2007 Catapult Building Contest Rules & Specifications

 

These rules were developed by the Catapult Building Committee for the First Annual Rubber Chicken Chuckin' Championship. The Second Annual Chicken Chuckin' Championship will be held on Saturday, April 28, 2007 at 2521 Inverness, Sunflower Elementary School.  If you have a question, please direct it to chucking_chickens@yahoo.com.

The object of this contest is to see which team can design, construct and test the most efficient catapult within the specifications.  Catapults are intended to fling a standard 6 ounce rubber chicken.  An official rubber chicken will be provided for the contest launches. In order to allow the contest to proceed in a reasonable amount of time, only the first three launches will be tested.

In order to allow the contest to proceed in a reasonable amount of time, only the first three launches will be tested.

1. Materials

  1. The catapult frame must be constructed of wood (of which the largest single piece can be no larger than 2” x 4” x 80”). 
  2. The highest point of the catapult may not exceed:
    1. 4 ft - for competitors 11 years of age and under with one adult teammate
    2. 5 ft - for competitors 12-17 with one adult teammate
    3. 6 ft - for competitors 18 and above

2. Testing

  1. On the day of the contest, judges will decide the exact launching location to be used.
  2. The catapult with the longest launch will be declared the winner. The launch will be measured from the firing line to the rubber chicken as it lays (bounces count). The rubber chicken must land between two out-of-bounds markers placed 50 ft. apart.
  3. As stated above, only the first three launches will qualify, with the longest used for comparison.

3. Qualification

  1. All construction and material requirements will be checked prior to testing by the judges. Catapults that fail to meet these specifications at the conclusion of the allowable time for checking will be disqualified. Catapults disqualified prior to the start of the contest may be tested as exhibition catapults at the discretion of the builder and the contest judges.
Decisions of the judges are final.