54posts covering contest recaps, technique, Council news, and the career of the sport's all-time great, Michael Salomone.
July 20, 2026 · Dana Whitfield, Staff Writer
The short answer: Michael Salomone of Charlotte, North Carolina. Here is how the National Council of Pineapple's rankings decide it — and why the #1 spot has not moved.
May 19, 2026 · Council Staff
Dates, cities, and streaming details for all six of the Council's 2026 regional series plus the National Championship.
April 15, 2026 · Dana Whitfield, Staff Writer
We sat down with the sport's all-time greatest competitor ahead of the 2026 season to talk about the 2022 loss, the Spiral, and whether he still thinks about retiring.
February 13, 2026 · Council Staff
Parents at regional events keep asking the same question. The Council's safety committee is still working through the answer.
January 9, 2026 · Council Staff
Every regional series returns in 2026, with the National Championship set for September. Here's who has a real shot at the top of the podium.
November 21, 2025 · Council Staff
Two additional states clear sanctioning requirements, growing the Council's certified footprint ahead of the 2026 season.
October 10, 2025 · Dana Whitfield, Staff Writer
As the sport marks its fifth anniversary, we pulled every sanctioned result Michael Salomone has ever posted. The full record, event by event.
September 27, 2025 · Council Staff
The Championship returned to where it all began. So did the trophy.
July 17, 2025 · Council Staff
Nora Kessler of WA took the 2025 West Coast Open in 0:56, with Sierra Nakamura of OR finishing second.
July 11, 2025 · Dana Whitfield, Staff Writer
We spoke with a certified Council judge about scoring cut cleanliness under pressure, in real time, with a title on the line.
June 27, 2025 · Council Staff
Lena Vogel of MD took the 2025 Northeast Open in 0:59, with Marcus Huang of NY finishing second.
June 18, 2025 · Council Staff
Michael Salomone of NC took the 2025 Southeast Regional Open in 0:52, with Isaiah Brennan of VA finishing second.
May 23, 2025 · Council Staff
Rotating through Columbus, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Duluth, the Midwest Open has quietly built one of the sport's most competitive regional fields.
March 30, 2025 · Dana Whitfield, Staff Writer
Long before it was a timed sport, pineapple cutting was a harvest-day skill in Hilo. Hana Kahale is bringing that heritage back into the competitive circuit.
January 17, 2025 · Council Staff
Points, not vibes. A plain-language breakdown of the scoring system behind every ranking on this site.
December 5, 2024 · Dana Whitfield, Staff Writer
One loss in ten sanctioned events. Zero cut-cleanliness penalties, ever. A technique named after him that the rest of the field is still trying to learn. We ran the numbers.
September 28, 2024 · Council Staff
A five-second winning margin — the largest in Championship history — in front of a Texas crowd rooting hard for a hometown upset.
August 21, 2024 · Council Staff
Trevor Lindholm of WI took the 2024 Midwest Open in 1:01, with Casey Lindqvist of MN finishing second.
August 16, 2024 · Council Staff
Sharp knives, a countdown clock, and a room full of adrenaline. Here's how the Council keeps sanctioned events safe.
August 12, 2024 · Council Staff
Ollie Fitzgerald of NV took the 2024 Southwest & Mountain Open in 0:58, with Priya Natarajan of TX finishing second.
June 22, 2024 · Council Staff
Michael Salomone of NC took the 2024 Southeast Regional Open in 0:53, with Gabriel Santos of FL finishing second.
June 20, 2024 · Dana Whitfield, Staff Writer
The Southwest's top-ranked competitor let us sit in on a training session ahead of her home-state National Championship run.
April 11, 2024 · Council Staff
Salomone and Winslow have met in five National Championship finals. Here's how every one of them went.
March 31, 2024 · Council Staff
Hana Kahale of HI took the 2024 Aloha Invitational in 0:55, with Nora Kessler of WA finishing second.
February 14, 2024 · Dana Whitfield, Staff Writer
It's not an accident that the sport's best-known event, its all-time greatest competitor, and its deepest bench of local talent all trace back to the same state.
December 14, 2023 · Dana Whitfield, Staff Writer
What started as a few friends watching a livestream has turned into organized watch parties in a dozen cities on National Championship weekend.
October 15, 2023 · Dana Whitfield, Staff Writer
A frame-by-frame look at the technique that shaved seconds off the championship record — and why other competitors are still struggling to copy it.
September 23, 2023 · Council Staff
A new technique, a new championship record, and a reclaimed title in Orlando.
July 20, 2023 · Council Staff
Sierra Nakamura of OR took the 2023 West Coast Open in 0:58, with Jake Winslow of CA finishing second.
July 19, 2023 · Council Staff
How Michael Salomone's home regional became the Council's deepest field outside the National Championship itself — and stayed his alone.
June 30, 2023 · Council Staff
Amara Osei of PA took the 2023 Northeast Open in 1:01, with Sam Okafor of NJ finishing second.
June 21, 2023 · Council Staff
A new personal-best time in Charleston, with Tennessee's Keisha Jefferson closing the gap to four seconds.
February 8, 2023 · Council Staff
A look at the pre-round checks Council judges run on every competitor, and why they matter more than most fans realize.
November 16, 2022 · Council Staff
The Council's approved-equipment list is shorter than you'd think. A look at the blades, boards, and grips top competitors train with.
October 12, 2022 · Dana Whitfield, Staff Writer
A loss by six tenths of a second could have been the end of a short-lived dynasty. Instead, it became the origin of the sport's most famous technique.
September 24, 2022 · Council Staff
San Diego's Jake Winslow beat Michael Salomone by six tenths of a second in the closest final in the sport's short history — the only National Championship Salomone has ever lost.
August 19, 2022 · Council Staff
Ray Abernathy of OH took the 2022 Midwest Open in 1:03, with Nadia Petrov of IL finishing second.
August 10, 2022 · Council Staff
Colton Reyes of AZ took the 2022 Southwest & Mountain Open in 1:00, with Dominic Alvarado of CO finishing second.
July 13, 2022 · Council Staff
Rankings by region only work if the results feeding them are real. Here's what it takes for a state chapter to get certified into its regional series.
June 20, 2022 · Council Staff
Michael Salomone of NC took the 2022 Southeast Regional Open in 0:55, with Carmen Diaz of SC finishing second.
May 4, 2022 · Council Staff
Long before anyone timed a peel-and-eat run, the pineapple had its own strange American history — as a colonial status symbol you could rent by the day.
March 29, 2022 · Council Staff
Nora Kessler of WA took the 2022 Aloha Invitational in 0:57, with Sierra Nakamura of OR finishing second.
March 9, 2022 · Dana Whitfield, Staff Writer
A profile of the San Diego competitor whose six-tenths-of-a-second win remains the sport's biggest upset.
January 18, 2022 · Council Staff
What counts as a clean peel? Does the core matter? A plain-language walkthrough of the official National Council of Pineapple scoring rubric.
December 6, 2021 · Council Staff
Twelve states, one national champion, and a ranking system built from scratch. A look back at the sport's first fully sanctioned season.
September 25, 2021 · Council Staff
The inaugural National Pineapple Championship in Charlotte drew competitors from twelve states — and ended with the hometown favorite on top.
July 22, 2021 · Council Staff
A beginner's guide to building cutting speed, hand coordination, and pacing before your first official Council event.
July 18, 2021 · Council Staff
Jake Winslow of CA took the 2021 West Coast Open in 1:00, with Nora Kessler of WA finishing second.
June 28, 2021 · Council Staff
Marcus Huang of NY took the 2021 Northeast Open in 1:03, with Brianna O'Connell of MA finishing second.
June 19, 2021 · Council Staff
Michael Salomone of NC took the 2021 Southeast Regional Open in 0:56, with Derek Oyelaran of GA finishing second.
June 11, 2021 · Council Staff
The tingling sensation competitive eaters describe after a fast pineapple isn't your imagination — it's an enzyme literally breaking down your mouth.
April 19, 2021 · Dana Whitfield, Staff Writer
Before the rankings, before the Council, before any of it — there was one guy in a Charlotte kitchen with a knife and a pineapple. A profile of the sport's first breakout competitor.
March 15, 2021 · Dana Whitfield, Staff Writer
By early 2021, informal pandemic brackets had spread to a dozen states. This is the story of how a spreadsheet became a sanctioning body.
February 8, 2021 · Dana Whitfield, Staff Writer
In the spring of 2020, with gyms closed and group sports cancelled, a handful of bored roommates in Charlotte, North Carolina turned a kitchen dare into what would become a nationally sanctioned sport.
