1,500 Watch Kent's Custard Pie Championship Return

Picture 1,500 people gathered to watch competitors hurl custard pies at each other's faces, and you've got the World Custard Pie Championships in Coxheath, Kent.

The annual competition returned to Coxheath Village Hall in Maidstone on Saturday, continuing a beloved tradition that started in 1967. Twenty-seven teams competed for glory, armed with paper plates filled with a secret custard mixture.

The rules are delightfully simple. A direct hit to the face earns six points, while shots to the shoulders or above score three points. Anything below the shoulders counts for just one point.

This year's champions, The Old School Ravers, emerged victorious from the custard-covered chaos. Families arrived early to claim their viewing spots and stayed all day to soak in the spectacle.

Geoff Cooke, one of the event organizers, called it a "great day" and "really good fun." The family-friendly atmosphere kept spectators entertained for hours as competitors slipped, dodged, and laughed their way through rounds of pie-flinging mayhem.

The Ripple Effect

What started as a simple village hall fundraiser in the 1960s has grown into a regional attraction that supports local charities. The event brings hundreds of people together each year, proving that sometimes the silliest traditions create the strongest communities.

The custard recipe remains a closely guarded secret, mixed by what Cooke calls "highly skilled operatives." He emphasized that consistency is everything when it comes to the perfect pie-throwing mixture of flour and water.

Fans will need to mark their calendars for the next championship, scheduled for June 12, 2027. Until then, Kent can proudly hold the title of home to one of the world's messiest sporting events.