Individual sprint mowing events
On average, the grass this summer at Wimpole was easier to mow than in 2011. The thinner areas were still very very difficult to cut well, particularly as cutting progressed and the effects of good peening began to wear off.
Results shown as: time (mins.secs), quality (10= best) and adjusted time (15 sec penalty per 1 point quality)
Jess and Chris mowing with style
Austrian scythe 5m x 5m
Ded 2012 Champion
Ded Kalaj 0.52 7.5 1.30 First
George Montague 0.57 6.5 1.42 Second
Kevin Austin 1.16 6.5 2.09 Third & best male improver
Simon Farlie 2.24 7.5 3.02
Will Foss 2.19 6.5 3.12
Mark Allery 1.57 5 3.12
Andy Marczewski 2.15 6 3.15
Richard Brown 3.06 7 3.51
John Reid 2.28 4 3.58 Veteran cup
Albert Dunn 3.07 4 4.37 Best male newcomer
Chris Riley 4.29 8.5 4.52
Adrian Hopkins 3.58 6 4.58 International winner
Nathan Harman 3.52 5 5.07
Jim McVittae 4.26 6 5.26
Jeff Shea 4.51 6.5 5.44
Gemma Suggitt 3.15 7.5 3.53 First and fastest
Jess Marczewski 3.31 6 4.31 Second & Best female newcomer
Claire 4.29 6 5.29 Third & Best improver
Beth Tilston 5.30 7.5 6.08
Katy Marczewski 5.39 5.5 7.02
Olga Damant 8.58 9 9.13 Quality cup
English scythe 5m x 5m
Mark Allery 2.49 4 4.19 First & fastest
Chris L 2.55 3 4.40 Second
Richard Brown 6.25 5.5 7.33 Third
Scottish scythe 5m x 5m
Jim McVittae 7.56 5 9.11 First
Austrian scythe 10m x 10m
Simon Damant 5.26 7 First
Ded Kalaj 5.38 6 Second
George Montague 6.59 5 Third
Gemma Suggitt 27.12 8 First
Individual field mowing events
Large plots are much closer to the reality of farm mowing so it was pleasing to see so many participants. Times for both 1/4 acre and 1/8 acre were about half of those of 2011 and the cutting quality was better.
Results shown as: time (hours.mins) and quality (10= best)
Austrian Scythe Quarter acre (1,000 m2)
Simon Damant
Simon Damant 1.17 9.5 1st
Ded Kalaj 1.31 8.5 2nd
Simon Farlie & Gill Baron 2.02 6.5 Pairs (new!)*
Austrian Scythe Eighth acre (500 m2)
Simon & Kevin
Kevin Austin 0.56 7.5 First
Chris Riley 1.21 8.0 Best quality
Richard Brown 1.20* 7.5
Simon Fairlie 1.39 7.0
Chris L 1.44 6.0
*Allowed time for first aid
Gemma Suggitt 1.52 7.0 Ladies Champion
Gill Baron 2.02 6.5 *
*Cheated as Simon F helped her! so new class 1/4 acre pairs.
English Scythe Eighth acre
Mark Allery 1.55 5.5 English scythe
Other events
Team mowing
West of England First
Marczewski Second
East of England Third
Mr Greedy Fourth
BSC Motor scythe vs Austrian scythe
BSC scythe mower driven by Jim McVittae against the Austrian scythe used by Simon Damant no time record but Austrian scythe just squeaked in on time and the cut was much better by a country mile then the BSC scythe mower.
Mowing and grass gathering race
Simon Damant & Olga Damant First but it was Olga that won the day
Ded Kalaj & Beth Tilston Second but Ded finished first mowing
Kevin Austin & Jane O’Reily Third all very close
Hi, first of all I like your blog. I will like to read about the rules of the competition. I don’t see that in here. Can you tell me where to get them?
Thank you.
Fonso.
hi Fonso,
I’m not sure the competition rules are officially written anywhere. Each competitor has a randomly-chosen plot 5x5m to mow as fast and as well as possible. The plot is raked afterwards and the quality of the cut judged by a team of three judges wit each plot given a score from 1 to 10 (best). These judges along with the festival organiser then compare the results to decide the winners. There isn’t a strict formula for how this is done in Somerset but in Cambridge there is a 10s penalty for each quality point dropped. The winners of the Somerset event are regarded as the UK champions.
You can read about the 2013 Somerset competition on my blog http://stevetomlincrafts.wordpress.com/2013/06/11/scythe-champions-2013/
best wishes,
Steve