The unique and intensely fun “sport” of wife-carrying which made its debut at the 2023 Lakeland Country Fair is coming back.
The wife carrying competition gets underway on the grounds of Lac La Biche’s Lakeland Agricom on Saturday, July 13, one of the events at this year’s Lakeland Country Fair that runs July 12 and 13.
Aurel Langevin, the president of the Lac La Biche Agricultural Society, says the whole weekend is fun and family-themed. The wife-carrying race is the newest addition to the family.
The race is the only one in Canada that is sanctioned by the North American Wife Carrying Championship. Langevin says that although it is very unique, the rules and criteria to enter are quite simple. He says carriers must be able to transport their partners through a 270-yard course comprised of three dry obstacles and one wet obstacle without stopping or dropping their partner. Despite the term “wife” in the race title, teammates are not required to be legally married, but must be 20 years of age or older.
It also really helps if you are fairly well-known to each other, joked Langevin, considering the relatively close contact needed to compete.
“You start with your partner on your back, and you finish with your partner on your back,” he told Lakeland This Week.
While the second annual wife carrying competition follows the same format as last year, there are a few new rule changes for this year. Instead of a top-two winners’ circle last year, the top three teams will be recognized this year
“There won’t be a race-off…it’ll just be the three with the fastest time…and we’ll have a first, second and third place,” he said.
Win your weight in beer
Prize will be similar to last year, with the winners taking home an amount of beer equivalent to the weight of the person who was carried. The winning team will also use a similar equation for a cash prize.
Speaking of weight, another change happening for this year’s wife carrying competition is that there will be a minimum weight requirement for the person being carried. This requirement, Langevin added, is now a “world criteria” for all wife-carrying events.
Ankle weights added
“The minimum weight of the person carried has got to be 108 pounds,” he said, explaining that for those who are under this number, ankle weights will be added to bring them up to the required 108 pounds.
If the opportunity to go home with cash and beer wasn’t an enticing enough reason to throw your partner on your back and race through a challenging obstacle course, each winning team will also receive four tickets to the Edmonton Riverhawks game that takes place on July 20.
This year's winning team from the Lac La Biche race will also earn free entry to the North American finals this fall at the Sunday River Resort in Maine.
Registrations so for this year’s wife-carrying event have been a little slow, says Lanvevin with only one couple from Saskatoon signing up. However, more calls are coming in from people interested in hitting the obstacle course with their spouses or partners.
Langevin added that there generally isn’t much interest until the beginning of July, and the bulk of participants last year didn’t register until two weeks prior to the contest. Although 20 teams registered, only 13 showed up to race. Of those teams, however, most said they’d be back to try again.
“A lot of them said we’ll be back next year, so I’m just waiting for them to register,” he said with a laugh.
Think you might have what it takes to compete in and even win this year’s wife-carrying competition? To sign up, contact the Lac La Biche Agricultural Society. The registration fee for couples is $25, which includes an Alberta Wife Carrying Championship participation medal.
Lots of Fair events
In addition to taking in wife carrying, those who head on down to the 2024 Lakeland Country Fair will find plenty of other amusements, including the annual horticultural fair, a rodeo on both evenings, a major farmer’s and vendors market, a children’s festival, petting zoo, and musical entertainment.
“It’ll be a good weekend,” Langevin said.
