When it was announced last year that Lac La Biche's Lakeland Country Fair would be Canada's only location to see a sanctioned wife-carrying event, the news travelled quickly. Not quite as quickly as Hylo's Reece Kingdon and his partner Cora Cummings, who raced though the 270-yard obstacle course in the fastest time to win the inaugural event last year — but pretty quickly.
Within days of the first story about the races appearing in the Lakeland This Week newspaper and at www.lakelandtoday.ca, news agencies from near and far were calling Aurel Langevin, the president of the Lac La Biche Agricultural Society for details.
“We got provincial-wide coverage through the media,” Langevin said this week as the second running of the unique race is set to take place during the upcoming Lakeland Country Fair held over the July 12 weekend.
From Down-Under to carry over
But it wasn't just news coverage of the "sport" that came from far afield. Two participants running, jumping and splashing through the Lac La Biche course last year last year were from Australia.
Philippa Bowman and her husband Chris happened to be visiting the region last year on a holiday. The couple who live in Cairns, Queensland, were at a local campsite when they read about the upcoming race. They thought taking part in a wife-carrying competition would be a good memory to have of their time in Alberta.
And it was.
When the Lac La Biche POST newsroom contacted the couple back Down-Under last week, Philippa said that although the couple won't be making the trip again this year, participating in the unique event last year was a great time and very relaxed, although the couple found the sport a lot harder than initially anticipated, being that they had no prior experience.
“Chris called them to ask if we could enter, which was all fine, so we drove up,” she explained. “We had so much fun, and we really enjoyed meeting the other competitors.”
Langevin says he has heard many stories like that since last year's race. And whether they were from local racers or those on the other side of the world, there is a common thread to each comment.
“It’s just pure, pure fun,” he said.
Registration for teams in this year's Wife Carrying Competition during the Lakeland Country Fair can be found at the Lac La Biche Agricultural Society. The registration fee for couples is $25, which includes an Alberta Wife Carrying Championship participation medal.