Photo by David Parker

Trey Sims of Dadeville took home the “Glass Tomato” trophy at the Waverly Tomato Showdown Saturday.

The Waverly Tomato Showdown, as it seems with most events held in the rustic renaissance town of Waverly, was a dynamic affair exceeding expectations on Saturday. Despite being held in a town of approximately 220 people with no grocery store nor traffic light, the event featured hours of live entertainment and a fully stocked gourmet tomato sandwich bar (i.e. BLTs, fried greens, culinary seasonings, fresh basil mozzarella salad, pancetta & Wickles Pickles). About 100 spectators attended the occasion in the place Highway 280 once congested. Standard Deluxe, Waverly’s bucolic epicenter for Art, Graphic Design and local culture, printed the event’s T-Shirts and posters. Completing the spread were enough coolers packed to accommodate seats and beverages for youngsters and grown folk alike.

Initially, the growers contestant list was set at 30 entries from around eastern Alabama. However, due to late withdrawals, 25 growers ultimately sought “the coveted Glass Tomato” trophy and bragging rights until next year. Due to a conspicuous amount of homeruns hit over the past 10 years, Showdown Officials explicitly stated “the contest is open only to non-commercial Alabama tomato growers willing to swear before Congress against the use of any performance enhancing drugs.”

Like the town of Waverly, the tomato is also quite dynamic. Once thought by Americans to be poisonous, and later argued in the Supreme Court (1893) over the very definition of the crop as a fruit or vegetable, the tomato of today is officially recognized as a “fruit served as a vegetable.”

The contest itself was quite enthralling, and at one point towards the final tasting, quite uncomfortable for those who had no stake in the winner. Moreover, the scoring system of the Showdown was as esoteric and meticulous as the BCS ranking system. This, of course, is not to suggest the inaugural “Tomato National Champion” was not a legitimate winner, a panel of qualified judges were diligent in deliberation.

All locally grown varieties were eligible to compete. The rating categories included: Appearance, Texture, Flavor and Overall Satisfaction. Each Category was scored on a 1 to 10 scale of satisfaction.
   
Growers entered crops “blind” - with no identifiable information to influence or compromise the integrity of the contest, and five judges operated blindly - without knowledge of where the tomatoes grew up.

“You could slice the tension in the air with a knife used for slicing tomatoes,” commented a showdown spectator as the judges were served sample tomatoes in the final stages of the Showdown.

After about an hour, the results were in with Master Judge, H.W. Anderson surmising the contest.

“While the heirlooms were clearly the early favorites, on this day, it was the classic Red Beefsteak that stole the show,” he said.

Satisfaction percentages were calculated and two percentage points separated first and second place. 

First place went to a Red Beefsteak grown by Trey Sims, second place went to a Red Beefsteak grown by Brad Larson, and third place went to a Marianna’s Peace Heirloom grown by Allen Anderson.
Trey Sims of Dadeville took home the “Glass Tomato” and gave thanks to the appropriate entities and variables:
“Well, first I’d like to thank God for blessing me, my family and my precious crop with precisely the right amount of precipitation, sunshine and the process of photosynthesis ...” Sims said.

Larson, of Lafayette, took second place in stride and vowed to take next year’s title. Coming in with the bronze was the home-town favorite and event co-host, Allen Anderson, who cultivated the only heirloom tomato to place.

To sum up the day, one tomato aficionado noted, “If you grow it … they will come.”