In a formal competition such as the British Pipesmoking Championship (ably hosted by the John Hollingsworth Pipe Club of Birmingham (JHPCB)) or our very own PCN Open Pipesmoking Championship, each competitor is given a brand new pipe. In casual club competitions, members use their own pipes.



The competitor also receives an amount of tobacco... usually 3 grams but some competitions use 4 grams.



They also have:

1) two matches with which to light the pipe;

2) a pipe cleaner to clean out the pipe before the competition as some pipes come with the stem blocked with sawdust. The cleaner may not be used during the competition.

3) a tamper. Usually the tamper may be used right through the competition but the Norfolk rules are that the tamper is withdrawn after ten minutes. This is to make it difficult for people to do ember chasing (q.v.).



At the start of the competition, the smokers are allowed 5 minutes to fill their pipe with tobacco. Then they have one minute in which to light the pipe using only the two matches provided.



They must keep the pipe alight for as long as possible without relighting or adding any further tobacco. There are also strict rules about the use of the tamper... the pipe must be in the mouth when the tamper is used.