Competitions and Championships

Raspberry Point PEI Oyster Shucking Championship 2009

September 17-19, 2010
Watch as up to 20 contestants compete for the Championship in opening and presenting PEI oysters on the half shell.

2010 Raspberry Point Oyster Shucking Competition

2009 Raspberry Point PEI Oyster Shucking Winner

1st place - John Bil

2nd place - Bradley Gallant

3rd place - David Pendergast

THE CONTEST:

The Championship is restricted to residents of PEI to test the skills of up to 20 contestants in the opening and presentation (on the half shell) of the Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica).

The 2009 Raspberry Point PEI Oyster Shucking Championship will promote the highest standards for shucking and presentation of PEI oysters on the half shell.

REGISTRATION:

All interested individuals must pre-register by using this registration form. The registration must be accompanied by a $10 registration fee payable between 3:00p.m. and 4:30p.m. on Saturday, September 18, 2010 at the Festival Tent .Only the first 20 participants to register will be allowed to enter. The Committee reserves the right to grant special entry.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP:

The Raspberry Point PEI Oyster Shucking Championship event will take place on Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 4:45p.m. in the Festival tent.

THE OYSTERS:

Each contestant will receive 14 Choice Raspberry Point oysters. Contestants will open and present only 12 oysters.

ATTIRE/DEMEANOR:

The contestant’s attire and demeanor shall be in keeping with the occasion, representing themselves, the province, and any sponsoring organization to the best advantage.

THE EQUIPMENT:

Handwear, knives, cutting board, and any related equipment must be approved by the judges. Contestants may wear finger stalls or gloves and may employ towels to hold the oysters in place. The contestant can carry one back-up shucking knife in case of breakage.

PRESENTATION:

Contestants will receive a platter of coarse salt at the beginning on which to present the shucked oysters.

JUDGES:

There shall be 3 judges, one of whom is the Chief Judge, and each shall have considerable experience and/or knowledge of the half shell oyster service.

TIME KEEPING:

1. Each contestant will have a separate timekeeper. There will be one Chief timekeeper.
2. The contestant will poise his/her shucking knife at head height to indicate readiness.
3. At a signal by the Master of Ceremonies, all timekeepers simultaneously start their watches and all contestants start shucking.
4. When the contestant has completed shucking and has arranged the oysters to his/her satisfaction, he/she will either tap the table or raise both hands overhead and step back from the shucking table. The timekeeper will stop his watch immediately. The contestant may not touch the tray of oysters after he/she has signaled completion.
5. Each timekeeper reports his/her contestant to the Chief Timekeeper who records each contestant’s time on each official score sheet.

SCORING/PENALTIES:

Each contestants overall score will be a combination of shucking time, shucked appearance, presence of shell, grit, broken shell cup, meat cut, etc. (see scoring/penalty sheet) Judges will add seconds to each contestant’s shucking time according to the following schedule:

1. The following conditions render an oyster unpresentable and subject to the following penalties:
   • unpresented (less than 12 opened oysters on the completed platter) 30 seconds/oyster
   • not presented upright or meat out of shell ~ 10 seconds/oyster
   • presented on flat shell ~ 10 seconds/oyster
   • presented with blood on oyster meat ~ 30 seconds/oyster
   • presented with a broken (in two pieces) undershell ~ 10 seconds/oyster
2. Each oyster presented with shell, grit, mud or other extraneous material incurs a penalty of 2 seconds.
3. Each oyster presented with the meat cut or mangled incurs a penalty of 2 seconds.
4. Each oyster incompletely severed from the shell incurs a penalty of 3 seconds/oyster. If more than 6 oysters are penalized in this manner, then the penalty per oyster increases to 10 seconds/oyster for infractions over six.

TOTAL SCORING:

The judges provide the Chief Timekeeper with each contestant penalty scores and the Chief Timekeeper adds this number to the actual shucking time.

THE WINNER:

Total time (shucking time plus penalty times) for each contestant is tallied by the Chief Timekeeper and the scores given to the Master of Ceremonies to announce. The winner is that contestant who has the lowest total seconds score and has not been disqualified.

DISQUALIFICATION:

Disqualification could result from an unanimous opinion of the judges and timekeepers that the contestant:

• Did not comply with the rules of the contest.
• Distracted a fellow competitor by vocal or physical interference during the shucking heat.
• Committed a flagrant and unseemly impropriety during the progress of the competition.

THE PRIZE:

1st prize: Platter and Gift
2nd Prize: Gift
3rd Prize: Gift

Winner receives automatic bye and chance to compete for $2000 in the World's Invitational Oyster Shucking Championship on Sunday, September 19th at 3:15 pm.