Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry, Maine was the scene
of the first annual North American Wife Carrying Championships which
were held on Saturday, July 15, 2000. This event featured 46 couples where the
first male carrying his "wife" through an 278 yard long obstacle course with
two log hurdles and a waist-deep water pit and reaching the finish line first
would win her weight in beer.
Apparently Wife Carrying
Championships are part of 19th century Finnish history where the men's
strength was tested by having them complete a tedious course carrying a heavy
sack on their backs. This was considered training for the carrying off of women
from neighboring villages.
The teams consisted of a male and
female that may or may not be his "wife" with the methods for carrying
the woman varying greatly. Some teams chose to use the traditional piggyback
method, the fireman's carry or the Estonian carry, which has the "wife" carried
in an upside down position over the husband's back with her legs over his
shoulders.
The couple coming in at first place was John Suitor
and Gail Guy whose time was 1:15.7, the second place couple was Paul
Spacht and Melanie Markovitz at 1:22.8, and the third place couple was Scott
Brown and Kelly Rodrigue at 1:28.5. Prizes were awarded after all of the
"wives" were weighed in at the awards ceremony.
The event
attracted a large crowd of well wishers and a large contingent of
media. From the response of the onlookers, it would appear that this event will
become an annual event!
The event
was sponsored by the Mahoosuc Arts Council and was part of the
Mollyockett Day festivities. The cost for registering was $35 with all the
proceeds going to benefit the Mahoosuc Arts Council.
Here is a
list of Wife Carrying Teams and where they placed.
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