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If you're a sports fan looking for something a bit different,
a marathon runner searching for a new challenge, or even a
woman looking for free transportation over 279 slightly bumpy
yards, look no further than the Wife Carrying Championships
held in the village of Sonkajärvi. Held in the
village itself, around 250 miles from Helsinki, this is the
twelfth consecutive time the Championships have taken place.
And the crowds turning up to cheer on contestants and their
brave other halves are getting bigger each year - around 12,000
people made the trip this year alone.
History of the Wife Carrying Championships
The first wife-carrying championship held in this century
happened in 1992, as an idea to liven up a village fair. Since
then, there's been strong competition amongst other Finnish
villages to stage the weirdest competition in order to get
some of the limelight. Other events staged in Finland this
year included world championships in sauna sitting, mosquito
swatting, mobile phone throwing, air guitar, boot throwing
and swamp soccer. But none of these have proved
as popular - or as world-famous - as the Wife Carrying
Championships. Contestants come from neighbouring countries
like Estonia, but also America and even South Korea. The crowds
of spectators are just as international as those taking part
in the frantic race.
If you believe the Sonkajärvi locals, there used to
be good reason to develop some wife-carrying skills. Back
in the nineteenth century, a dodgy bandit known as Ronkainen
started a trend of raiding outlying Finnish villages by night,
grabbing wives from men's beds as they slept and running off
with them into the hills. Who knows, maybe he didn't have
much luck chatting up ladies in the usual manner. And why
isn't there a Bandit-Chasing Championship instead?
What happens at the Wife Carrying Championship?
These questions aside, the sport of wife-carrying has come
a long way since the early days, and the 21st century version
is more to do with entertainment than kidnapping. Although
you're still allowed to carry other people's wives as part
of the contest, it seems they all have to be returned at the
end. In fact, it's not even necessary to be married, as long
as "wives" are over 17 years old, and weigh more
than the minimum 108 pounds.
In 2003 the course was 279 yards from start to finish, including
a water obstacle and two wooden hurdles. Dropping your wife
carried a penalty of 15 points, not to mention a telling-off
from her, which was probably worse. Back in the 19th century
a bandit winning the wife-carrying race got to keep the woman
as a prize. Modern-day runners-up have to settle for a choice
of random goods such as mobiles or toasters, or sometimes
cash, with the overall winner receiving the weight of his
wife in beer. Now that's a race worth running!
travellers tips
The race takes place in July each year, with most hotels being
sold out in advance, so make your bookings early on. You can
fly direct to Helsinki with several major airlines, including
Finnair. From there, take a connecting flight to Kuopio
Airport, which is about 50 miles north of Sonkarjärvi.
The last part of the journey can be done by bus. |
