“Attention, slingshot technology! Get rid of the children!”, the warning sounds among the bystanders as a man from Neukirchen spins a bushy, almost two-meter fir tree around its own axis like a hammer thrower. But it’s not all that bad. At the annual Christmas tree throwing event in Neukirch in Upper Lusatia, fun and consideration take precedence over sporting performance. The participants can work towards their personal best with a cleaned Christmas tree as often as they want.
Support the school by throwing trees
For the fifth time, the support association of the high school “Am Valtenberg” invited people to throw a Christmas tree with mulled wine, savory dishes and cake at the local manor. That smells like tradition, says Neukirchen Mayor Jens Zeiler. He is happy about the enrichment of the events calendar and the way people come together.
Zeiler grabs a throwing fir and lets it fly across the snowy square with the thick end first like a spear. “5.80 meters without crossing,” he happily announces the result. But the competition doesn’t sleep: nine-year-old Hannes actually managed to reach four meters with his fir tree. The boy beams proudly as he stands wrapped up in his snowsuit in the icy temperatures. How did he do that? “I don’t know,” Hannes shrugs his shoulders and laughs.
Elegant javelin throw or brutal slingshot technique?
High school principal Michael Hubrich drew the measuring line in the snow up to 15 meters with blue paint. Whether javelin or hammer throwing technique – “there is no standardized technique as to how it could go furthest,” says Hubrich, when asked about the secret of the correct throwing posture. Both variants have already made it onto the winner’s podium. “But of course we practice,” affirms the high school principal with a wink.
Christian Großmann’s ambition has seized him and he keeps putting a tree on the flight path. He wants to beat the current record, says the man from Neukirchen, who is wearing a glove on his right throwing arm. “We are currently at 8.30 meters,” says the 49-year-old after a quick look at the results list. “I’ll keep trying.”
To warm up and strengthen yourself, the support association gives out, among other things, mulled wine, solyanka, fries and cake for a little money. The cake was baked by boys and girls from the high school themselves in the teaching kitchen, reports math and physics teacher Ute Eckardt. She looks after the cake table with two students and their mothers. “The proceeds go to the class fund of the two seventh graders,” explains the teacher. Ute Eckardt is also one of the practicing Christmas tree throwers. She doesn’t remember her best performance, but: “It’s damn difficult!”