Shreveport Team Enters the Annual Running of the Tubs

The Stueart Pennington World Championship Running of the Tubs is a time-honored tradition in Hot Springs.  This Arkansas staple pits teams from far and wide against each other in one of the most classic athletic competitions known to man - bathtub racing.  This year, the long-running (and slippery) tradition will welcome its second out-of-state contestants - and they're from Shreveport!  The Treasure Isle RV Park Team may be representing an RV park in Arkansas, but it will be completely manned by the Ratchet City's finest bath-runners.

The Shreveporters will join the Austin Weirdos as the "outsiders" in the 14th annual iteration of this classic event.  According to the Hot Springs Sentinel Record, this meet will observe the traditional bathtub racing rules:

 Each team consists of a captain, who rides in the tub, a Bath Towel Attendant, a Bath Mat Attendant, a Soap Attendant, and a Loofah Mitt Attendant...During the race, each team member must keep one hand on the tub at all times while holding their designated item in the other hand. If any team member drops their item, the tub must stop until that team member retrieves the item.  The team must then make one complete circle of the tub before the team can restart the tub. If any team member lets go of the tub for any reason, the tub must stop and all attendants must change positions before the tub restarts.  Each team crossing the finish line must still have in its possession the bar of soap, bath mat, loofah mitt and bath towel or else be disqualified."

Believe it or not, the rules get way more complicated.  Like "you can't argue with the judges or you will be banned until another Arkansas-native is elected President of the United States," and several rules about the placement of and what kind of stickers are allowed on your tub.

After watching a video of the event, I am strangely intrigued.  If you can't make it to the race June 1st at 9 a.m. on Central Avenue in front of Bathhouse Row in beautiful Hot Springs - you can still catch all of the action.  All off the burgeoning bathtub race fans from around the world can catch the action on ESPN (who will be broadcasting live from the finish line) or on one of the several live-streams available.

Here's a little preview: