
Camden Braces For Thousands Of Visitors As Toboggan Championships Take Place
It's a competition unlike many others where teams of 2, 3, and 4 people climb up to the top of a wooden chute and then race down it, on a toboggan, to see which group can achieve the fastest run.
The 34th Annual U.S. National Toboggan Championships is set to take place this weekend in Camden. According to the Event Page, it will run Friday, January 31st through Sunday, February 2nd next to the slopes at the Camden Snow Bowl.
"The Camden Snow Bowl hosts another weekend of outdoor fun, camaraderie, and spirited competition as a field of nearly 400 teams and 1,200 racers from all over the country compete in the exhilarating sport of traditional wooden toboggan racing...There is no fee for spectators, but parking at the Snow Bowl is $20/ca,r and space is limited as racers arrive early and fill the parking lot. Free shuttle bus services run from the Village Green downtown to the Snow Bowl all weekend."
There's also an "Experimental" division, where toboggans that don't meet the strict standards or criteria of the competitive divisions, can still get their turn in the chute!
With many teams reaching speeds up to 40 miles an hour while zipping down the 400-foot chute, once they make it through the wood, it's out onto the clear ice along Hosmer's pond. Some even make it all the way across!
As the U.S. National Toboggan Championships website explains, there's quite a bit of history associated not only with this race but the chute itself.
"The original chute was built in 1936 by volunteers who also built a ski lodge and ski hill, one of the earliest lift-service ski venues in America. The chute was rebuilt in 1954 by local Coast Guardsmen and was used regularly by the local community until 1964 when its use ceased due to neglect causing structural issues that made it unsafe.
In 1990 the toboggan chute was resurrected once again by another group of volunteers and material donors, who combined original timbers and pressure-treated wood to rebuild what would become known as the Jack Williams Toboggan Chute in honor of the man who spearheaded the community initiative."
The Toboggan Championships attract thousands of people from all over the world to the region. Many wear costumes and make a weekend of it by tailgating and watching the races, not just participating in them.
We're told that team check-in will take place on Friday, January 31st, with races happening on Saturday and Sunday, February 1st and 2nd.
There will be food trucks and vendors on-site for the duration of the weekend. All the proceeds from the races go directly to the upkeep and operation of the Camden Snow Bowl, which is nearly $1 million a year.
If you'd like to get a little look at what these championships look like, take a look at this video.
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