Wife Carrying Competition at Muff Festival 2016!
Yes, you read the headline right! Muff Festival 2016 is indeed hosting a ‘Wife Carrying Cometition’.
A local brewery here in Muff is offering the chance to ‘win your wife’s weight in beer’ if you come first in this wife carrying contest. Are you game to enter? Or rather, is your wife game to enter?
Bog Hopper Brewery in Muff is hosting the contest at this years festival on Sunday July 31.
The rules of the competition state that if you can carry your wife – or someone else’s – over the short course “dodging those few tricky obstacles, in the shortest time, you can trade her in for beer at the other end”.
Áine Mullan of Bog Hopper Brewery said the idea was inspired by a cookery show she and her husband David watched on television. “We first got the idea when we were watching the Hairy Bikers touring Scandinavia and they featured a wife carrying contest,” she said.
“I was seven months pregnant at the time and joked that hubby would win loads of beer carrying me…if only he was more buff.”
Mrs Mullan says that the event is part of the brewery’s plan to combat ‘beer snobbery’
“This is the kind of event that perfectly captures the ethos of our brewery- encouraging people to try something new and fun whilst not taking themselves too seriously.”
“There’s been a big move to craft beer or artisan beer in this country over the past 10 years and there is some danger of beer snobbery becoming the new wine snobbery. We like to counteract that by injecting a little fun into the whole scene.”
Participating teams must consist of one man and one woman, both 18 or over, with the man carrying the woman. Female competitors must agree to be weighed prior to the competition and must weigh at least 50kg. Anyone lighter must carry a backpack to bring the total carried weight to 50kg.
If ‘any part of the wife’ touches the ground before reaching the finish line, the couple will be immediately disqualified.
The brewery also states that each contestant is responsible for their own safety. “Bog Hopper Brewery accepts no responsibility for any injuries, loss of life or limb, or any unwanted pregnancies arising from this event.” So do be sure that you are in shape prior to entering….both husband and wife!!!
The 35th Muff Festival is happening in the village from Friday July 29 until Monday August 1. It’s certainly shaping up to be a good one!
GMcC