The 9th World Olive Picking Championship recently took place on the island of Brač in Croatia. Surprisingly, the champion of this competition came from a country that does not have a tradition of cultivating and producing olives – Finland.
According to reports from Olive Oil Times, the olive picking championship was held in the coastal town of Postira on the island of Brač on October 9th, with 40 participants from 10 different countries taking part.
This competition was supported by the Postira Tourist Board, local government, and other organizations, combining traditional olive picking with international tourism and friendly competition to promote the local tourism industry and put the town on the map for international travelers.
Ivana Jelinčić, the director of the Postira Tourist Board, told Olive Oil Times, “We are creating a tourism destination brand that is not just imitative but inspiring.”
In this competition, the 40 participants represented 10 teams, with each team consisting of 4 members, including 2 males and 2 females. They competed in the technique of hand-picking olives at the St. Joseph olive grove.
Participants had to hand-pick as many olives as possible within 45 minutes. Following local tradition, the picked olives had to be placed in “sakete” (a traditional hemp picking apron) before transferring them to their respective team boxes, with the winner determined by weight.
When the results were announced, Team Finland emerged as the world champion with a result of 55.4 kilograms. This unexpected outcome was quite remarkable for a country known for its forests, lakes, and long winters rather than olive cultivation.
The captain of Team Finland, Petri Utriainen, expressed excitement, stating, “We are thrilled! We love Postira, Brač Island, and the entire Croatia.”
He added, “We only aimed to surpass last year’s fourth-place finish this year, so winning was beyond our wildest dreams. Finland doesn’t even have a single olive tree, yet here we are as world champions. It’s truly unbelievable!”
Following Finland, the second place went to Team Czech Republic (48.4 kilograms) and the third place to Team Poland (46.6 kilograms).
Apart from the competition, various activities were arranged by the organizers to introduce the olive oil culture, agricultural traditions, and historical landmarks of Brač Island to the participants.
Jelinčić expressed great pride in this competition. She stated after the award ceremony, “Postira is just a small town with a population of only 1,500, but through this event, we successfully reached every corner of the world, sharing the stories of Postira and olive cultivation in such a vibrant, fun, and joyful way.”
Since its inception in 2017, the World Olive Picking Championship has evolved into a well-regarded international event. In 2019, the event was honored with the “Best Creative Tourism Experience” award by the Creative Tourism Network, a non-profit organization.