakins, 82, pictured enjoying a new beer named in his honour in the Shuckburgh Arms, Southwick, Northants, was cleared of using the steel nut found in his pocket to win the men’s world title on October 13.
(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
A spokesman for the World Conker Championships, held in Southwick, Northants, said: “We’ve been contacted by so many people in the past couple of weeks who are enjoying conkers after not playing for years.
“The development with Sport England is the biggest news in the 200-year history of our game.
“I don’t think they were taking us seriously to start with. But interest in our tournament this year proves the worldwide appeal of our sport.
(Image: Alistair Grant)
“We knew it would be a hard nut to crack, but we’re demonstrating to Sport England that we’re just as much a sport as darts or fishing.
“Lottery funding would be a dream. It would help to revive conkers in the modern age, and connect people of all ages with nature.”
In a year of negotiations, Sport England initially refused to allow conkers to submit a formal application to become a sport due to concerns over how tournaments were promoted.
(Image: Mirrorpix)
But after conker chiefs clarified their role in encouraging events across Britain, Sport England has now confirmed they will assess conkers’ formal application as a sport.
A Sport England spokesperson said: “The World Conkers Championships has enquired about conkers becoming recognised as a sport. The body has requested application forms for the recognition process, and they will be advised when the forms are ready.”