Philadelphia Parallel Parking Association to Host the 2026 Parallel Parking Championship on South Street

The Philadelphia Parallel Parking Association (PPPA), in collaboration with the South Street Headhouse District, will hold the 2026 PPPA Championship at Headhouse Plaza, located at 2nd and South Street, on Saturday, October 3, from 1 to 4 p.m. A rain date is scheduled for Saturday, October 10, at the same time.

The competition will feature 20 contestants competing across three preliminary events, with the top performers advancing to a final round to determine the city’s top parallel parker.

Competition Format

Participants will be selected to compete based on a combination of parallel parking experience, ability and enthusiasm for the activity. All participants must reside in Philadelphia.

Each participant will take part in three preliminary events:

• One Shot — Scored on closeness to the curb, with participants given a single attempt and no corrections.
• Tight Squeeze — Participants must park within six inches of the curb, in as few moves as possible, within twelve inches of clearance.
• Under Duress — Participants are timed while parking under active distractions and obstacles.

Participants are ranked in each event based on that event’s specific success metric, with points awarded according to placement (for example, first place receives 10 points, second place receives 8 points, and so on). The three participants with the highest combined point totals across all three events will advance to the final round.

The Final

In the final round, the top three participants will each be given a single attempt, judged on a ten-point scale across four criteria: competency, speed, closeness to the curb and flair. The participant with the highest score in the final round will be named Best Parallel Parker in Philadelphia 2026.

Rules

Backup cameras are permitted during competition. Self-parking systems are not allowed.

Registration

Applications to compete are open now and can be submitted at philaparallelparking.org/championship.