East Huntspill resident Sam Clement was crowned the 2016 World Paper Aeroplane Champion on Sunday (19th June) after throwing his plane over a distance of 34.3 metres along Burnham-On-Sea’s High Street.
Scores of Burnham-On-Sea residents and visitors got a chance to become a world champion when the second annual World Paper Aeroplane Champion was held in the town centre during the day-long event.
The champion’s trophy for the longest flight of the day was presented to Sam, pictured above, following a keenly-contested event with Burnham resident Syed Hassan, who won in 2015 and made some huge throws to try and keep hold of his title.
Sam told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “I’m delighted to have won! I’ve always liked making and throwing paper planes since I was child. Maybe it’s the sign of a mis-spent youth that I can throw them so far!”
There were also scores of bonus prizes for those who landed their plane in a lucky yellow square in the street, with many taking home a special golden pilot’s badge.
The temporary runway on the High Street saw 5,265 take-offs during the day.
The free-to-enter event was overseen by event specialists Wacky Nation and organised by Burnham and Highbridge Town Council with the aim of bringing more people into the town centre.
Town Centre Manager Bev Milner Simonds told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “This is the second time we have hosted the event here and it was great to plan it to coincide with Father’s Day. We had a lot of families taking part on their way to or from lunch out in the town centre.”
“The new dimension of the ‘golden square’ kept many people entertained with them competing for a limited edition golden pilot badge for a successful landing. Many congratulations to East Huntspill resident Sam Clement who threw a mammoth 34.3m with his glider style paper plane.”
