Those looking for a taste of small town excitement — and homemade perogies — found it at Theodore's fifth annual SuperSwamper competition on August 11.
Planning for Theodore's largest event starts over six months in advance, said organizer Colleen Bilokreli.
A beer garden, beach volleyball tournament, truck and ATV mudfling competitions, kids bouncer area, supper and a dance filled the day. The activities started at around noon and carried long into the night.
Beach volleyball was added two years ago as an extra attraction to the growing event. The winning team took home $1000. But at the end of the day it all comes back to the mud.
The single-purpose area consists of a U-shaped path created for the drivers. It is filled with water and quickly becomes a major challenge as drivers stir up the clay-like mud.
ATVs faced the challenge without a single participant getting stuck, although two did flip sideways.
For many trucks, making it to the finish line in a continuous motion proved too much. The track hoe was a common sight as it towed trucks out of the mud. Watching people get stuck is part of the attraction, explained competitor Ryan Bartel.
A big draw for competitors was the $1000 first place prize, with second winning $200 and third $100. This was the highest pay out the competition has ever had, said organizer Alison Norbert.
Anyone with old tires was invited to make use of a cement pad in the middle of the competition area. Burnouts entertained visually while the wind carried the strong odour and smoke of burnt rubber straight to the audience's nostrils.
A secret event is revealed each year. This year it was a Survivor-style obstacle course. A prize of $500 enticed many to run across a beam over the muddy track, eat either a raw or scrambled egg, swing back on a rope, and drink either a beer for adults or root beer for children. Going shirtless while wearing jeans and shoes was almost uniform among male competitors. This was a wise choice as many got muddy and some even lost shoes in the process.
The prize was added to making the final prize worth $750 at the end.
The finalists had to go through three elimination rounds, making the $750 prize well-earned.
The night continued with a pulled pork supper and a dance with the band Shameless.
