The middle school pumpkin catapult team, coached by technology teacher Dave Claps, also competed at the Long Island Pumpkin Fling and took first place in the middle school division, achieving distances of 568, 634 and 593 feet with their Chunk-alicious machine. Islip’s high school team, coached by Phalen and assisted by Dave Maziarz, was comprised of captains Justin Feiler, Ryan Maziarz and Steven Walis their fellow seniors Dan Croteau, Andrew Ginnegar and Sam Meyer junior Robert Phalen and sophomores Max Kurka, Kyle Maziarz, Ben Meyer, Jack Needham and Kyle Ness. It took 20 minutes to find the remains of the pumpkin burrowed in the ground from the impact.” It went so far that it cleared a tree line that was always thought of as a backdrop for the event. “In this case, the pumpkin literally soared out of sight at a speed exceeding 160 mph. “Our team is always ready to compete and up for new challenges and setting new goals,” said Phalen. In this year’s event, they obliterated their previous record, capturing first place again with a remarkable divisional world-record distance toss of 1,327 feet, more than a quarter of a mile and equal to 4½ football fields placed end to end. Islip was one of the only original teams remaining from the competition’s inaugural event in 2003, breaking records during 11 of those 13 years, and the school held the then-current Long Island record of 1,049.9 feet. Next up was the Pumpkin Fling, Long Island’s annual contest held at the Suffolk County Farm and Education Center in Yaphank on Oct. This year, for the first time, Islip’s catapult team broke the 1,200-foot mark with their best throw of 1,291.7 feet, earning them first place at Last Fling in their category. What better way to spark the interest and imagination of youth?”Īt the team’s previous 2012 trip to compete at the Last Fling Pumpkin Sling competition at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, Islip set a record and garnered the grand champion trophy. “It’s a fun project that motivates the students, wraps education in fun, and builds teamwork and life skills. “Doing this gives students the opportunity to use STEM to experience the joys and trials of designing, building and operating a sophisticated mechanical device that can be used in competition to see how far your team can propel a pumpkin in the air,” said the team’s coach, Ken Phalen. The victories were the latest in more than a dozen years of successful pumpkin flinging for the program, which builds on foundational engineering concepts. You can contact us via our Contact Us page or call us at 82.Ĭlick here to watch a short video from prior year’s festivals.The high school’s catapult team has once again proven itself the best, competing and winning with their machine, named Jack-O-Splatter, at two recent championship pumpkin catapult contests. The machines will take practice throws before then and you can take a close up look at the machines. On both days, the machines are scheduled to launch pumpkins from 1-4. Parking is $5, admission is $5, children under 5 are free. The festival runs from 10-5 on Saturday and Sunday. The main festival is held at 811 Settawig Road in Brasstown. Please come and enjoy the music and dine out at our many restaurants located on the historic downtown. Tickets will be sold on a first-come first-serve basis at the event. Punkin Chunkin weekend kicks off on Friday evening with the “Anything Pumpkin” and Chili Cook-off competition on the Historic Hayesville Square starting at 6 pm. The Kidzone is always a popular place with lots of kids’ activities. Old Time Tractors will be on display with hay rides, as well as airplane rides. In addition to the pumpkin throwing, there will be pie-eating contests, live entertainment, food and craft vendors. Thousands of people come every year to see this hugely popular harvest festival in Western North Carolina near Hayesville that is sponsored by the Clay County Chamber of Commerce. Catapults, air cannons, trebuchets and other powerful machines toss pumpkins up to several thousand feet in a battle between champion Pumpkin Chunkers. If you have never seen a pumpkin fly, Punkin Chunkin is your chance. Chili & Anything Pumpkin Cook-off October 20, 2023
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |