Watermelon Queen requirement: superior seed-spitting skills

Hello, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. One Extension agent was the watermelon queen growing up. Spitting seeds was part of the contest, and her seed traveled halfway down a basket ball court—she said she didn’t practice. Well, there are tips on how to get to be competitive, and seed-spitting is an art. First is to select a big watermelon seed and be sure it’s wet. Put it in the middle of your tongue and try to roll your tongue into a "U" shape. Take a deep breath, lean back, stick out your head, and blow as hard as you can. Luling, Texas is home to the annual seed-spitting contest, and the winning spit was 75 feet, two inches. You get two tries. I can kind of roll my tongue into a "U" shape, but my record is about two feet.