Three Northants siblings win World Puddle Jumping Championship
Organisers Wicksteed Park in Kettering say the competition ended in a three way tie.
Three toddlers from the same Northamptonshire family have been crowned joint World Puddle Jumping Champions after their entry left them covered head to toe in mud.
The championships have been held by Wicksteed Park, Kettering, since 2013, with competitors submitting video entries taken at the park, or in any suitable puddle, on the Wicksteed Park Facebook page.
The 2025 winners are Eli Panter, four, and his three-year-old twin sisters Maia and Neeve from Irthlingborough, Northants!
Here is their winning video:
Proud Mum Hayley Panter said: “My three just love jumping in muddy puddles. They often have competitions between themselves to see who can make the biggest splash. The muddier the better. They are delighted to have won!”
The event has attracted many thousands of entries over the years, with previous winners including a nine-year-old girl from Kettering and a three-year-old boy from Monmouthshire in Wales, with entries coming from as far away as Australia.
Judges say they give scores based on the height of the jump, enthusiasm, distance of splash and stickability (the amount of mud left clinging to each competitor).
The three have won a family day out at the park and will each receive a free cuddly toy of park mascot Wicky Bear.
Wicksteed Park Director Kelly Richardson said: “We’ve never had joint winners of the World Puddle Jumping Championships before but Eli, Maia and Neeve showed such enthusiasm and generated so many muddy splashes that there was no way we could separate them and they are all deserved winners.
“The competition might be over but anyone is welcome to visit the park, find a puddle or make a splash at the lakeside and start practising for next year!”