Paddlers Will Race Hollowed Out Giant Pumpkins in Front of a Baroque Palace at Ludwigsburg on Sunday
Saturday's timed heats decide the eight paddlers per class who reach the knockout finals, where prize money runs to 300 euros.
Paddlers will race hollowed-out giant pumpkins on the water in front of Ludwigsburg's baroque palace on 20 September 2026, the second day of the Kuerbisregatta held in the Bluehendes Barock gardens in southern Germany.
Free training ran from 11:00 to 13:00 on 19 September and timed qualifying from 12:00 to 16:00. The 8 fastest paddlers in each class go into Sunday's knockout finals, which start at 12:00 and are due to end at about 16:00.
Entrants must be at least 14 years old and able to swim, and race head to head in marked lanes. Prize money for those using pumpkins supplied by the organisers runs from 200 euros down to 50 euros for fourth place, while paddlers who bring their own hollowed pumpkin race for 300 euros.
The regatta sits inside a pumpkin exhibition that its organisers describe as the largest in the world. It runs from 22 August to 1 November 2026 under the motto Let's Play, with sculptures built by the Berlin artist Pit Ruge and around 600 varieties on show.
The Stuttgarter Zeitung reported on 14 September that pumpkins were scarce this year. The same gardens stage the European giant pumpkin weigh-off on 11 October, where the European record of 1,226kg set by Stefano Cutrupi in 2021 will be the target.