Puddle jumping champs rescheduled for warm weather

The puddle jumping world championships have been rescheduled this year to stop children getting too wet and cold.

The organisers of the annual event at Wicksteed Park in Kettering, Northamptonshire, hope the move from October to April will mean better weather for the competition.

Competitors have to submit videos of themselves heading feet-first into pools of water.

Previous winners have included a nine-year-old girl from down the road in Kettering and a three-year-old boy from Wales.

The organisers hope they will be flooded with videos of competitors jumping in surface water at Wicksteed Park, or in puddles they have made or found themselves.

They can even jump into paddling pools.

Their efforts are then judged on stringent criteria including the height of the jump, the distance of the splash and "stickability" - the amount of mud which clings to each competitor.

The park said parents had complained that, when jumping in October, younger entrants had ended up soaked to the skin and freezing cold.

Wicksteed Park director Kelly Richardson said: "It is fantastic that an event which started out as a way to encourage children and families to get out in the fresh air has proved so popular over the years.

"Ultimately it is supposed to be fun, so we have listened to feedback and decided to move it to April - a warmer month but one that is still traditionally associated with rain showers.

"The unpredictable nature of the British weather means we will probably have a heatwave, but that will still be great, as competitors can splash around in the paddling areas of our lake, which, after all, is just one giant puddle."

If March is anything to go by - the driest for more than 60 years - the weather in April is looking promising.

The identity of the new reigning champion will be announced in the week commencing 21 April.

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