CRATE RACE

The International Great Crate Race

• The crate races take place at 2 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 7

• Registration line begins at 5 a.m. and registration opens at 7 a.m.

• Weight classes include featherweight (up to 75 pounds), lightweight (76-125 pounds), medium weight (126-175 pounds), and heavyweight (176 and heavier).

The Maine Lobster Festival’s International Great Crate Race is the original crate race, invented by William Atwood in the 1970s and managed by him and his family for more than 20 years. Taking the challenge of scampering across a string of floating wood lobster crates is, without a doubt, among the biggest splashes at the annual Maine Lobster Festival. This test of balance and endurance — and sometimes a bit of theatrics — is a major attraction that regularly draws hundreds of spectators.

The International Great Crate Race begins at 2 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 7, at the waterfront, adjacent to the Festival grounds. Competitors must register in advance. Registration at the information booth starts at 7 a.m. Sunday, and the limited numbers of slots fill up within minutes. If you are interested in registering, we highly recommend being there up to two hours early. The fee is $15 for contestants 12 and older and $10 for children 11 and younger.

Lobster crate racing requires speed, quick feet, balance and, above all else, the ability to withstand a dunking in chilly Maine waters because most competitors do end up in the drink.

The race course is a string of 50 lobster storage crates stretching across a section of Rockland's inner harbor in full view of the festival grounds. While trying to reach the other end, contestants scamper across the barely floating lobster crates. If successful, a contestant turns and heads back to the other end. The "race" for each runner continues until a fall into the water occurs or until exhaustion takes over.

Inevitably, the water wins.

Susan Lundquist’s long-standing record of 3,007 crates was broken in 2008 by Andrew Bachiochi. Bachiochi set a new record by running 4,501 crates. In 2012, crate race champion Connor McGonagle, age 12, of Owls Head, Maine, smashed Bachiochi’s record when he wowed the crowd by covering 6,000 crates. He never did fall!

In 2014, we had a tie for winners: Scarlett Flint, 7, of Warren, Maine, and Harrison Page, 9, of South Berwick, Maine. Neither winner ever fell in! In 2015, Flint returned and successfully defended her title after running an incredible 3,000 crates without ever falling in. In 2016 she again defended her title, winning with 1,500 crates.

The 2019 winner with 2,965 crates was Sean Griffith, 11, of Fairfax Station, Virginia.

Each year’s Great Crate Race attracts plenty of contestants, and a large crowd - get there early! It’s a sight not to be missed and an event certainly worth trying, if for no other reason than the memory and the ability to brag that you challenged the crates at the Maine Lobster Festival.

Tips for running the crates

If you’ve made up your mind to take the challenge of running the lobster crates, here are some tips to keep in mind: • Wear something on your feet (not sandals).

Bare feet trying to find traction on the wet wood crates is an exercise in futility. • Move with speed. Trying to take a Sunday stroll on the string of crates is a sure-fire way to get wet quickly. • If (when) you begin falling, try to fall to the left or right so that you will land squarely in the water and not on any part of the crates. • Race organizers keep rowboats in the water to assist contestants who take the plunge. Don't be

embarrassed to accept a ride back to shore.

• Acrobatic falls get a lot of applause from the audience. Smile for the cameras as you fall. • Have fun. You'll never forget the challenge of racing the crates.