Croft going for gold in cow chip championship

By Rose Hooper

Shirley Croft of Cullowhee's Wayehutta community possesses a winning form in the great sport of cow chip throwing.

A two-time winner at the World Cow Chip Throwing Championship in Beaver, Okla., Croft hopes to be a three-time champion come April 20.

"If I win this year, I'll retire from the sport," said Croft, who began tossing chips back at county fairs in Plant City, Fla.

In 1982 she won the Plant City, Fla., contest, moving up from there to win the state contest in Miami.

"The Florida contest sponsors paid for all my expenses to go to the world championship in Beaver, Okla.," said Croft, who won the gold again in 1984.

"I'm older now, but so are most of the other competitors I threw against. I figure I have just as good a chance this year as they do," said this 52-year-old who only weighs 96 pounds.

The Beaver, Okla., Chamber of Commerce sent her a box of official regulation-size chips for practicing. Before she received the chips, she practiced by throwing softballs for her dogs.

"The trick is to keep my right arm limber but not wear it out," said Croft, who can easily throw a cow chip 124 feet, almost out-throwing men twice her size. The world record for women is 132 feet; for men it is 132 feet, 4 inches.

Officials chips must be 6 inches in diameter, and the trick, Croft said, is to find one with a "bit of a handle on it."

You can't go out of bounds of the official arena, so Croft said you don't want a chip that spins "because the wind can whip it up and carry it out of bounds. Wind plays an important part in the contest."

If a chip breaks in mid-air during a throw, the piece going the farthest is counted.

"The chips don't smell," said Croft, who said she prefers one with just a little bit of weight to it so it will go further.

"Years ago early settlers would take their wagons to the pastures to load up cow chips for the winter. They used them for fuel, so that tells you right there they don't smell. It wasn't until 1970 that throwing cow chips became a sport," according to Croft.

The April 20 World Cow Chip Throwing Championship Contest draws international attention and climaxes the annual weeklong Cimarron Territory Celebration.

"This year I have to pay all my own expenses, including purchasing my plane ticket by April 4. If anyone would like to 'chip' in and help, they can contact me at 293-9916," she said.

Back to Archive: 03/28/02.