Lets go racing

Posted: December 03, 2008

Many local communities around Australia run off-beat races. These events usually include lots of other entertainment, children's games and markets, and most aim to raise money for charity.

How about the Alice Springs Camel Cup? This started in 1975 and is run in July. Camels are temperamental, selfish, unpredictable and very entertaining. One novelty race involves a ‘groom' racing the camel halfway around the track and then stopping to pick up his ‘bride' before racing to the finish.

Most large agricultural shows, such as the Sydney Show, will have pig racing as well as pigs diving off a high board into a swimming pool. Nindigully, near St George in western Queensland runs an annual pig racing carnival in November to raise money for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

You can see crab racing every Wednesday night at the ‘Friend in Hand' pub in the Sydney suburb of Glebe. Fresh crabs are flown in from Perth every week to keep the competition lively. The Story Bridge Hotel in Brisbane has been racing cockroaches on Australia Day every year since 1982. You can BYO cockroach or buy one on the day.

There is a special Queensland Act of Parliament that governs the conditions under which the lizard racing world championships are conducted. Lizards must be carefully
handled and returned to the wild when the races are over - no artificial stimulants or unnatural heating is allowed. The races are held in August at Eulo, a one-pub town just west of Cunnamulla.

If you would like to participate in unusual races, there are two obvious choices: the Henley-on-Todd regatta and the Australian wife carrying championships.

The regatta is held in the Todd River at Alice Springs in late August. The event is now in its 46th year and contestants run on the dry river bed carrying their ‘boats'. There is a Grand Parade and prizes for the most creative constructions.

The wife carrying championships are held at Singleton in April. Men must carry a woman (not necessarily their wife) over an obstacle course in the shortest possible time. The winners go to Finland to represent Australia in the world championships.

What could you race to raise money for charity?