Pooh-Sticks

Went for a lovely walk with my parents this afternoon and we went over this bridge which has just been repainted in a beautiful green which caught the light nicely. Mum and dad decided it was good opportunity for a game of pooh sticks and I decided that it was a good opportunity for a photo.

For the unenlightened among you pooh sticks is a game in which everyone takes a stick and throws it into a river on the upstream side of a bridge. The winner is the person whose stick exits the other side of the bridge first.

People of lesser intelligence believe it to be a game which involves on skill. They are idiots. A true pooh stick player (or 'sticker') will take much care in analysing the flow patterns and micro currents in the river to be played on and will also check the underside of the bridge and for any objects which could hinder or entirely cease the passage of their stick. Any good sticker will have a 'home bridge', a place where they are unbeatable because through experience they know to the millimetre the best place to cast their stick into the torrent below.

Many experienced stickers will claim that the most important pre-race activity is the choice of stick. Some will swear by a large stick with many small twigs branching off, the theory being that the larger the surface area the more of the current can be caught. This theory will, however, fail if there are obstructing objects (such as reeds) just below the waterline as any protruding twigs may snag and your race will be over. One thing that nearly all stickers will agree on is a strait stick as a curved twig will have greater drag in the water and travel slower.

One key factor which could be overlooked is the density of your stick. In situations where there is fast current and no obstruction a high density stick is best as it will sit lower in the water and catch more of the flow. if there are obstructions however a low density stick is best as it will sit higher and sail over blockages without loosing speed.

There are a couple of things to bear in mind when playing, the FIPSP (Federation International de Pooh Stick Players) have outlawed a couple of things in the interest of fair play. Firstly the activity of 'casting' which involves tossing your stick down stream instead of the proper dropping technique. Secondly the choosing of any stick which has leaves still attached. These leaves will act as sails and is entirely unfair.

Those of you interested in the art of the game can consult these pages:
http://www.pooh-sticks.com/index.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poohsticks