Eastern Counties mowing results 2012

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

2 thoughts on “Eastern Counties mowing results 2012

    • 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

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *