HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, Arkansas — Hot Springs’ World Championship Running of the Tubs bathtub races will be featured on nationwide television in July when the PBS program “Wild Travels” showcases the fun-filled competition.
“I’ve seen a little preview of the program, and it really captures the spirit of outrageous fun that the Running of the Tubs has brought to Hot Springs for 17 years now,” Visit Hot Springs Marketing Director Bill Solleder said. “We’ve already signed up five team for this year’s 18th Running, including the Austin Weirdos team from Texas. And we’ve got the Bathhouse Soapery and Caldarium on board as our corporate sponsor.”
Solleder said the “Wild Travels” team was in town to film the 2021 races, and the segment includes exciting footage of cameras following individual teams down the length of historic Bathhouse Row on Central Avenue.
“They were able to incorporate all the funny little rules that make the races so much fun,” Solleder said, “including the ‘fire drills’ in the middle of the race where all the team members have to run a lap around their tubs before proceeding.
“The segment also has interviews with the competitors, including the members of the Hot Springs Police Department and Fire Department competing in the ‘Battle of the Badge.’ There are cool scenes of the crowds that line both sides of Central and squirt the competitors with Super Soakers.”
Solleder said the schedule for the broadcast hasn’t been announced yet, but that a preview of the segment is available at https://youtu.be/qgiQJ77WK7c
Harvey Moshman, the announcer for the show, told Solleder that “Wild Travels” is seen on PBS stations in 170 markets, and that “We have an ongoing special program — ‘America’s Most Unusual Festivals’ that this segment would certainly qualify for.” He said the “Festivals” shows have played not only on PBS in the U.S., but also on Roku in the United Kingdom and Canada and in Poland, Taiwan and other countries.
The bathtub races will be held on Saturday, June 1, along World Famous Bathhouse Row in downtown Hot Springs.
"Last year we saw more out of state teams than ever before,” Visit Hot Springs Special Events Manager Alexis Hampo said. “They included teams from Memphis, Austin, Texas ,Texarkana, Texas, and Carrollton, Texas. We’re hoping those entries opened the gates for even more participants from outside Arkansas to come to Hot Springs and join the fun alongside our great Arkansas competitors."
The weekend of hilarious fun starts Friday evening, May 31, 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 1, from the starting line in front of the Arlington Resort Hotel and Spa at the north end of the famed bathhouses along Central Avenue.
The races have drawn national attention as teams dress in wacky costumes to push regulation-sized bathtubs full of water and a driver through the historic downtown district of America’s Spa, which once had as its slogan “We Bathe The World.”
The bathtub races, which began in 2005, were canceled in 2020 because of the COVID pandemic. This year’s event will be the 18th 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,” 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.”
"I'm looking forward to seeing all the exciting costumes, themes, and tub designs,” Hampo said. “They just seem to get better each year."
Prizes are awarded in six categories: Traditional, Modified, Stock, Most Spirited, Most Original and Best Overall. The Traditional division is open to cast iron bathtubs. The Modified division is open to plastic or fiberglass tubs. The Stock division is open to nonprofits, religious and governmental organizations. Visit Hot Springs provides free tubs to those entrants.
There is also the traditional Battle of the Badge, which pits teams from the Hot Springs Fire Department and the Hot Springs Police Department against each other in a “grudge match.”
All teams consist of five members, with four pushing the tub and one member steering. Tubs must be at least 48 inches long and 24 inches wide. The wheels on the tub cannot exceed 30 inches in diameter mounted on axles, and may not exceed 44 inches wide. Costumes are required.
"While there is a long list of rules, these rules change slightly every year based on the judges’ whim, which makes the outcome of every race surprising and exciting,” Hampo said. “You never know who is going to win The World Championship Running of the Tubs."
The 2024 entry deadline is Friday, May 10. The entry fee is $25. The sign-up link and full list of rules at: https://www.hotsprings.org/events/world-championship-running-of-the-tubs/
The Judging of the Tubs and the Running of the Tubs is free for spectators.
For information contact Alexis Hampo at 501-321-2027.
