Beijing may become the centre of global attention when the Olympic Games open in August, but before then the planet's premier eggs-treme sports contest will grip spectators at that other Mecca of athletic endeavour, Swaton in Lincolnshire.

And among those hoping to egg-cel at the madcap meeting will be members of The Deepings Round Table, who are entering the egg trebuchet event.

They are currently putting the finishing touches to a three-metre high throwing machine based on a medieval catapult, and hope their engine of war will fire them to victory when battle commences on June 29.

Leading the charge is vice-chairman Darren Scott, of Pasture Lane, Northborough, near Peterborough, who has helped to design the trebuchet with fellow member Simon Braid. Mr Scott (39), an automotive engineer, said the aim was to construct a trebuchet which could throw eggs over varying ranges, which are then caught by a team member to score points.

He said: "We need quite a gentle throw with enough elevation so that the catcher can run under the egg and catch it.

"We have to be careful, because if we get the pin that releases the egg in the wrong place, it could fire it vertically so that it goes straight up into the air, or fires it backwards out of the machine, or fires it down the field away from the catcher.

"So there's a bit of technique to the design to make it release the egg at the right moment and in the right direction. Otherwise it could be quite dangerous."

Now in its third year, the World Egg Throwing Championships are a light-hearted part of Swaton Vintage Day, a display of more than 400 vintage vehicles.

The contest features four disciplines besides the egg trebuchet, including the "throw and catch", in which teams of two players try to propel and safely gather an egg over the greatest distance.

Teams of 11 players can enter the "egg-static relay" and attempt to move 12 eggs 100 metres by throwing them between themselves as they stand along the route.

And "egg Russian roulette" – which echoes a dramatic sequence from the film The Deer Hunter – involves contenders wearing bandannas selecting eggs one at a time and smashing them against their foreheads.

The loser is the first to pick the single raw egg among the six otherwise hardboiled ones on offer. Last year Wendy Howell, from Werrington, Peterborough, finished runner-up in the event for Team Malta.

Team-mate Jennie Richardson (48), of Yaxley, said the side was entering the championships again this year.

External links:
Trebuchet - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

How To Build A Trebuchet.

TREBUCHET.com - The Atomic Bomb of the Middle Ages.

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