RE: WPC rules. Fair?

Let me just say that the date that the Whittier pumpkin was weighed is not
at all in question here, nor are the rules of the GPC.

It is a rule in ALL pumpkin weigh-offs that the pumpkin is sound, whether it
is weighed in August or November.  There is no one arguing that if Bruce's
pumpkin was sound when he weighed it on his certified scale, that it would
be an official record, recognized by the state, province, pumpkin
organizations or Guinness.  

This is a hobby/sport where we have a lot of good people trying to have fun
and be the best they can be.  We all try to play by the rules.  Bruce knew
that one of our rules is that the fruit must be sound to be officially
recognized.  Tim Bailey, Al Eaton, Larry Checkon and John Girgus have each
had 1100+ pumpkins without winning any prize money or 'official' recognition
due to splits or holes.  It does not take away from their accomplishment; it
just removes them from the competition for prizes.  I believe this rule was
established due to cheating, or the fear there-of.  While I do not suspect
any of these gentlemen of ANY wrongdoing, they still have to live by the
established rules.  They are great men for doing so in a professional
manner.  

We as pumpkin growers cannot control how Guinness establishes their records.
Their current record is Gerry Checkon's 1131# fruit, which has been
surpassed by 15 fruit that are officially recognized by pumpkin
organizations and four others that were not!  All we can control is our own
contests and rules, and our own integrity.  More importantly, we need to
recognize each grower's efforts, official or not.

-Gus

-----Original Message-----
From: Stephen Smith [u*@ureach.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2003 8:52 AM
To: Lubadub@aol.com
Subject: WPC rules. Fair?

Hi,

It should be noted that the Whittier pumpkin was a sound pumpkin
according to WPC rules up until the point that the split was
noticed by Bruce.  If he had pulled the pumpkin at some time
before that had happened and had it weighed and it had surpassed
the current world record, then he should have had both titles
(Guiness and WPC).  Since, as I understand it, there is no
provision for official recognition of a pumpkin by the WPC that
was weighed early except if it was at an official event (WPC or
GPC or State Fair), he was forced to wait until some such event
was offered.

All pumpkins (and vegetables) will eventually rot given enough
passage of time. Some will last a long time and some others a
short time.  So, in my point of view, the WPC sanctioned events
represents a contest between those pumpkins that can last the
longest without having some defect occur until a few rather
arbitrary dates (the first Saturday in October for example).
The contests do not necessarily determine the biggest pumpkin
that year.  If the dates for the weigh-offs were pushed back to
the first weekend in November, how many more pumpkins might
develop problems and thus be disqualified from being the largest
pumpkin?  If the dates for the weigh-offs were advanced to the
first weekend in September, how many more pumpkins might be
included in the race for the biggest pumpkin that might still be
considered sound?  I am not sure what makes the first weekend
date in October such a fair date.  Growers in the south(e.g.
Florida or Georgia or Arizona) and perhaps other areas of the
country with longer growing seasons might prefer a November
weekend instead.  Growers in Canada or Alaska might prefer the
September dates. The November dates would give those southern
growers extra time to put on those last extra pounds.  Who is to
say they don't have the right to do so if their plants are still
growing?  The Canada growers might want to get the pumpkins
weighed in September to keep any possible rot (or weight loss)
from developing in their pumpkins since their pumpkins may have
already stopped growing and are mature.

During the year that Larry Checkon had his 1100+lb pumpkin, if
he had had the opportunity to pull his pumpkin early(before the
Dill Ring had been able to break through) and have it officially
weighed, then he would have had a sound pumpkin and had the
world's largest pumpkin at that time.  Was it a sound pumpkin?
Up until the problem, then it sure was it my view.

The only mistake that Bruce Whittier made in my view was not
pulling his pumpkin before the split occurred and having it
weighed on certified scales.  He probably wanted it to get even
bigger (don't we all) but he was also hamstrung by the WPC rules
about when he could get it "offically" weighed.  The Guiness
people are under no such restrictions.  They are looking for the
biggest pumpkin even with the problem.  If Bruce had pulled the
pumpkin before the split, and it had weighed more than Charlie
Houghton's, what would the WPC position be then?  We already
know what the Guiness position would be.  The same as it is
now.

Comments appreciated.

Steve Smith
Harrison, TN

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Pumpkin-growing archives: http://www.hort.net/lists/pumpkins/
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PUMPKINS

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Pumpkin-growing archives: http://www.hort.net/lists/pumpkins/
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PUMPKINS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index