Press Releases

Extreme Couples’ Therapy

12th Annual North American Wife Carrying Championship Set for October 8, 2011; registration begins in September

Newry, ME (Summer 2011)—The traditional vow exclaiming “to have and to hold” will take on a whole new meaning for the 50 couples set to compete in Sunday River Resort’s 12th annual North American Wife Carrying Championships (NAWCC) on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011.

Wildly popular and recently featured on the Travel Channel’s “Bert the Conqueror,” the North American Wife Carrying Championship draws thousands of spectators to the slopes of Sunday River each fall. The event, however, is open only to the first 50 couples who register through the resort’s website, www.sundayriver.com, starting on Friday, September 8, 2011.

For the event, Sunday River will build a regulation size 278-yard obstacle course. Features within the course will include log hurdles, sand traps, and the always popular “widow maker” water hazard. 

The carry is the competitors' choice, though most use the "Estonian" carry, where the wife holds her husband around the waist and tightens her legs around his neck, thereby freeing the husband's hands.

Prequalification is not required to enter the North American Wife Carrying Championship. Teams do not have to comprise of married couples, but they must comprise of a man and a woman and both must be at least 21 years old to enter. The winning couple from this year’s event will win the wife’s weight in beer, five times her weight in cash and an entry into the World Championship, which takes place in Finland the following summer.

Besides the annual World Competition in Finland, there are several regional competitions in the United States. Previous winners of the NAWCC at Sunday River have included winners from competitions in Oklahoma and Canada.

The legend behind the NAWCC is based on 19th century Finnish legend “Ronkainen the Robber” who had high qualifications for the men he accepted into his band. To prove their worth, men had to compete through a difficult course with a heavy sack or woman grabbed from neighboring villages on their back.

The first modern-day wife carrying event was held in Finland 1991 and foreign contestants were admitted in 1995. Qualifiers are also held in Australia, Sweden, and Estonia.

Registration for the NAWCC starts on September 8, 2011, and is open up until the day of the event. For more information on the North American Wife Carrying Championship, visit www.sundayriver.com. 

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