(July 23, 2015) It says something about a small town when three grown men wearing bathrobes and shower caps can lead a parade of makeshift bathtubs down Main Street on a Friday evening and not one of the hundreds of people in attendance seemed at all fazed.
Such was the scene during the 2015 Bathtub Races in Berlin, just minutes before the start of the actual competition, which lasted just over an hour and saw Berlin’s Water Resources Department take home the coveted “Winner Takes All” trophy, narrowly beating out the Bayside Gazette team during the decisive heat.
Water Resources nearly took the trophy last year as well, but came up short after blowing a tire.
“We definitely came with extra inner tubes this year,” said Sean Cooper, who drove the town’s “tub” during the last race.
Cooper and Ryan Showell, both employees at Water Resources, switched off on steering and pushing duties during several previous heats.
Cooper said the department, which “inherited” the racer last year, made a few special modifications to make it lighter for this year’s event.
“It felt good to get the win,” Cooper said. “I felt like we had it last year if we didn’t have our tire blow out, but it felt good to get it this year.”
For the Gazette, Mardi Davis steered the second-place racer, while 17-year-old Evan Haas pushed.
“It was a lot of fun pushing the tub for the Bayside Gazette,” he said. “I never thought we would do so well, but I gave it all I had and we won a lot of races.”
Davis said Haas made her job easy.
“All I had to do was steer it straight,” she said. “I was glad I was the rider, because we definitely wouldn’t have made it to second place with me as the runner.”
Bayside Gazette Publisher Elaine Brady said she was happy with the result.
“This is one of the most fun events in Berlin and we were thrilled to take second place this year,” she said. “Next year it’s game on Town of Berlin!”
The Berlin Chamber of Commerce presented the races, with area businesses acting as sponsors at each heat.
Chamber Administrator Morgan Coulson said the turnout was unprecedented.
“I think we had more people attend the Bathtub Races this year than even last year when we won ‘America’s cool small town,’” she said. “The Bathtub Races are a beloved event that the town holds annually, and it was especially important to us that we have such a good turnout this year because we just changed administration at the chamber. This proves that we really have a strong future ahead of us.”
Coulson said the races provided a great opportunity for the chamber to promote its membership.
“Delmarva Bath and the Church Mouse both stepped up and acted as our finish line sponsors, and I think it’s obvious that anyone who attended that everyone was having a great time,” she said.
Such was the scene during the 2015 Bathtub Races in Berlin, just minutes before the start of the actual competition, which lasted just over an hour and saw Berlin’s Water Resources Department take home the coveted “Winner Takes All” trophy, narrowly beating out the Bayside Gazette team during the decisive heat.
Water Resources nearly took the trophy last year as well, but came up short after blowing a tire.
“We definitely came with extra inner tubes this year,” said Sean Cooper, who drove the town’s “tub” during the last race.
Cooper and Ryan Showell, both employees at Water Resources, switched off on steering and pushing duties during several previous heats.
Cooper said the department, which “inherited” the racer last year, made a few special modifications to make it lighter for this year’s event.
“It felt good to get the win,” Cooper said. “I felt like we had it last year if we didn’t have our tire blow out, but it felt good to get it this year.”
For the Gazette, Mardi Davis steered the second-place racer, while 17-year-old Evan Haas pushed.
“It was a lot of fun pushing the tub for the Bayside Gazette,” he said. “I never thought we would do so well, but I gave it all I had and we won a lot of races.”
Davis said Haas made her job easy.
“All I had to do was steer it straight,” she said. “I was glad I was the rider, because we definitely wouldn’t have made it to second place with me as the runner.”
Bayside Gazette Publisher Elaine Brady said she was happy with the result.
“This is one of the most fun events in Berlin and we were thrilled to take second place this year,” she said. “Next year it’s game on Town of Berlin!”
The Berlin Chamber of Commerce presented the races, with area businesses acting as sponsors at each heat.
Chamber Administrator Morgan Coulson said the turnout was unprecedented.
“I think we had more people attend the Bathtub Races this year than even last year when we won ‘America’s cool small town,’” she said. “The Bathtub Races are a beloved event that the town holds annually, and it was especially important to us that we have such a good turnout this year because we just changed administration at the chamber. This proves that we really have a strong future ahead of us.”
Coulson said the races provided a great opportunity for the chamber to promote its membership.
“Delmarva Bath and the Church Mouse both stepped up and acted as our finish line sponsors, and I think it’s obvious that anyone who attended that everyone was having a great time,” she said.