2025 World Championship Pipe Smoking: Thirty Countries competing in the Netherlands
by Pasquale Amoruso
We are approaching one of the most important international pipe-smoking events of the year: the World Pipe Slow Smoking Championship. This year’s edition, taking place on October 11 and 12, will be hosted by the Netherlands, in the small and ancient village of Oirschot, near Eindhoven.
This edition already counts the confirmed participation of thirty nations, with two welcome novelties: the return of the recently reconstituted French Federation to the CIPC (Comittee International of Pipe Clubs), and the admission of Argentina.
I will leave you with the detailed analysis of the program (which you can consult directly by clicking on the small blue pipe 
), and focus here on just a couple of highlights. The first is the pipe exhibition, this year dedicated to the memory of Steffen Mueller, the German pipemaker and one of the founders of the German Avant-garde, who sadly passed away last year. To honor his life, some of the most renowned names in German pipe craftsmanship: Manfred Hortig, Uwe Maier, Bertram Safferling and many others will organize a special commemorative exhibition.
Another important event on the program is the lottery for the creation of the Pierre G. Fund, a CIPC initiative designed to support national-level projects. Müller, a Swiss goldsmith and pipemaker, champion and world record holder in slow pipe smoking, was inspired by the idea of bringing pipe smokers together. In 1970, he founded the Swiss Pipe Club. Two years later, together with friends from France, Italy, Denmark, and Japan, he went on to establish the global association CIPC (Comittee International of Pipe Clubs). The logo he designed was selected from among the proposals presented to the CIPC and is still used today as its distinctive emblem.
Lottery tickets will be available at the price of €10 each, starting at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 11. At the end of the gala dinner, just before the celebration begins, the winning ticket will be drawn by Mr. Roland Hohenauer, president of the Austrian federation. The prize, one of Müller’s special briar pipes, will be handed directly to the lottery winner.
And of course, there is the Competition. This year, more than thirty nations will take part in the international contest. For the occasion, a pipe has been specially produced by BigBen: a classic Bulldog, turned from briar blocks more than seventy years old. “At that time (the bowls – ed) were turned with great precision and then carefully stored and preserved for decades – explain the makers –Due to this long ‘maturation’, the wood has fully settled, become exceptionally stable, and has an almost fossilised feel: qualities that significantly enhance the pipe’s quality and durability”.
As is tradition, the event will also host the CIPC General Assembly, a series of closed-door meetings where the presidents of federations from around the world gather to discuss issues affecting the pipe-smoking community. The agenda is, of course, confidential, but in a period of great global ferment, both in the world of pipes (consider, for example, the increasingly strict international anti-smoking regulations) and politically, this year’s assembly promises to be a particularly lively one.
Nothing more remains to be said, except to wish the Italian delegation the very best of luck in the competition, raise our flag high, gentlemen! For everything else, you can visit the official event website (right here) for further information, reservations, and updates.