1. Contestants must arrive promptly at 10:30 to the specified orientation point (Innovation Theater located in Hall 1) before the event (11:00) in order to participate. Once your application is submitted and approved more specific information about competition day will follow.

2. Bring your own blade/knife. No mechanically assisted knives will be permitted. Any additional items used including blocks, boards, bricks, hammers, etc. will need approval of the Head Judge. Knives may be provided by the contest organizers and/or may be shared/borrowed from other contestants.

3. Both speed and quality of shucked oysters are the key factors to winning this competition.

4. Contestants will be shucking a combination of Atlantic & Pacific oysters.

5. Application and Waiver Form—IMPORTANT! Contestants must submit a completed Shucker Application and Waiver Form in advance of the competition in order to participate.

1. Oyster sponsors will select and pre-bag/box 8 East & 8 West oysters for each contestant.

2. Shuckers are assigned one oyster bag/box randomly. The shucker removes the oysters from his/her bag and arranges them for shucking. Shucker may appeal to the Chief Judge any oyster considered of improper quality for the contest. At the Chief Judges discretion, he/she may substitute another oyster taken from an additional container on hand designated for substitutions. The final number of oysters to ultimately be shucked will be announced at the orientation – 12 oysters presented

3. Shuckers may wear tape, finger-stalls or gloves, use their own knives and carry an extra knife for use in case the first breaks. ALL knives used must have been approved by the Chief Judge prior to the start of the contest. Mechanically assisted knives will NOT be allowed.

4. The shucker will poise his/her knife at head height to indicate readiness.

5. At a signal of the Contest emcee (previously demonstrated) all timekeepers’ simultaneously start their stopwatches and shuckers begin shucking.

6. Contestants place each oyster on an unbroken half-shell and arrange all neatly on a coded tray provided. Oysters should be whole, uncut and free from the shell.

7. When a contestant has completed shucking and has arranged the oysters to his/her satisfaction, he /she will raise both hands overhead and step back from the shucking table, and the timekeeper will stop the time. Once this occurs a shucker may not touch the tray of oysters.

8. Timekeepers will deliver the coded trays to the judges’ tables in such a manner that the judges will not be aware of whose tray they are judging, and be responsible to keep the Oysters in the original condition that the shucker left it in – i.e.:the timers will be careful not to spill/move the oysters.

Shuckers are randomly assigned one oyster bag/box each. Oysters are pre-packaged by the organizers 14 per bag/box. The Shucker will remove and arrange the oysters for the contest. At the Lead judge’s discretion, the Shucker may appeal to swap out any oyster considered to be of improper quality for the contest. Extra Oysters for swapping out will be available. The Shucker will shuck and present 12 oysters as quickly and cleanly as possible. Present on the designated tray for presentation to the judges.

If the Shucker gets a “bad”, “dead”, “box”, “winterkill” or otherwise normally “un-serveable” oyster – shuck, and present anyways – as this is not your fault, and the judges will not penalize for this. Pretend it is good to go. Make sure you shuck and present 12 oysters.

Judges will add seconds to each contestant’s shucking time according to the following penalty table:

· Blood in the oyster – DQ – you can’t present that in an oyster bar

· A missing/extra oyster -10 (per oyster) – empty shell/oyster on tray

· An Oyster not placed properly on the shell (flipped) – 1

· An Oyster with top Mantle missing – 5

· A cut, or ripped oyster – 3

· An Oyster presented with grit or other foreign substance in the oyster – 3

· An Oyster not completely not severed from its shell Major Attachment (more than 1/4 of the muscle) – 3

Each timekeeper reports their contestant’s shucking time (in seconds) to the Stage/Shucking Clerk. When Judges have completed scoring each tray, they turn in their results to the Stage/Shucking Clerk who delivers them to the Computation team. Total adjusted time (penalties/bonuses considered) for each shucker is then computed for the Organizing Sponsor to announce at the end of the competition. The winner is the contestant with the lowest total seconds that has not been disqualified by the judges.

Disqualification is rare. However, disqualification could result from a majority opinion of the Organizing Sponsor, Chief Judge, and Timekeeper that a contestant:

(1) Intentionally touched his/her oysters or tray after having signaled completion.

(2) Distracted a fellow contestant by vocal or physical interference during the shucking heat.

(3) Committed a flagrant, inexcusable impropriety during the progress of the shucking heat.

1. Judges’ decisions are final.

2. You will get cut while shucking oysters – anywhere, anytime – we do hope that it is not during this, or any contest. Just don’t blame the contest & organizers – if you don’t want to get a cut, a) don’t pick up the knife, b)ShuckSafe!

3. All winners must collect their prize at the end of the competition.

Contact Neal Timoney at [email protected] for more information.