World Crokinole Championship Returns to Tavistock

Thursday, 4 June 2026 05:50

Competitors from around the world will go head to head at the Tavistock Arena this Saturday.

TAVISTOCK - It's the 25th edition of the World Crokinole Championship!

The annual event will takeover the Tavistock Arena this Saturday. Nathan Walsh, the head of registration and public relations, explains why it's hosted in Tavistock each year.

"The oldest crokinole board that we can verify to a specific date was made in Sebastopol, which is just one concession road outside of Tavistock. It was built in 1876 by Eckhardt Wettlaufer, so this board is now 150 years old."

That board is currently on display at Schneider Haus National Historic Site in Kitchener, and a replica of it will be on site during the championships.

Walsh says competitors from around the world will go head to head this weekend

"We have a couple of people coming in from Germany, they actually started up as the German Crokinole Federation to help grow the game there. We have four players coming in from Hungary who are very strong players. We also have a couple of individuals coming in from Japan and one of them is a player who has come the last couple of years and he has been a one of the top contenders finishing just outside of the 10. We also have a former winner of the Australian Crokinole Championships attending the event this year, so there is a lot of interest outside of Canada."

They will also have competitors from 17 different US states and across Canada.

The tournament offers a competitive division for those who take the game seriously, and a recreational division for those who want to try it out for fun. Registration is from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. that day and it's free for spectators to watch the games.

Walsh says they also have something else in store for those who stop by.

"We will have on display the grand unveiling the world's largest crokinole board! This is a 10 foot tall crokinole board and it's going to be on display throughout the day on our arena floor. We're expecting a lot of people are going want their picture taken with it."

He adds they're trying hoping to have the board in action at some point during the day.

You can find more information about the World Crokinole Championships online here.