June 19, 2016 - 2:00 pm
at the Scandinavian Midsummer Festival in Burnaby
In the olden days, in small town Finland, there was no social networking or internet dating – if a man wanted a woman from a neighbouring
village he had to go and take her! This show of worthiness and determination – together with rumors and hearsay – evolved into the Wife
Carrying Contest, where a“husband” carries a “wife” through an obstacle course for a prize.
Originally this event only existed in Finland, but word has spread, and now countries all over the world host their own Wife Carrying Championships. Already registered for this year’s World Wife Carrying Championship, held in Finland, are teams from Finland (of course), Estonia, Canada, Australia, USA, Russia, Ireland, Denmark, Czech Republic and the United Arab Emirates – it is truly becoming a world-wide phenomenon!
*note that husband and wife are labels used in this contest to identify the role that each team member plays.“Husband” does the carrying and “wife” is the one being carried – these labels have no reflection on actual marital status or gender. Please see the rules below for more details.
village he had to go and take her! This show of worthiness and determination – together with rumors and hearsay – evolved into the Wife
Carrying Contest, where a“husband” carries a “wife” through an obstacle course for a prize.
Originally this event only existed in Finland, but word has spread, and now countries all over the world host their own Wife Carrying Championships. Already registered for this year’s World Wife Carrying Championship, held in Finland, are teams from Finland (of course), Estonia, Canada, Australia, USA, Russia, Ireland, Denmark, Czech Republic and the United Arab Emirates – it is truly becoming a world-wide phenomenon!
*note that husband and wife are labels used in this contest to identify the role that each team member plays.“Husband” does the carrying and “wife” is the one being carried – these labels have no reflection on actual marital status or gender. Please see the rules below for more details.
Rules:
- The team completing the course in the fastest time wins the Carlsberg Cup and the Grand Prize of the Wife’s weight in beer.
- Teams will consist of two members, one “Wife” and one “Husband”. For the purpose of this contest, the Wife shall be the contestant being carried, and the Husband will be the contestant doing the carrying, regardless of marital status or gender.
- Partners in the contest do not have to be married – as stated in the Wife Carrying Contest Official Rules -“a contestant may carry his own wife, his neighbour’s wife, or someone found ‘further afield’”.
- Both the contestants must be 18 years or older and must be of legal drinking age to claim the grand prize.
- The wife must weigh a minimum of 100 lbs (45 kg). Wives that are too light will have to have an extra helping of Swedish meatballs or carry weights to meet the minimum requirement. In the case that an extra meal in the food tent does not bring the contestant to the min weight they will still have to carry weights
- Dropping your wife or falling will incur a 10 second penalty in the contest, and perhaps an additional penalty from your "Wife" after the race.
- Husbands may carry their wives any way they choose, however it must be by their own power – no foreign object (like wheelbarrows or harnesses) will be allowed.
- Protests must be made within 5 minutes of the end of the contest. There will be a protest fee, and administration fee… as well as an inconvenience fee.
- All contestants must wear pants and a smile, and wives must wear a helmet. Other articles of clothing may be substituted for pants, but smiling and having fun are non-negotiable.
- Inflatable wives will be disqualified.
Still not sure what a Wife Carrying Contest is? Here's a clip from the 2012 contest:
For more information about the Scandinavian Midsummer Festival please visit the website: www.scandinavianmidsummerfestival.com