Contestants compete during the Pumpkin Regatta, an annual pumpkin boat relay race, in the Belgian town of Kasterlee, Belgium October 23, 2022. REUTERS/Bart BiesemansKASTERLEE, Belgium, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Hundreds of competitors, many dressed up as pirates, nuns, animals or vegetables, climbed into carved-out pumpkins and paddled them around a pond in northern Belgium, in an annual relay race. Racing the huge vegetables takes some skill - "when you paddle, it doesn't move forward but starts spinning", local competitor Jonas Verbruggen said - and this year some fell in the water after their pumpkins took too much water. Racer Oscar Guell, a Spaniard living in Brussels, called the experience "dirty, sticky and oily" - before gleefully adding that he'd definitely be back next year. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout; editing by John StonestreetOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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