Next weekend, the World Conker Championships are held, but yesterday, a County Durham workingmen's club held its own version of the competition. With his hopes of glory literally hanging by a thread, Dan King took part.

WHEN it comes to conkers, it's not just the chestnuts that need to be tough-skinned these days.

Fewer children are playing the game, not only because of modern inventions such as games consoles, but also as many schools won't allow conkers for fear of legal action if youngsters get hurt.

There are, however, some enthusiasts fighting to keep alive a hobby that started in the mid-1800s - people such as Colin Graham, who organised yesterday's inaugural Shildon Conker Championships.

"When I heard about the teachers banning it from the schools, I thought, 'This is ridiculous'," he said.

"Community spirit and traditions are slipping away all the time. The idea came to me last year, when I was walking and came across a conker tree.

"I had a eureka moment - Why don't I organise a conker tournament?"

The competition, held at Elm Road WMC, in Shildon, is about skill.

Contestants dip their hands into a bag and pull out their weapons of mass destruction.

That means there's no opportunity for conker bandits to bring out long-serving horse chestnuts, or to bake them and soak them in vinegar - a crime that saw Michael Palin disqualified from a tournament in 1993.

That was lucky for me, because I hung up my conkers years ago. I'd never been much of a player, so, like a handful of others, I arrived at the bar early - to allow myself time to warm up, of course.

A willing practice opponent came forward in the shape of seven-year-old Kieran Freeman.

When I was a lad, seven-year-olds were at the prime of their conker careers. However, young Kieran admitted he had never played before.

It was a sad indictment of the nanny state, according to Colin Graham, but also, given my efforts on his conker, a sad indictment of my conker ability.

We traded blows like two tiring boxers, neither conker managing to make much of a dent on the other. Practice was aborted with both still intact when Kieran needed the toilet and the tournament was about to start.

Entrants ranged from middle-aged men to lads who had been playing Sunday morning football earlier in the day.

Spectators came outside to watch, while an American couple looked on with interest.

It turned out, though, that they had not made a transatlantic journey to watch the fun, but lived in nearby Spennymoor.

I had been drawn against Colin. Magnanimously, he allowed me to go first.

I missed with my first effort, made a decent connection with my second and scuffed against the side of his conker with my third.

Then it was Colin's turn. His first go resulted in me dropping my conker, while his second left my hapless nut reeling.

Finally, his third attempt came. The ferocity of the previous two blows had already created a small crack in my conker. Colin saw it and had the power and accuracy to take advantage, breaking my conker in two - and with it my heart.

I came and I saw, but alas I had been 'conkered'.

Chris Freeman later won in the final, with Kieran, his nephew and my warm-up partner, crowned junior champion.

Players each donated a minimum £2, with proceeds going to the Great North Air Ambulance.

"Hopefully, it will get bigger and better in the future," said Colin. "This might not just be the Shildon Championships, but the North-East one."

* The 2007 World Conker Championships will be held in Ashton, Northamptonshire, on Sunday.

The rules of the Shildon Conker Championships:

* All conkers and laces are supplied by Elm Road Conker Club. Laces must not be knotted further or tampered with,

* The game will commence with the toss of a coin. The winner of the toss may strike or receive,

* A distance of no less than 8ins or 20cm of lace must be between the knuckle and conker, * Each player takes three alternate strikes at the opponent's conker,

* Each attempted strike must be clearly aimed at the nut - no deliberate misses

* The game will be decided once one of the conkers is smashed,

* A small piece of nut or skin remaining shall be judged out - it must be capable of mounting an attack,

* If both nuts smash at the same time, then the match shall be replayed,

* Any nut being knocked from the lace but not smashing may be re-threaded and the game continued,

* A player causing a knotting of the lace (a snag) will be noted; three snags lead to disqualification,

* If a game lasts for more than five minutes, then play will halt and the "five minutes rule" will come into effect. Each player will be allowed up to nine further strikes at their opponent's nut, again alternating three strikes each. If neither conker has been smashed at the end of the nine strikes, the player who strikes the most during this period will be judged the winner.