Wife-Carrying Championship Proves Chivalry Isn't Dead

Think chivalry is dead? It's clearly not to a few dozen buff gentleman who are gathering in Maine this weekend for the 10th Annual Wife Carrying Championship.

The competition is pretty much as it sounds: a guy must carry his wife (or female companion) through a 278-yard obstacle course. He can carry his lady anyway he wants, but all previous winners have employed what's known as the Estonian carry, which has the woman upside down with arms her wrapped around the man's waist and her legs draped over his shoulders. In other words, her butt sticks up in the air, but it frees the man's arms to use during the competition.

The event takes place at the Sunday River Ski Resort, and the host's website offers a description of a fairly grueling course, which begins with an uphill run on a dirt road and continues through a field, a 10-meter long waist-deep water obstacle, and then downhill and over two 39-inch high log hurdles. (Remember, if the woman is in the Estonian carry, the poor thing is upside down the entire time - I can't even imagine the head rush she must have when it's all done.)

What does a couple win for all this? The wife's weight in beer and the wife's weight five times in cash -- meaning this might be one of the only times a lady would willingly round up.

If this whole contest sounds a little Hagar the Horrible-ish to you, well, you're on the right track. According to Sunday River the contest has its roots in Finnish history. Notorious criminal Rankainen the Robber imposed strong physical standards on men he considered for his band. To qualify, the men had to complete a difficult course with a heavy sack on their backs. It was also not uncommon for men to steal women from neighboring villages.

If this whole wife carrying thing sounds a little unfair to the women, we neglected to share one other detail about this competition: a woman can carry her husband instead if she so chooses.

So chivalry isn't dead, and women's lib isn't either.

Front photo by (JIM WATSON/Staff/AFP). Inset photo courtesy of TheGiantVermin via Flickr.