Wife Carrying World Championships

 

The Wife Carrying World Championships, where the dropping and bouncing of wives incurs fine, are held in Finland every July with the winner receiving the prize of wife's weight in beer. 2010 marks the 15th annual championship and there were 52 entrants including couples from Australia, Ireland, Estonia, Poland and Finland. There is a new exciting track with a water section.

There are rules set by the International Wife Carrying Competition Rules Committee such as

• "The minimum weight of the wife to be carried is 49 kilos. If it is less than 49 kilos, the wife will be burdened with such a heavy rucksack that the total weight to be carried is 49 kilos.
• Everyone taking part in the Wife Carrying Sprint must have fun
• If a contestant drops his wife that couple will be fined 15 seconds per drop

Sonkajarvi is in eastern Finland and has a population of 4,673 in 2010.

For more photos of the championships held in Sonkajarvi go to

ArtoLovesMiki.net - pictures of Finland and Japan.

How to Become a Master in Wife Carrying includes information such as how to train, the attitude required and the outfit needed.

Municipality of Sonkajärvi – Official site (in Finnish)

Thank you Arto and Miki for the photo.