Argentinian visitor top spitter

Facundo Minaberrigaray, of Argentina, won the 2019 New Zealand Cherry Stone Spitting...
Facundo Minaberrigaray, of Argentina, won the 2019 New Zealand Cherry Stone Spitting Championships with a best spit of 12.1m. PHOTOS: SIMON HENDERSON
Tamsin O’Connell, (14), of Invercargill, wins the female under-16 category with a best spit of 6.8m.
Tamsin O’Connell, (14), of Invercargill, wins the female under-16 category with a best spit of 6.8m.
Jing Xiao spits a respectable 3.9m.
Jing Xiao spits a respectable 3.9m.

Cherry stones sailed through the sky at the New Zealand Cherry Stone Spitting Championships.

The competition took place at Cromwell’s annual Cherry Festival at McNulty Green in the Cromwell Heritage Precinct yesterday.

More than 100 competitors chewed, took aim and did their best to spit as far as possible while a cheering crowd applauded their efforts.

Cromwell & Districts Promotion Group community relationships manager Gretchen Nightingale said the the competition has been running since about 2006.

The event’s record was 14.25m, spat by Aaron Collins, of Dunedin, in 2018.

Strong winds may have prevented yesterday’s competitors from beating that record, but many brave attempts were made.

Winner of the under-6 category was Niley Paulin (5), of Alexandra, with a "best spit" of 1.6m.

The female under-16 winner was Tamsin O’Connell (14), of Invercargill, with a best spit of 6.8m.

Best spit in the male under-16 category was Alex Muirhead (15), of Canterbury, with 8.7m.

First place for the female category was Tonya Trent, of Auckland, with a best spit of 7.8m

First place in the male category and overall winner was Facundo Minaberrigaray, of Argentina, with a best spit of 12.1m

Mr Minaberrigaray, who is on a working holiday in New Zealand, said this was the first time he had tried cherry stone spitting, but he had enjoyed it and it was a great surprise to win.

According to Guinness World Records the longest spit of a cherry stone in competition was by American Brian Krause with a spit of 28.51m at the International Cherry Pit-Spitting Championship at Eau Claire, Michigan, US, in 2004.

simon.henderson@alliedpress.co.nz

Add a Comment

 

Southern Field Days 2024 - Featured Businesses