With distances edging towards the world record each year, Catsfield Christmas Tree Farm will be hosting its fourth Christmas tree flinging competition.
Last year, both previous male and female winning distances were smashed. James Gardiner of Hailsham threw his tree a distance of 10.56 metres - 1.5 metres longer than the previous record. The women’s champion, Becky Palmer of St Leonard’s, threw her tree 6.91 metres - 41 centimetres further than the 2022 winner. The world record is 12 metres.
Farm owner Clive Collins is urging competitive sportsmen and women across Sussex to get into training for the 2024 championships to be in with a chance to win an even bigger cash prize than last year and beat the world record.
Competitors are required to throw a 6ft Norway spruce as far as possible. There are prizes for the best male and female with each winner receiving £150 – up from £100 last year. Competitors will have three attempts and entrants must be aged 18 or over.
This year’s event is scheduled for 2pm on Sunday 17th November at Catsfield Christmas Tree Farm near Battle, East Sussex. (Competitors should turn up to register at around 1.30pm.)
Catsfield Christmas tree farmer Clive Collins has some words of advice to those planning to participate: “The first thing to say is, be careful! Tree throwing isn’t for the unprepared. You need to warm up your shoulders and be ready to deal with the weight of the tree and the needles. Our advice is to start practising now and, if you have an old tree from last Christmas, try to perfect your technique. We advise a javelin-throwing approach as that seems to get the best distance. It would be great to get even closer to the world record this year – or even beat it.”
Top tips for Christmas tree flinging:
· Use gardening gloves as Christmas trees can be prickly
· Find your balance – make sure the tree is correctly balanced in your hand
· Choose the right run up – you want to make sure you can get to your optimal speed before release
· Consider the trajectory – your tree needs to arc in the sky to go further
· On the day, don’t step over the line – we don’t want any footfaults!
Clive added: “Christmas tree throwing is now firmly in our annual calendar of events. We had a lot of festive fun last year and it became quite competitive with a large crowd of family and friends watching the contest.
“Practise makes perfect and if you don’t have an old tree you could always try using a brush or mop to sharpen your technique. Having said that, if you just want to turn up and just have a throw you are more than welcome.”
Catsfield Christmas Tree Farm opens on Friday 15th November at 9am. The farm is open every day from 9am to 6pm.You can reserve your tree in the plantation from November 15th to 24th.
Catsfield Christmas Tree Farm has been operating in East Sussex for over 30 years and has one simple mission – to provide the best-quality trees in Sussex at the best possible prices.. There is also a festive shop selling the largest selection of Christmas decorations in Sussex. The team understands the importance of good customer service and delivering the complete Christmas experience to customers. At the farm’s festive shop you can buy everything for, on and around your festive tree. The team understands the importance of good customer service and delivering the complete Christmas experience to customers.
During the 2023 festive season Catsfield Christmas Tree Farm supported the Bexhill Foodbank with 30p from each tree sold being added to the fund. The farm was able to give a huge donation £1,170 to this worthy cause.
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