MYERS Pedal Tractor Pulls, LLC

1. What does it mean to be sanctioned?

            A: Sanctioning: for individual puller, Child 4-12 years old.

A1. It means the person running the pull is able to qualify kids for the State Pedal Pull.

            B: Sanctioning: The paperwork

B1. In many states you, the operator, pay a fee to be a member of the Association of pullers in the State and then a small fee per event and this allows you to qualify usually 3 boys and 3 girls in each age group. Then there is Iowa. Now that is a different breed. There are two levels of sanctioning almost everyone uses the $15 top two go to state. We use the $25 top two boys and top two girls go to state form for all our pulls and all our pulls are 4-12 sanctioned, unlike the majority who use 4-11. We flat spend as much or more of the sponsors money on your event.

C: Sanctioning: The States

C1. We are able to pull in any state that we can talk to the association and pay the fee. As I mentioned before there are fees to be sanctioned in every state. We will always be sanctioned in Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska. We will be sanctioned in North Dakota and South Dakota (only for the National). To qualify kids in your state for National your state association must pay a yearly fee to the National organization to be a member state. There are 22 member States currently. I have been talking to groups in Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina about joining soon. Kids want the greatest title in the world, the National, to truly be the best of the best and every state needs to be involved. There is no other legitimate National title.

D: Are there pretenders?

D1. Sure there are two very large outfits on the Coast that do the pulls as part of a big show charging $3000 to $4000 per event. There is no sanctioning to the National Pull in Mitchell SD. Does that mean they are bad pulls, certainly not, but they are individual shows and do not lead to a true National title.To the east there is a single state puller telling everyone they are holding a National Pedal Pull. How can any one state pull be a National???? There is only one real National Pedal Pull and any other is a less worthy effort.

Only one question needs answered. Is it important to have everyone in the nation have a chance to decide a true National Champion. Sounds like the BCS in College Football. Imagine the Gator Bowl crowned a National Champion and the rest had a tournament. We would want every one in the tournament, naturally, it is where the true titles are decided. The NIT in Basketball has a National Tournament, but eventhough they involve the whole nation they are playing for a lesser title and they acknowledge it.

The National Pedal Pull Association has been around since the 80s and that is what they provide. The best of 22 States compete on the last Saturday of September every year and crown a top 5 in each age division for boys and girls. 18 Champions crowned with the qualifying process moving from local to state and then to National. The top 5 can pedal in the International when the top 5's of Canada are invited down for an extravaganza pull.

  Some times the kids that face the competition for the National title hear about other titles or records and wonder why these folks don't just come on and qualify to pull. We are only one of many many members of this great association that provides this pull for the 22 states involved and wish to invite the best kids in the nation to meet.

In some parts of the country this is not yet important and we hope that pulling grows and their states join the National Pedal Pull Association. This association is not a single member or state as was previously mentioned. Ask questions about the Association I would guess they will get answered not ignored. There is nothing wrong with asking your puller to sanction to a local association that is tied to the National Pedal Pull Association, they have the right to decide not to join, also. If you want your child truly tested bring them to the only true National Multi-State Association Pull and see if they can they are real champions.

visit the National website for more information: 

http://www.nationalpedalpullers.webs.com/

           A: Sponsor: The person or organization that pay the fees of the Pedal Pull group to run the pull making it free for the children pulling.

            B: Who sponsors: Many different sponsors get involved. For instance, an implement dealer is the most obvious. Many times the local Chamber of Commerce will spread the cost. We have had three businesses join together to sponsor putting their name on three of the nine trophies each. HyVee, Menards, individual donation, Farm Bureau, product lines, retail stores, to name a few. Basically any group looking to promote their name with children and families. That is why the number of different groups is growing so fast. Every one wants a piece of the countries fastest growing event for kids. Another note worthy thing is the growing use of the pedal pull as the main attraction in some areas of the Midwest.

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3. What is the biggest surprise to people attending pulls for the first time or sponsoring for the first time?

             A: Whether you have children involved or not you can’t help but enjoy the efforts of the children. It is addicting for anybody who enjoys children at all. If you have not gotten into watching one you truly don’t really understand the love of it. Then watch children beam, families come together and the heart felt thank you comments afterwards. These things make sponsors fall in head over heals.

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4. Why do kids seem to love this event so much?

                 A: First of all it is the tractors. Watch the 4-6 year olds. They don't care how far they go they just want to try it. Then after a few tries they discover there is possibly a thing called a full pull, or maybe a ribbon. Holy Cow that was exciting. Can we do it again, Mom or Dad? They are hooked. It is hard to understand, but maybe it has to do with a lot of people cheering and watching the youngster. Every once in a while they will say you know for the time we were doing this I was the most important kid in the world. "Sometimes you hear this is our time" meaning the family is together because of them. When you have scratched your head for a while then watch the adults sometime and ask, "Why do they love it so much?" It is just plain fun for the whole family.

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5. How do Kids sign up?

                A: We will have the Child print their name and Parent sign a waiver for participation and then all children in an age group will be placed on a scoring sheet for the competition. In most cases the young person will have a number put on their hand or a name tag number to use when lining them up.

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6. Does it take special equipment to be sanctioned?

                A: Since the ultimate goal after having fun is to qualify for state and then by the Grace of God to qualify for Nationals. The equipment and rules must mimic the ones used at the advanced level. You must be able to give a 4 year old and a 12 year old equal chance to succeed. Two or more tractors capable of being stretched for the older children. You must never use weight as a class measure for competition and anyone restricting kids with this method should be stopped. There is no place for what ever makes that happen. If you don’t have some modified tractors get them for the sake of all children. We have always done this does not make it right. The sled must be a weight transfer model.

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It is not the destination, but the journey that provides the person with the character we admire.



7. Do the kids pay anything?

             A: Never if we have anything to say. We ask the sponsor to pay the fee so the kids can participate free. I never want to tell a child they cannot pull because they don't have money.

8. How do you train your child?

             A: I know every one thinks the children of pullers train on the equipment. At least in our case that never happens. Our tractors cost to much to just practice on them, second the girls don't like to work that hard. They ride their bikes play sports, in particular soccer. We do attend or put on pulls every week from June 1st through end of September. How do you get your child that kind of option? encourage sponsors in your area to have a professional pull several times during the year. We had stopped going to volunteer pulls with borrowed or weak equipment. More the fear of injury with untrained people and the equipment was so inconsistant it made improving impossible. Yes we travel on our non-pulling dates.

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Good sportsmanship, good character, good manners, understanding there are rules, learning how to win and learning how to lose make the character strong, never give up, and never feel bad about your best effort – work at getting better.

Myers Pullers Prayer:

Oh Heavenly father please help me to do my very best,

demonstrate my courage;

and respect the other competitors;

I participate by your grace and for your glory when the journey ends.

Amen

When the kids were younger:

Please Lord let me do my best, and be happy where I come to rest. Amen

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The Lord gives you just what you can handle and occasionally he lets you know you need to be humble. We are nothing except in the service of our God and his children, old and young alike.

Just in case some one forgets this is about the children

first and foremost, and the families it brings together.

Hi I am Ken Myers standing in front

of the girls trophies at Nationals I had

 the honor of working them in 2007 & 2008

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