Part of the joy of cars is how there’s so much you can do with them. You can modify them, repair them, shine them, maintain them, race them, go on trips with them, and yes, even park them. Alright, so a subculture around parking cars hasn’t gone mainstream yet, but that hasn’t stopped people from exploring all facets of the automotive experience. This is the Pittsburgh Parallel Parking Championship, and it’s officially my new favorite sport.
Part of the genius of the competition is how accessible it is. Pretty much everyone has to parallel park at some point, and while it’s definitely a skill that takes time to hone, it’s not one you have to hit the gym for. Instead, it’s a game of geometry, vision, and knowing your car. Plus, turning it into a competitive skill showcase is a pretty low-risk endeavor. It’s not wheel-to-wheel motorsports, it doesn’t involve much in the way of speed at all, and it’s something open to pretty much anyone. As soon as I learned about the Pittsburgh Parallel Parking Championship, I reached out to learn more, and Dan Leber, the creator of the event, reached back.
It started as a kernel of a dumb idea. I’ve long thought that I was above average at parallel parking and also realized that other people are also pretty emphatic about either being great or avoiding it all together. I put a little thought into what a contest might look like – most of which was just creating and testing a formula to make sure the scoring was objective, repeatable, and just made sense. My wife was 100 percent onboard from the first time I told her which was like “whoa, I guess we have to do this now.” My friends were instantly on board too. So we picked a date, I made a couple sandwich boards, got ourselves a name with a website to host the leaderboard, and did the bare minimum to make the event. The first year I think we did it in November which was a terrible idea – it was freezing.
While November in Pittsburgh isn’t always the most comfortable time and place to be standing around outside for hours on end, evidently that first event struck a chord. The Pittsburgh Parallel Parking Championship just celebrated its fifth running, and while a late location change was needed due to being booted out of a spot, it all came together beautifully in the end.
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So, how exactly is the best parallel parker decided? With a formula, of course:
(TIME (sec.) X Distance to Curb (cm)(/7)), multiplied by a positive or negative equalizer, depending on vehicle length.
The equalizer itself is a handicap of 0.2 per inch of vehicle length under 175 inches and an inverse boost per inch over 175. However, if you’re a Smart Fortwo enthusiast, I have bad news: Partially thanks to the standard parking spot length of 20 feet, Smart models have been banned from the outset because, as Leber put it, “I want this to be competitive for everyone.”
Other rules to know before you start? No spotters, no vehicles with more or fewer than four wheels, no hitting the curb, and no hitting the vehicles fore and aft of the spot, although in-car technologies, including camera systems, may be used. While this might seem like newer cars have an advantage, especially ones with 360-degree camera systems, my experience in hundreds of cars suggests that the guidelines on these OEM camera systems are often less accurate than simply dipping the curbside mirror to show the rear tire. The timer starts as soon as the driver puts the car in reverse and stops as soon as they yell “done,” and each parker only gets a single shot per event.
Since the inaugural event, more than 475 drivers have participated in the quest to determine Pittsburgh’s best parallel-parker, with all scores viewable on a public leaderboard. It seems like a real community’s sprung up around parking, with this year’s event bringing unexpected additional entertainment. As Leber detailed, “One of last year’s volunteers DJ’d, which was awesome, and we unexpectedly had 20-30 people hanging out all day just watching.”
One thing I adore is just how grassroots the Pittsburgh Parallel Parking Championship is. Promotion is done pretty much all through word-of-mouth, planning only starts about a month in advance, and there’s no goal of monetizing or scaling the free-to-enter, volunteer-run Championship. Leber has the right attitude:
My ethos for putting this event on is to do something a little goofy, give adults a chance to win a couple sweet trophies, and offer something that’s 100 percent zero sales. We intentionally don’t have merch or sponsorships because I want this event to speak for itself.
While I’d totally rock a Pittsburgh Parallel Parking Championship shirt, I have the ultimate respect for the mission statement of having a good time and not making things too commercial.
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While the fifth annual Pittsburgh Parallel Parking Championship happened in September, that gives all aspiring entrants an opportunity to practice, plan how to get down there for next year, and dedicate a day to doing something fun. Even if you can’t make the drive to Pittsburgh, the Instagram page for the event is absolutely worth a follow.
Top graphic images: Instagram/Pittsburgh Parallel Parking Championship
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Totally get not wanting sponsors, but no merch seems like a real missed opportunity. I would love a t-shirt.
Thank you for this.
1) I think many here, including me, take pride in their ability to parallel park well. This would be fun.
2) I would also love a “Pittsburgh Parallel Parking Championship” t-shirt. It’s just weird enough.