PUNKIN’ CHUNKIN’ REGISTRATION FORM
Entry is $25.00
Prize is $200.00
Team Name: ________________________________________________________
Team Captain Name: _________________________________________________
Captain Address: ____________________________________________________
Captain City/State/Zip: _______________________________________________
Captain Phone: ______________________________________________________
Captain Email: ______________________________________________________
Machine Name: _____________________________________________________
Payment must be included with this form and must be in the form of check or money or
money order. No credit cards accepted. Checks should be made payable to HAYC3.
By signing and submitting this application, you are acknowledging that:
• You have read and will adhere to the official competition rules, as stated on the attached sheet.
• You understand that any device that fires a pumpkin beyond 350 feet will be instantly disqualified.
• Please arrive at the event location no later than 9am and be ready for a safety inspection by 10am.
In addition, you agree to waive and release HAYC3, the Village of Hoosick Falls, the Town of Hoosick
(including each entities board, staff, and volunteers) from any and all liability for injury, damage, and loss of
persons or property. Your enclosed fees shall not be refunded in the event you do not attend the event or are
disqualified. Event organizers reserve the right to refuse any entrant not meeting criteria of the organizing
committee. No explanation for refusal will be provided. Registration deadline is Tuesday, September 17, 2013.
NO REFUNDS FOR CANCELLATIONS.
Captain’s Signature: __________________________________________________
Date: ______________________________________________________________
OFFICIAL 2013 PUNKIN’ CHUNKIN’ COMPETITION RULES
GOAL: Build a human powered pumpkin throwing machine that can hit targets 100 to 250
feet away from the launch zone. Accuracy is the key to success, and may the best team win.
WARNING
This is NOT a competition for maximum distance. Any device that exceeds 350 feet on any single shot
will be disqualified IMMEDIATELY. You will be held liable for any damage to surrounding property
you may cause for any shot goes out of the competition area. NO EXCEPTIONS.
TEAMS
1. Teams will consist of a maximum of eight members, with a designated team captain. You must provide a full list of
team members at the safety inspection on the morning of the competition.
2. A maximum of three members will be allowed in the firing area during cocking, loading, and launching. You may
switch the team members in the firing zone between shots.
3. Teams are required to wear similar clothing that is easily recognized by the contest judges and safety marshals
(same t-shirts, bandanas, etc., up to a full costume if you like). The team captain must be clearly identified to
safety officials, judges, and competition volunteers.
4. Team members not involved in the firing of the device may stand next to or beyond the landing zone to help direct
the members firing the device adjust their aim or to provide feedback to the firing team on the range and trajectory
of each shot.
5. Non-firing team members may enter the target zone between shots to check on distance and/or trajectory, but
they must clear the target zone when asked to do so by the judges or safety officers before the next shot is fired.
6. Team members in the firing area must wear safety eyewear and headwear. Persons handling ropes, wires, or
straps should wear gloves as well.
7. Any team member (or team for that matter) that acts in an unsafe manner may be asked to leave the competition
area. The safety officer(s) assigned to the firing area have the final word on who is allowed in the firing area and
on what constitutes a breach of safety.
MACHINES and PROJECTILES
1. Team launching sites are 20 feet wide by 40 feet long. All parts of your machine including anchors must fit within
the site. When shooting, no part of the machine may cross the firing line at the front of your site.
2. Machines used to launch the pumpkins shall be Catapults, Trebuchets, Onagers, Ballistas, Mangonels, or other
similar machines that use human powered stored energy ONLY.
3. Stored energy may come from springs, cords, dead weights, rubber straps, or other mechanical means. You may
use a hand-powered winch or other leverage device to cock the machine.
4. NO MOTORS ALLOWED, neither electric nor combustion. You may use a motorized vehicle to transport or
position your device, but that is all.
5. NO COMPRESSED AIR OR PROPELLANT ALLOWED.
6. NO EXPLOSIVES ALLOWED.
7. NO CENTRIFUGAL THROWING ARMS ALLOWED. Pumpkins may NOT be spun around for multiple revolutions
before launch. All launch arms must accomplish their transfer of force in a single rotation of less than 360
degrees.
8. Pumpkins must leave the launcher intact. A pumpkin that turns into shrapnel before it hits the ground will receive
zero points.
9. Because this is an accuracy competition, it is HIGHLY suggested that you bring your own pumpkins. There will be
some donated pumpkins available at the competition in case of weight issues, damage, etc. but these may not be
the “ideal” size or weight for your machine.
10. Pumpkins must weigh at least three pounds, and may NOT be altered before launch with added masses or fluids.
11. All machines (and pumpkins) must pass a safety inspection at 9am on the day of the competition.
12. Your device must be portable. You should plan on assembling your device in a non-launch safety zone and rolling
or dragging it into place, or bringing it to competition site “ready to go.” You may need to share your launching site
with another team, so plan accordingly.
13. Each machine must be declared safe by the safety officer(s) before firing; any machine declared unsafe will be
disqualified. In the event of a malfunction, the safety officer(s) at the site will determine if the machine is
considered safe to continue in the competition.
COMPETITION RULES
1. The competition will be held at the Town of Hoosick Athletic Fields, between Griffin Avenue and Barton Avenue,
near the ice rink and the volunteer fire house.
2. Launch sites will be 20 feet wide by 40 feet long. All parts of your machine, including anchors, must fit within the
site. When shooting, no part of your machine is allowed to cross the front edge of the site (the firing line).
3. Any shot longer than 350 feet will result in disqualification. NO EXCEPTIONS.
4. All machines must be reloaded and ready to fire within a maximum of four minutes after the previous release.
5. No contestant may be positioned in the line of fire (in front of or behind the machine) while the machine is being
loaded or remains ready to be fired.
6. There are only four launch sites at the contest grounds; teams will be grouped into flights of four teams. There will
be two rounds of firing for each flight. Placement into flights and the order of fire within each flight will be drawn
randomly.
7. Each team will take three shots each round for a total of six competition shots.
8. There are three possible scoring ranges for your targets (the distance measured from the firing line): close range
(100-150ft), medium range (150-200ft), and long range (200-250ft).
9. You must chose a different range during each round of firing: three shots at one target in one range in the first
round, three shots in a different range in the second round.
10. For each round, teams will select the location for their target within the chosen range before shooting begins.
Once your team sets a target, it will remain in that place for that round unless it is destroyed by a pumpkin and
must be replaced.
11. THE WILD BONUS TARGET -- During either one (but not both) of your firing rounds, you may use one of your
three shots take a shot at the wild bonus target for extra points. This target will be set up by the judges at a
random distance from your machine, within the boundaries of the target zone, but off-line from your machine. You
will NOT be allowed to pace off the distance to this target, nor will you be allowed to have any member of your
team in the target zone line up your shot.
12. The competition officials will provide the targets. Except for the wild bonus target, all of the targets will be cubic
boxes, their size depending on your intended range of fire. Small (2’x2’x4’) boxes will be used for the short range,
medium (3’x3’x6’) boxes for middle range, and large (4’x4’x8’) boxes for long range. The wild bonus target will be
a medium to large sized irregularly-shaped mobile object chosen by the competition committee.
13. For scoring purposes, each shot ends at a point of first contact of the pumpkin with the ground, as determined by
the scoring judge(s) in the landing zone. The error for each shot is the distance in feet from the landing spot to the
closest edge of the target as measured by the scoring judge(s). All of their decisions are final.
14. The chart below shoes the point calculation method for each of the three target zones.
Target Range
Size of Target
Direct Hit Score
Scoring Formula for a Miss
Short: 100-150ft
2’x2’x4’
250 points
(200 points) ÷ (error in feet)
Middle: 150-200ft
3’x3’x6’
375 points
(330 points) ÷ (error in feet)
Long: 200-250ft
4’x4’x8’
500 points
(480 points) ÷ (error in feet)
WILD: 100-250ft
????
700 points
(640 points) ÷ (error in feet)
15. As the distance of the target increases, the target size and the point base increase, rewarding accuracy at the
longest range. For example, if your team places a target 100 feet away and misses by 20 feet (a 20% error), you
will receive 10 points (200÷20=10). At the same time, if another team with a target 150 feet away misses by 30
feet, they will receive 11 points (330÷40=11). A team missing a target 200 feet away by 40 feet will receive 12
points (480÷40=12). Notice that in each case, the error was proportional, but the team shooting at the farthest
target is given an advantage in points because wind and other factors increase as the distance increases.
16. The wild bonus target is the hardest to hit because of the uncertainty of distance and direction, and thus it is worth
the most points.
17. The highest cumulative score for six shots wins.
If you have any questions about these rules, please contact the Punkin’ Chunkin’ coordinator, Tony Malikowski by email
([email protected]), cell phone (518-527-6578), or work phone (518-686-7321 ext. 2212). Any questions about
the overall event (Hoosick Pumpkinpalooza) can be directed to Aelish Nealon and HAYC3 ([email protected] or
518-686-9050).