Maine Wife Carrying Competition IS STILL HAPPENING

It's actually The OFFICIAL North American Wife Carrying Championship. This is the 21st Annual event held at Sunday River and, as you can imagine, some proper health modifications have been made.

Normally two sets of competitors will race on an obstacle course style track. This year, every race will be run individually.

Masks are required at all times, except when competitors are completing their timed run.

 

Couples will race against the clock, rather than head-to-head.

 

The couple with the fastest time overall will be named the champion; there will be no head-to-head heat for the finals

- Karolyn Castaldo ; Sunday River Press Release

The event will be happening on Friday, October 9th this year and not on the traditional Saturday date in an effort to limit the overall spectator crowd.

This is some serious business though as the winner receives the wife's weight in beer and FIVE TIMES her weight in cash.

The monetary exchange weight for a wife in this contest has always confused me a bit. Usually it isn't as astronomical as you would think, I've always theorized that it's a dollar per pound.

Aside from those spoils of victory, the winning couple also gets a trip to Finland to compete in The World Championship. This will be held in the Summer of 2021.

Usually the winning couple is from a younger demographic, not married and the man is about the size of Rob Gronkowski while his female counterpart is similar in stature to Angela from the NBC TV show The Office (Weighs 82 Lbs).

There have been married winners in the past but being married in NOT a requirement.

I'm glad to see that much like the other prestigious sports, The Wife Carrying tradition will continue in Newry this year with the concern for everyone's health and well being at the forefront.