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Grittyville, WA

At gpc weigh offs, should there be/ is there a way to opt out of the prize structure and NOT have the weigh off sponsor commandeer your pumpkin? Can you get a pumpkin weighed and entered as a gpc pumpkin at a gpc event and sidestep the prize structure/ sponsors of the event? Who is really in control of the weigh offs... is it the sponsors, or the gpc, and how is this line drawn?

The prize money is nice, but losing control of your pumpkin might not be so nice. So then if a person wants to opt of any obligations to the sponsor, then just enter the pumpkin as 'exhibition only'???

I suppose my club could answer this question, but I'll stir the pot here fir the heck of it!

9/24/2023 3:34:00 AM

Topsfield,ma.

You are a piece of work. The GPC is a regulating body who establishes rules and regulations for all our sites to ensure a even playing field for all. We have nothing to do with site prize structure. If a site requires a grower to leave their fruit to collect the prize money and you chose not to take it home and leave the money for the next in line. A little common sense goes a long way. Our rules their weigh-off. Stirring the pot just to hear your self talk is problematic. Next time try asking a simple Question.

9/24/2023 9:37:16 AM

Grittyville, WA

Im not smart enough to ask simple questions. But let me try. Can I get my pumpkin weighed at a gpc weigh off but not really participate in the weigh off? Wouldnt this potentially offend the gpc, or the sponsor? Because the sponsors ultimately pay the bills and they want something in return which is usually to keep/display the biggest pumpkins...

Anyhow, if I show up with a nice pumpkin but I say "I don't want to participate in your prize structure" is that the same thing as saying "I don't want to participate in your weigh off"? Can the sponsor just turn me around and send me back home without an official weight or do they have to weigh my pumpkin and enter it with the gpc? I guess I'll figure it out.

9/24/2023 10:12:01 AM

Grittyville, WA

I know this is the kind of questioning that makes me no friends at all, but my give-a-dang-'er is busted. I have resigned myself to having few or even no friends.

9/24/2023 10:16:45 AM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

Great answer Woods. Brandon, many Weighoff sites may just tell you to go pound sand and not even help you unload, however if you showed up and entered your pumpkin as Exhibition, many sites would either weigh it first and set it aside or weigh it last so that you could get a weight. (No fanfare, no spotlight, no glory, no announcement).

The volunteers at these Weighoffs work very hard organizing, loading and unloading, setting up, moving pumpkins, lifting, weighing, then lifting and moving all over again so it is a big ask for an exemption from the norm.

Put it this way, if you showed up in Vancouver at the the Krause Berry Farm Weighoff, it is highly unlikely that you would be turned away because you just want a weight on your pumpkin. I’m not an organizer there anymore and can’t speak for them, I just know it is a highly unusual request.

9/24/2023 10:39:22 AM

Deer Park WA

I dont think you have to worry to much about them keeping your pumpkin Brandon, they usually only want the top three or fifteen for display.

9/24/2023 11:51:55 AM

Gays Mills, WI

5. The GPC requires each of its sanctioned weigh‐off sites be open to all growers who wish
to participate. Each site may have their own registration fee as long as these fees are
equal for all growers wishing to enter. Each site may have their prize payout structure as
they choose as long as the main prizes are available to all growers entered in their
weigh‐off.

9/24/2023 12:43:38 PM

Lodi, California

The question is pretty fair to ask, its the person asking it that seems to "stir the pot".

Its funny how people take someone's generalized ramblings so personally. Maybe he is a "piece of work", but he seems to have handled the personal attacks ok up to this point. Afaik he has not personally attacked anyone here.

9/24/2023 1:21:56 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

It would be an exhibition here, and not eligible for any prize money and would only get an official weight, and it would not be registered for any GPC or Wisconsin Giant Pumpkin Growers awards. Those Sponsors are providing money for the pumpkins to be displayed as part of the event. Next time ask someone from your club or the site coordinator. I would also suggest you take part of your club, and see what goes into collecting prize money for these events and become actively involved. If you think Giant Pumpkin Growing is hard you should try getting sponsors from people who know nothing about the time and energy ot takes to grow these pumpkins

9/24/2023 1:33:21 PM

Torrance, Ca.

Ashton, you're on fire this year!

We do get this question at our local weigh off and I even was asked couple times yesterday during the weigh off.

Woods can be a little abrasive sometimes on the boards, but if you know Woody he's a stand up guy and one of the good long time growers and takes this very serious as it should. He pretty much answered the question perfectly.

9/24/2023 2:55:47 PM

Centennial Colorado

I see both sides of this argument. I will give an example that is similar. A local grower decided to display their pumpkin at the weighoff site and come back a few weeks later for seeds. I come to harvest the seeds out of the pumpkin and the weighoff site says they threw it away because it started to rot. This was a 16% heavy pumpkin, which is unheard of in Colorado. Several growers wanted seeds from this pumpkin including me. What if this where a 3000 pound pumpkin? I have other similar stories where the pumpkins were thrown away due to a miscommunication. I also know from being on a tennis team how hard it is to get sponsors and going to 50 stores and only getting 1 small sponsor. I think this is a reasonable question to ask. I had HOA citations for my screenhouse and would have had more if not for the display of my pumpkins to justify the growing setup. Those citations can result in the foreclosure of your home. This topic seems simple, but there are a lot of factors to consider.

9/24/2023 3:08:29 PM

Littlerock, WA

So to answer this question, SOME events don't keep the top pumpkins afterwards, and so one would get their weight and take their fruit home. Others will weigh and let you take them home, but the grower would forfeit their placing and prize money. For example, Elysian will weigh, and if you don't sign their food-quality waver, then you just get your official GPC weight. It is a legitimate question, because sometimes growers have presold their pumpkins, and need to then decide if they will forfeit the money. I was at a weighoff a couple years ago in Oregon, and the prize list said the site will keep the top 3 pumpkins, however I won with a nice green squash. So I asked the site for clarification, and they informed me that if I wanted the prize money (I definitely did!) then the squash had to stay. I think most sites would be willing to weigh a fruit officially but forfeit the placing/money for a legitimate reason. Just ask the site coordinator.

9/25/2023 3:32:36 PM

Gays Mills, WI

I interpret from the GPC-Rules-and-Handbook:

As a sanctioned GPC Weigh-off, all official entries must be submitted to the GPC, regardless if participating in the prize structure. One designated sound, qualifying fruit of a grower who wish to participate, must be weighed and recorded.

5. The GPC will recognize one entry per grower or team for top ten average calculations.
a. Entries other than the grower’s one official entry will be entered as “EXH –
exhibition” for legal fruit and “DMG – damaged” for illegal fruit.

9/25/2023 10:26:30 PM

ipswich, ma usa

"Im not smart enough to ask simple questions. But let me try. Can I get my pumpkin weighed at a gpc weigh off but not really participate in the weigh off? .............. Go buy a scale, weigh it in your driveway and have fun all by yourself... There, you "side stepped" participating in the event. Nice to see that you want the volunteers that run these GPC events to just basically weigh your pumpkin for you....I've been part of weighing pumpkins for over 20 years at the Topsfield Fair NEGPGA event and I swear it was never like this. What weigh-off event do you volunteer multiple hours every year with to help or do you just like being a troll?

9/26/2023 9:23:09 AM

Syracuse, NY

The responses to others' questions on this website recently have been abhorrent.
LK is not ever going to be at 'YOUR' weighoff and this has already been all talked over.
Doesn't every participant have to pay a fee like anyone else?

Essentially, 'I want to have my pumpkin weighed at your weighoff but I wanna take it home afterwards, regardless what I win. Maybe I've already sold it and just want an official weight. How do I go about that?' was the question, as I've gathered.

The question WAS asked in perhaps a rough, uncut fashion but try looking past that, please.

I don't think you took the time to read this entire page -
just did like half these troops and started shooting. eg

9/26/2023 8:37:41 PM

Topsfield,ma.

As the site coordinator for Topsfield I can speak for us. We weigh all fruits that have preregister and follow our rules spelled out on that form. We keep the top five until the end of the Topsfield Fair. They provide our prize money and expect that in return. If a grower does not want to leave their fruit then they forfeit the money and everyone moves up one. If they don't follow the rules for any reason we still weigh their fruit at the beginning and educate them so they can do it properly in the future. This happens sometimes with beginner's and we take the time to ensure they fell respected and encourage them to come back. However there weight is not recorded. Mutual respect and courtesy is expected. If they cope an attitude they are threated acordingly.

9/27/2023 9:42:07 AM

Torrance, Ca.

Thanks Woody.

Most pumpkins under 1800 to 2000 pounds are able to go home the way growers are pushing nowadays, especially at Topfield.

We had 32 entries this year and all but 3 pumpkins had to stay to support the venue that allows us to have our weigh off. It can be a pain sometimes, but I'm all for it and our weigh off site is so appreciative of us leaving the top 3 pumpkins for their patrons to see and enjoy for a couple weeks!:)

9/27/2023 10:16:05 AM

President - GPC

All the information discussed is located within the GPC Rules and available for all to view, read and download > GPC1.org It is suggested that a hard copy be onsite at every weigh off. One can download it to your phone :)

The grower always owns their fruit unless they agree to other options at their weigh off. We have over 110 weigh off sites with more coming on next year, and starting to get more countries as well, all good things for building the future of our hobby. With a little forethought and effort, this thread could of been averted, however ......... well enough said.

Good Luck to all weigh off participants we have some great pumpkins hitting the scale here at multiple sites in the next couple of weeks.

May yourZ go heavy to the chartZ

Wizzy

9/27/2023 11:45:04 AM