Dorset Knob Throwing at the Cattistock Countryside Show
The weather was kind to us on Sunday 14 July this year when, for the first time, Knob Throwing was to be a show within a show at the Cattistock Countryside Show. We had kindly been invited by the Countryside Show Committee (CSC) to take part in their show, and perhaps appeal to a slightly wider audience than may otherwise attend. We jumped at the chance and meetings were held, and arrangements made.
This arrangement appealed to us for several reasons:-
- There was a ready-made venue.
- The CSC were experienced in staging a show.
- Advertising and publicity were well organised, both by us, and the CSC
- We could concentrate on the games, without the added overhead of all the paraphernalia that goes with staging a large event, such as catering outlets, toilets, First Aid, Health and Safety, as these were all handled by the CSC.
As no event had been staged since 2019, the Knob Throwing Committee (KTC) had shrunk down to four, but we were able to call on Peter Higgins, who took care of our website, and Ian Gregory who looked after our publicity. Our thanks and gratitude go to both of them.
We then set about sourcing the Knobs, and refurbishing all the games, which had been languishing in Simon’s barn for 5 years.
We arrived at the venue in Chilfrome on the Saturday before and began setting up. This involved painting the lines for knob throwing, putting up many gazebos and tables, and generally ensuring we could hit the ground running the next day, whilst all the time dodging the showers.
Apart from the Knob Throwing, we had 10 associated games, plus a merchandise stand, and decided we would sell tickets at the entrance, which could be redeemed at any of the games, an arrangement that eliminated the need for numerous floats, and worked very well. Running these games relied on volunteers from the village and its associated sports clubs, for which we are very grateful.
We opened at 11:00am on event day and received a steady stream of customers through the door, many expressing how happy they were to see the games back
We had the company of a BBC South film crew for the whole day compiling a report for the next day’s local news and making celebrities of us all.
As people came and went, many remarked that it had been a great fun day, and looked forward to next year. We too, the committee and volunteers, had a very enjoyable day, which could have been busier, but nonetheless was a great start to our new association arrangement with the CSC.
The object of the Knob Throwing, apart from having an enjoyable day, is of course to raise money for village clubs and organisations. To this end, each volunteer would earn an amount which could be donated to a beneficiary of their choosing. At the wash up meeting the Knob Throwing Committee decided on a distributable fund of £ 2,480, meaning that each volunteer who stayed for the whole show would be allocated £ 80, and those that did half a day, £ 40, donated to their chosen beneficiary. The results are shown in the table below:-
| Beneficiary | Amount |
| Cricket Club | £ 880 |
| Tennis Club | £ 280 |
| Cattistock Community Fund | £ 440 |
| First Responders | £ 240 |
| Table Tennis Club | £ 200 |
| Badminton Club | £ 200 |
| Community Hub | £ 80 |
| Cattistock Church | £ 160 |
| Total | £ 2,480 |
The monies have now been distributed.
On behalf of the Knob Throwing Committee, we would like to thank the Cattistock Countryside Show Committee and all the helpers and volunteers who made it such a success, and we look forward to doing it all again next year.
Wayne Briggs, Patrick Nelson, Sean Lavan & Ian Vine.
The Dorset Knob Throwing Committee.
Many thanks to Terry White for the images.