WeddingDates.ie

The Irish heats for the 2010 Wife Carrying Championships in Finland were held last weekend in Sneem, Co. Kerry as part of the Sneem Family Festival

Naturally, the weddingdates.ie team were out in force and James and Ciara managed to improve their time to 1 minute 38 seconds!! Not bad for the couple who came 35th out of 35 in Finland!  Paul and Claire came in a time of 1 min 52 secs but it was last years 2nd prize winner Kate Whelan (carried this year by Fintan Lawton from Kinsale) who made the podium to collect flowers, champage and a very respectable 3rd place with a time of 1 minute 17seconds.  Unfortunatly they weren’t allowed wear their weddingdates.ie T-shirts on stage though as the event was sponsored by Paddy Power.

A publicity photo was taken for d’paper and I was delighted to see myself and James in both the Irish Times AND the Independant yesterday (even if it wasn’t the most flattering pic in the world!)

I don’t really think the photos do justice to the hilarity that was the wife-carrying championships in Finland, so we have put together a little YouTube Vid to try to capture the atmosphere.

You can view all of the photos from the trip on our facebook page and why not become a fan while your at it for special news, events and updates!

WeddingDates team, Ciara & James take the plunge!

I think James’ swan-dive into the water might have been what helped us to secure the prize for the “Most Entertaining Couple” at the event!

Trash the Dress - the bride was absolutely SOAKED!

The team event was no less challenging which saw our very own Ciara, being passed like a ‘baton’ among the 3 men who completed the relay with her on their back.

Over the hurdle in the team event

Drinking the special"Wife Carrying Brew"

Well, we’re back in one piece today after the craziness of Finland and happy to report, loaded down with prizes!!  James and I scooped “Most Entertaining Couple” in the main race despite coming 35th out of 35 with a time of 2:22.  We also made up half of the Team who are now ranked #3 in the world for the Wife Carrying Relay Race - I was the baton!  I was ably carried by Gerard O’Shea (Caherdaniel, Kerry), Vincent O’SUllivan (Waterville, Co, Kerry) and James Kennedy (Blackrock, Cork)

Roll on next year - back to Sonkajarvi, Finland to defend our titles!

**  PRESS RELEASE  **

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
6 July, 2009

CONTACT:
Ciara Crossan
WeddingDates.ie
T: 021-4928993
M: 087-9577733
Email: ciara@weddingdates.ie

SHE AIN’T HEAVY, SHE’S MY WIFE!
Irish Team Storms World Wife Carrying Championships in Finland

Ireland have swept the board at the World Wife Carrying Championships in Finland this weekend, winning prizes in 2 out of the 3 races.

Part of the Irish contingent consisted of Ciara Crossan and James Kennedy who won “Most Entertaining Couple” for their hilarious race around the track which saw James swan-dive into the 1 meter deep water obstacle and a cheeky shortcut to the Finish Line.  Which had the crows in rapturous applause, chanting “Ole, ole, ole!”

Crossan, who runs Irish website www.weddingdates.ie was delighted to be in Finland for the event saying, “The Finns have a great sense of humour and really know how to entertain the international audience.  The ethos of www.WeddingDates.ie is all about enjoying your wedding and not letting the planning stress you out and what better way to do that than to take part in a bit of wife-carrying?!”

Her partner James Kennedy was impressed by the hospitality of the Finnish saying “ I have never felt more welcome in a place before – we will definitely be back next year to defend our title and enjoy more of the Finnish warmth.”

Ciara and James were also part of the relay team who are now ranked # 3 in the World with their team-mates Vincent O’Sullivan (Waterville, Co. Kerry) and Gerard O’Shea (Caherdaniel, Co, Kerry).  The relay was run on the same course as the main event (250 meter course, 2 dry hurdle obstacles and 1 water obstacle) but required the “wife” to be the baton, being passed between the three “husbands”.  During the handover the runners had to down a bottle of special “wife carrying brew”.  Gerard O’Shea, commented after the race: “It was the Irish drinking culture that swung it for us in the end – we had no problem in downing that drink!”

Last years Irish Champions at the First Annual Irish Wife Carrying Competition held at the Sneem Festival, won an all expenses paid trip to Finland and the Irish duo came in a very respectable 8th place with a time of 1 minute 13 seconds (8/35).  The Kerry couple would have been in the top spots, but lost out due to a stumble right at the finish line which added a 5 second penalty.    Aoife Desmond and John O’Shea from Caherdaniel, Co. Kerry commented “now we know the track and the level of the competition we’ll be better prepared next year.”  The top prize of the Wife’s Weight in Beer was won by a Finnish couple who have been vying for the title for 12 years.  Their time was an impressive 1 minute 2 seconds.
All 6 of the Irish competitors are determined to return next year to defend their title.  Sneem Co. Kerry is the home of Irish Wife Carrying and anyone interested in taking part in what has to be one of the most unusual world-sporting events can try their luck against the Irish champs at the Sneem Family Festival on July 25th.  Check out www.sneemfestival.com for more details.
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Note to Editors: WeddingDates.ie [ http://www.weddingdates.ie ] is an Irish website that helps engaged couples search for wedding reception venues available on their chosen wedding date.  WeddingDates.ie proudly supported the Irish Wife Carrying Team in Finland.

Normal blogging will resume next week but today we are out of the office in Finland.  Flying the flag for Ireland in the World Wife Carrying Championships!  If you want a bit of the action today, follow @WeddingDates on twitter for live tweeting of the event, hashtag #wifecarrying.  Hopefully will be getting some radio/press coverage out of this too, so keep an eye/ear out for me!  Press Release below.

** PRESS RELEASE **

Team represents Ireland in World Wife Carrying Competition

DUBLIN – Excited couples from around the world travel to Finland this week on an annual pilgrimage to participate in the World Wife Carrying Championships. The tiny hamlet of Sonkajärvi has been home to this unusual international event for 13 years, and will once again host Ireland’s team in a race to matrimonial glory.

After winning the preliminary race at the Sneem Summer Festival last summer and beating off stiff competition from 29 other couples, John O’Shea and Aoife Desmond from Kerry will be heading off to the lake district of Finland to represent Ireland in this year’s Championships along with Ciara Crossan and James Kennedy from Cork. Teams from 10 other countries ran national heats for the contest, including Japan, China, USA, Australia, UK, Kenya, Sweden, Germany and Estonia.

Along with the wife carrying world championships there is also a team (relay) and a sprint competition.  In the team competition the track is the same, but the three men from one team carry the wife in turns. At the exchange point the carrier has to drink the official “wife carrying drink” before continuing the race.

A special prize will also be awarded to the team wearing the best costumes.  No strangers to fancy dress, a participants in last years Irish heats Ciara Crossan and her partner completed the event in full wedding attire – a wedding dress and tux!

Crossan, who runs Irish website www.weddingdates.ie is also travelling to Finland to compete in the event.  “After doing the wife carrying in Sneem last year, we just had to go along to Finland to fly the flag for Ireland,” she explained.  “Irish couples are some of the most tenacious and humorous in the world – two qualities well needed in this competition!”  Crossan and her partner James hope to score points with the judges for the fancy dress comeptition when they arrive in their wedding gear.

Official Rules of Wife Carrying:

• The length of the official track is 253.5 metres. Its surface is partially sand, grass and asphalt.
• The track has two dry obstacles and one water obstacle, about a meter deep.
• The wife to be carried may be your own, the neighbour’s or you may have found her farther ahead; she must, however, be over 17 years of age.
• The minimum weight of the wife to be carried is 49 kilos. If she weighs less, she will be burdened with a heavy rucksack to reach the desired minimum weight.
• The winner is the couple who completes the course in the shortest time.
• If a contestant drops his wife, the couple will be fined 15 seconds per a drop.

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WeddingDates.ie is proudly supporting the Irish Wife Carrying Team and is available for radio/press interviews from Finland.  WeddingDates will also be live Twittering the event [@WeddingDates] with the hashtag #wifecarrying