Dunedin family dominates Cromwell's annual cherry spitting competition

A Dunedin family has swept the podium at the annual Cherry Pit-Spit Championship in Cromwell.

The Collins family dominated multiple categories at the quirky Central Otago event on Sunday, which challenges entrants to hoick a cherry stone as far as possible.

Aaron Collins launched a cherry pit 10.47 metres to take out first place in the men's category.

His sister, Hannah Collins, placed second in the women's event, while his children, Emma and Daniel, also finished on the podium.

The women's winner was Laure Vaneilhan, from France, who has just arrived for the cherry-picking season and delivered an 7.93m spit.

Cromwell & Districts Promotions Group marketing and communications manager Tanya Dennis said hundreds of people either lined up at the mat, or came along to watch on what she described as a "perfect", sunny Central Otago day.

"We had people coming from England, we had people from Japan, we had people from Germany and America - these were people that were just curious. They were visiting the region ... and then came along to the event. So it was a real cross section, and of course, we had locals and regional visitors as well," she said.

The event has been running since 2006 and offers plenty of entertainment for spectators, Dennis said.

"Some of the competitors make real light of it, and some get very serious. We've got some die hard followers of the event."

The record belongs to Dunedinite Tui Smith, who fired a pit nearly 16m in 2023.

The world record for cherry pit-spitting is 28.5m, set in Michigan in 2004.

Cherries for this year's National Cherry Spit Championship were provided by Jackson Orchards in Cromwell, and the day also featured a best-dressed competition and lawn games.

"Anyone can give it a go and the, you know, bragging rights is, of course, the big thing. It's open to all age groups ... and it's a good day all round," Dennis said.

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