Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Winners for 2014 Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin' Festival

Results for 2014, 6th Annual Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin' Festival

All the distances above are adjusted up to the heavyweight height (what they would throw if their trebuchet was ten feet tall) and also adjusted down if their trebuchet was over height or overweight for their division.

Best distance by Hammer of the Gourds should be “best actual distance,” which means how far the pumpkin actually went without the penalty. In this case, the best distance 626 feet, actually went a short distance out of the field, but when adjusted down because they were 160 pounds overweight, it was actually not their best competitive throw. Not withstanding, the 626 foot throw was a definite crowd pleaser and very dramatic since it took the team several attempts and 10 minutes to finally fire the trebuchet successfully without the release pin sticking under the extra weight.

Trophies were awarded to the top three in each division. The winner in each division got $50 cash. The winners of each of the four divisions compete against each other using the adjusted distance for best design. The winner of the best design got the “Best Design” highest trophy, and an extra $50 in cash, which makes a total of $100 cash, since they also won $50 for winning their division.

We had 4 prizes donated by our sponsors which we awarded by choice in the order of their adjusted distances. In other words, best adjusted distance got 1st choice of the 4 prizes. Second place adjusted distance got 1st choice of the three prizes left and so on.
  • First choice (Taste of the Sky, from Stowe Soaring) went to Team Jordan with a best adjusted throw of 514 feet.
  • Second choice (Bee’s Knees $50 gift certificate) went to Hammer of the Gourds with a best adjusted throw of 498 feet.
  • Third choice (Trattoria La Festa $50 gift certificate) went to Carbon Destroyer with a best adjusted throw of 496 feet.
  • Fourth choice (Canoe or Kayak rental, from Umiak Outfitters) went to Queen Christine with a best adjusted throw of 443 feet
Best Design (Pumpkin Chuckin Champion) went to Team Jordan, the oldest team in the competition and well deserved since they came in 2nd and 3rd the last two years.