Every competition must somehow balance the need to have a clear winner, with the wish to award as many prizes as possible.
The clear winner in this category (in my book, fuck Guinness) has got to be the kinetic sculpture races in Port Townsend. Where the Arcata races are all about finding the fastest contestants, Port Townsend makes it very clear that finishing the race will earn you a top prize in your category. Every year there are exactly as many categories as there are qualifying contestants. (They still must pass break and float safety checks)
The prize given the most hoopla, is the mediocrity award, given to the sculpture that crosses the finish line in the exact middle of the pack. (No, I don’t know how this works when there is an even number of contestants)
