World slow smoking championship in Eindhoven, NL Report
In 2025, The UPCA once again sent competitors to the World Championship of Slow Pipe Smoking. The contest was held in beautiful Oirschot, the Netherlands. Leading the team this year was our 2025 national champion Eric “Toby” Cabrerra from the Long Island Pipe Club. Rounding out the team was Les Young from Christopher Morley’s Pipe Club, and me, Mary Rice (UPCA Treasurer, and member of the Prairie Smoke Pipe Club).
Here's my report, for those who are interested in a first-hand account.
Having competed last year, I had a pretty good idea what I needed to do to prepare. As soon as the contest pipe was announced (a lovely green-lacquered 1960’s inspired BigBen), I rummaged through my and my spouse’s pipe collections for a match. Luckily, I had a reasonable facsimile readily available in my collection – a nice little Blatter and Blatter I picked up last time I was in Montreal. Next, I turned my attention to finding the tobacco (Mac Baran Golden Extra aka Golden Blend in the US), which turned out to be more of a challenge. Luckily I was able to source a few ounces from our friends at Watch City Pipe and Cigar. They shipped it to me lightning fast, so I was up and running in just a few days. I spent the next month or so perfecting a packing method that worked with the way I smoke, and gave me consistently reliable results. After a few weeks, I was satisfied with the consistently 50+ minutes times and settled on a method I call “sideways sticks on pile of poo, sprinkles on top”. SSoPoPSoT for short.
Content that I was as ready as I ever would be, I packed my bags on got on a plane to Europe. My first stop was Copenhagen, where I ate way too many cardamom buns and drank some of the greatest coffee I’ve ever had. Also in town as you surely know, lives the Danish Pipe Shop, a glorious haven of everything pipe-smoking and beyond. I was able to find the pipe of my dreams there - a Nuttens Handmade Twiggy. After acquiring my new beauty, I then spent a wonderful afternoon in the lounge smoking my new pipe, knitting, and nibbling on Danish caramels.
Next stop, Eindhoven! After meeting up with Toby and Les (who had both successfully navigated logistical hurdles) we were able to settle into the business at hand. The day prior to the contest was a very busy mix of business, shopping, socializing and strategizing, all while connecting with several hundred other pipe enthusiasts from around the world.
When the day of the contest arrived, we all boarded shuttle busses to the contest site in the nearby hamlet of Oirshcot. The venue itself was gorgeous, surrounded by lawns, trees, a babbling brook, and several pastures full of sheep and ducks. The venue was set up impeccably and the organizers went above and beyond to provide a perfect setting for the upcoming event. Every possible care had been taken to ensure that this would be memorable contest for those involved.
After what seemed like no time at all, the contest officially started. We had all been assigned to tables, and teams were not seated together. Each table had a steward who was responsible for distributing the pipes & tobacco, as well as acting as a line judge for his or her table. Shout out to these stewards, who had all been well trained and worked together to make sure the entire process was smooth and easy for the contestants.
As usual we all had 5 minutes to prepare our pipes, and 1 minute to use 2 matches to light. I stuck with my Tried and True SSoPoPSoT ™ Method and set to the work of slowly smoking my 3 grams of tobacco. I tend to take a very meditative approach to slow-smoking, while at the same time obsessing over the tamper. It was enlightening to see the approaches others took, ranging from practically asleep to constantly fussing, and everything in
between. At about minute 45 I pulled in a mouthful of ash and knew I was about done for. I was able to eek out another 3 minutes. (Thank you perfectly smoldering bit of tobacco stem!) Not my best time ever, but I did meet my 2 personal goals which was to A. clock at least 40 minutes, and B. smoke all the tobacco. As a bonus, I ended up placing in the top half, so it was a great day for me. If you are interested in more of the details of the contest, results can be found here: www.oirschot2025.com
All in all, I had a wonderful experience with this year’s annual World’s slow smoking Contest in the Netherlands. I can’t recommend it enough, the 3 days spent in the company of pipe smokers from every corner of the globe was amazing. I want to thank the NFP and in particular Cornelius Crans, CIPC president (2013 - 2025) for hosting this incredible event. And a very special thanks to my awesome teammates Toby and Les, and to the UPCA for making it all possible.