Pitchforks at the ready as entrants prepare for sheaf pitching challenge

PITCHFORKS will be wielded by the hordes next month in Waterford but those involved will not be involved in any violence.

Competitors will gather on the city’s quays on September 11 for the Irish National Sheaf Pitching Championships, which forms part of this year’s Waterford Harvest Festival.

Those taking part have qualified through provincial competitions and will go head-to-head using a pitchfork to hurl a sheaf of straw over a horizontal bar above the competitor’s head.