Cherry pit spitting facts for kids
Cherry pit spitting is a fun and unusual sport. It's all about spitting a cherry seed (called a pit) as far as you can! People do it for fun, not as a professional sport.
This sport has been around for many years. You can find international competitions in places like the US, Canada, Germany, and France.
In most contests, you get a fresh cherry. This stops anyone from trying to cheat or change their pit. You eat the cherry, then spit out the small, slippery pit. Cherry pits are tiny, about the size of a front tooth.
The current world record for cherry pit spitting is an amazing 28.51 metres (93 ft 6.5 in). Brian "Young Gun" Krause set this record in 2004.
Cool Competitions
International Cherry Pit-Spitting Championship, Eau Claire, Michigan
This big competition started in 1974 in Eau Claire, Michigan, USA. A farmer named Herb Teichman created it. He wanted to show off his farm and the tart cherries grown there. The contest ran for 45 years, from 1974 to 2019. It ended when the farm was sold.
Here's how it worked: Each person picked three cherries. They would eat the cherry around the pit, one at a time. Then, they stood at a line and spat the pit as far as they could. Everyone got three tries. Their longest spit was measured. There were different groups, like adults (men and women) and kids. Kids' groups included ages under 5, 6-8, and 9-12.
This is where Brian "Young Gun" Krause set his world record in 2004!
Canadian National Pit Spit Championship
Canada has its own national championship! It happens every year as part of the Blenheim Cherry Fest. This contest has been a part of the festival since 1981. It started at another cherry festival. But in 1994, the town of Blenheim took over.
Witzenhausen Cherry Pip Spitting Competition
Witzenhausen is a town in Germany that grows lots of cherries. They also have a cherry pit spitting contest at their yearly cherry fair. There's even a special lane for cherry spitting that stays open all year!
Once, there was a problem at this competition. Some people tried to cheat by changing their cherry pits. The organizers found pits that had been tampered with. To keep the competition fair, they had to cancel the winners that year. This shows how important it is to play by the rules!
Young NSW National Cherry Festival
Australia has a cherry pit spitting contest too! It's held every December at the National Cherry Festival in Young, New South Wales. Young is known as Australia's "cherry capital." Over 60% of all Australian cherries come from here.
Contestants pick a cherry randomly from a box. Then they spit the pit as far as they can. There are junior and senior groups. Winners can even get cash prizes! In 2019, nearly 60 people joined. Simon Taboury won the men's group, spitting 11.6 metres (38 ft 1 in). Cherie McAllister won the ladies' title with 7.5 metres (24 ft 7 in). Ronan Winfield won the kids' group, spitting 5.4 metres (17 ft 9 in).
Manjimup Cherry Spit
The Manjimup Cherry Spit is another yearly event in Australia. It's part of the Manjimup Cherry Harmony Festival in Western Australia. This festival started in 2001 and brings in thousands of people. It celebrates the start of cherry season in December.
The contest has rounds of heats and then finals later in the day. Winners have even been sponsored to travel to New Zealand to compete! Clinton Thompson has won this competition many times. In 2014, he won a trip to New Zealand to compete there. In 2017, Clayton Ellis won the Manjimup contest. He then went to New Zealand and set a national record in an olive stone spitting competition, spitting 12.64 metres (41 ft 6 in)!
Western Regional Cherry Pit Spit
This yearly contest takes place at Rowley's Red Barn in Utah, USA. It has been running since 2007. The competition has two main rounds. The first round is open to everyone. It has groups for men, women, and different youth ages (5 and under, 6-8 years, 9-12 years, and 13-15 years). The final round includes the best spitters from each group.
Annakirmes (St. Anne’s Fair)
The Annakirmes, or St. Anne's Fair, is a very old festival in Düren, Germany. It started way back in 1715! The first world championship for cherry pit spitting at this fair happened in 1974. In 2014, the cherry pit spitting event celebrated its 40th anniversary.
Céret Cherry Festival
The Céret Cherry Festival is held every year in France in late May. Besides the cherry pit spitting contest, there's also music, dancing, and lots of delicious food!
Amazing Spitting Champions
Many people have become famous for their cherry pit spitting skills!
- Rick "Pellet Gun" Krause is a legend! He has won the International Cherry Pit-Spitting Championship in Michigan 19 times. He competed for 40 years!
- Marlene Krause is Rick's wife. She has won the women's contest at the Michigan championship seven times. She and Rick both won in a row in 2009 and 2010.
- Brian "Young Gun" Krause holds the Guinness World Record. He spat a cherry pit 28.51 metres (93 ft 6.5 in) in 2004 at the Michigan championship.
- "Gentleman Joe" Lessard Sr. is well-known in both the Michigan and Canadian competitions. He won the Michigan championship three times in 1986, 1993, and 1996. His best spit was 21.9 metres (71 ft 10 in).
- Kevin Bartz won the international championship in 2019, spitting 16.5 metres (54 ft 2 in). He started competing at age ten and won the youth division. He also won the men's division twice.
- Chloe Bartz is Kevin's daughter. She has won the international women's division three times, most recently in 2019.
- Martin Salter "The Phantom of the Orchard" won the Canadian Pit Spit Championship in 2001 with 15.85 m (52.0 ft). He even placed fourth in the Michigan competition that same year. He got his nickname because he used to wear a costume!
- Clinton Thompson won the Manjimup Cherry Spit in Australia three times: in 2012, 2014, and 2017. His 2014 win earned him a trip to compete in New Zealand.
- Clayton Ellis won the 2016 Manjimup Cherry Spit with a distance of 9.2m. He also won the 2017 New Zealand Olive Stone Spitting competition, spitting 12.64m.
Guinness World Record
The official Guinness World Record for the "Greatest distance to spit a cherry stone" belongs to Brian "Young Gun" Krause. He achieved his record-breaking spit of 28.51 metres (93 ft 6.5 in) in 2004. This happened at the International Cherry Pit-Spitting Championship in Eau Claire, Michigan. On the same day, Brian also spat a stone 33.62 metres (110 ft 3.5 in) in a freestyle competition. This was even farther, but it wasn't an official record attempt.
In the News
Cherry pit spitting has been shown in the media quite a bit!
For example, the 46th Annual International Cherry Pit spitting competition in Michigan was even shown live on ESPN8: The Ocho in March 2020. This happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many other sports were stopped, so ESPN showed lots of unusual sports for 24 hours.
The Michigan competition has also been featured on The Wall Street Journal website. And ESPN wrote an article about the competition and the Bartz family.
