Four Out-of-state Entries and New Award for Fans Round Out Final Lineup for June 3 Edition Of World Championship Running of the Tubs Bathtub Races
HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, Arkansas — Four out-of-state teams and a new award for the outstanding fan round out the menu of fun slated for Saturday [June 3] as the 2023 Stueart Pennington World Championship Running of the Tubs bathtub races streak down World Famous Bathhouse Row in downtown Hot Springs.
“With four out-of-state teams — three from Texas and one from Memphis — competing, this is sure to be the most Tub-Tastic World Championship Running of the Tubs yet,” Visit Hot Springs Special Events Manager Alexis Hampo said last week in announcing the final lineup of competitors for the 2023 races. “I'm expecting some really energetic and tight races.
“I know some teams train for months in advance, while others don't train at all. But you never know who will take home the Stueart Pennington Cup.”
Hampo said, “We've even introduced a new award this year — the World Champion Fan-Tastic Bath-Tastic Fan Award, so grab your water blasters, bathrobes and water wings and come join the hundreds of fans who line Central Avenue in front of Bathhouse Row to be a part of all the fun.”
Hampo said fans will have the opportunity to snap a picture with the race mascot, Sudzy the Duck, who will be around the entire event.
The weekend of hilarious fun starts Friday evening [June 2] at 6 o’clock with the Judging of the Tubs in Hill Wheatley Plaza at the southern end of Bathhouse Row. The races will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday [June 3] from the starting line in front of the Arlington Resort Hotel and Spa at the north end of the famed bathhouses along Central Avenue.
Hampo said this year’s lineup of teams includes:
Traditional Cast Iron Tubs
1 - Ghost Bathers - Visit Hot Springs.
2 - Riser Ford - Riser Ford - Hot Springs.
3 - Texas Tubsters - Texas Tubsters - Carrollton, Texas.
4 - Bath Bombs Away - Twisted Fork Bar and Grill - Texarkana, Texas.
5 - Run Away Bride - The Waters Hotel - Hot Springs.
Modified Fiberglass or Plastic Tubs
1 - Shake and Bathe - HD Bath Solutions – Memphis.
2 - Oaklawn - Oaklawn - Hot Springs.
3 - Flavortub - The Austin Weirdos - Austin, Texas.
4 - TBD - Hot Springs National Park - Hot Springs.
5 - The Gas Guys - Summit Utilities - Hot Springs.
6 - Lake Ouachita Rangers - United States Army Corp of Engineers, Lake Ouachita - Hot Springs.
7 - Hot Springs Fire Department - Hot Springs Fire Department.
8 - Hot Springs Police Department / Fraternal Order of Police
OP - Hot Springs PD SWAT (Special Water Attack Tub).
Stock Tubs for Nonprofits
1 - Oaklawn Chapel - Oaklawn - Hot Springs.
2 - Spa Pacers - Spa Pacers - Hot Springs.
3 - Skeleton Crew - Chi. St. Vincent Hot Springs Radiology.
4 - Hot Springs Army Recruiting - U.S. Army.
5 - OzMosis - Princess Nora's Warriors - Hot Springs.
The bathtub races, which began in 2005, were canceled in 2020 because of the COVID pandemic. This year’s event will be the 17th running of the event.
The Running of the Tubs is named in honor of the late Hot Springs businessman Stueart Pennington, who advocated tirelessly for the establishment of bathtub races to emphasize Hot Springs’ reputation as a thermal bathing mecca.
“The Running of the Tubs is another of the great family-friendly celebrations that are so popular with our residents and visitors,” Visit Hot Springs Marketing Director Bill Solleder said. “The crowds lining Bathhouse Row and joining in the wacky fun by shooting Super Soakers at the racers have been growing every year as word spreads about this super free event.”
For information contact Alexis Hampo at 501-321-2027.