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The October Cup is a biennial multi-event sporting championship developed in Melbourne, Australia by Stephen Earl and his friends in 2009. Competitors play for the October Cup, a fine silver alloy trophy which is engraved with the words "October Cup" and is believed to have been forged somewhere in the outer suburbs of Melbourne. The name of each winner is engraved on the Cup.

The prize on offer is pride, bragging rights and to have your name engraved on the Cup itself. Although there is no official prize money on offer, wagering on events has been known to occur. Unofficial impromptu or optional events have also been staged, usually for no championship points. Perhaps the greatest example of an unofficial event was the duck pond dash convened by Mark Rigg in the park next to the Malmsbury pub in 2010.

History

The idea for the October Cup arose during a discussion between friends as to who was the best at particular sports or games. Another motivation for the championship was the aim to keep in touch with a group of friends who see each other less and less as they enter middle age. The event has a similar feel to a bucks or stags weekend without an impending wedding or, thus far, adult entertainment. Although not universally the case, the intention was to include sports or games that are competitive but not physically demanding that present the opportunity for competitive banter, smoking and the consumption of beverages.

Competition and match play

The first October Cup was held in Malmsbury and Kyneton in country Victoria, Australia in 2010. The games take place over a weekend in October commencing on Friday. Traditionally the first event has been go-karting scheduled on a Friday morning and the final event has been staged on Saturday night with most events being conducted on Friday afternoon and evening. The final hole of the golf event at the inaugural October Cup saw a course record nine competitors tee off together at Kyneton golf club.

There are typically eight events but the number of events varies. Regular events at each October Cup include go-karting, darts, bocce, pool (singles), kelly pool, golf and no limit texas holdem poker. Other events that have featured include clay target shooting, fishing, sumo suit wrestling, mini-golf and ten pin bowling.

Events are scored by points being awarded for each event, typically, being 10 points for first and 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point thereafter. If there is a tie for first in any event there is a play-off for first and second. If there is a tie for the championship the Cup winner is determined by count back of event wins at that year's competition. If there is a tie for number of event wins the winner is determined by a foot race over 50 paces.

The only competitors to attend every October Cup up to and including the 2016 October Cup have been Stephen Earl, Nick Bowring, Mark Rigg, Peter Langford and Lachlan Coakes. The only disqualification occurred in 2010 in the pool event when Mark Rigg was observed putting a ball in the pocket by hand. The only other disciplinary action occurred when Stephen Earl relegated to the back of the grid for dangerous driving during qualifying. He was relegated from fourth to tenth.

The details and winner of each October Cup are:

The October Cup mission

The organisers of the October Cup have a vision that one day the October Cup championship will be a recognised and commercialised event offering prize money and featuring sporting and cultural identities such as Shane Warne, Inzamam Ul-Haq, Nathan Lyon, Tiger Woods, Robert Allenby, Matt Preston, Manny Pacquiao, Gina Davis, Serena Williams, Mick Gatto, Denzel Washington, Damien Monkhurst, Tony Lockett and Nicky Winmar. The organisers of the October Cup encourage other sporting folk to convene their own October Cup events to raise recognition of the October Cup mission.