- Be sure to reserve an outhouse frame in advance of the race by filling out and submitting the entry form and the entry fee.
- You may change the casters (wheels) on the frame to those of your
own choosing, but they must SWIVEL THROUGH 360 DEGREES and BE NO LARGER
THAN 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER. Other modifications to the outhouse frame
(beyond decorating) that are allowed are rope attachment (see below)
and the attachment of the seat of your choice. Other modifications
cannot be permitted.
The outhouse frame must be returned with the original casters in place. - Please take the time to check that the casters are firmly attached to the frame, that the frame is sound, and that your seat is firmly attached. Please contact Ted at 453-3751 if you detect a problem with your frame. You may wish to lubricate your wheels at this time, even though they have been sprayed with lubricant prior to your receiving the frame.
- Your outhouse can be pushed or pulled by TWO RUNNERS, and must have SIDES, a ROOF, and a DOOR (for privacy, of course) as part of its decoration. The ONE RIDER must be provided with a seat firmly attached to the outhouse frame floor, and must wear a SAFETY HELMET.
- Ropes or other flexible pulling devices may be attached at ONE END
EACH. This means NO LOOPS. Many teams in the past have used one runner
pushing and one runner pulling with good success. It is suggested that
for greatest safety any ropes be attached to the outhouse frame floor
or as close to the frame floor as is practical. Rigid projections for
pushing or pulling cannot be permitted.
- All team members must be at least 13 YEARS OLD, and must read and sign a medical and liablility release, available at the registration desk.
- At the end of the race your seat must be removed from the frame floor, all decorations must be removed from the frame, and please put the frame at the far end of the median between the Merchant's Bank driveway and the Post Office driveway. Containers for disposing of your decorations will be up by the registration desk. Please help us keep the area and race route clean.
- All decisions of the judges are final.
BRISTOL ROTARY CLUB GREAT BRISTOL OUTHOUSE RACE
EXPLANATION OF RACE AND SAMPLE RACE
The Great Bristol Outhouse Race runs in a straight line from the speed limit sign in front of Dr. Brown's house on West Street to the finish line at the traffic light. There are usually 3 or 4 entrants per heat. The actual course length has never been measured.
A registration table is set up at the end of the small island between the Post Office driveway and the Merchants Bank driveway. Two posters are erected at the registration desk, one on each side of it.
One poster explains the nature of the race; the other lists the entrants in each heat and the color of the ticket assigned to each entrant of each heat. There are usually four heats and the winner of each heat must enter the final heat to determine the overall race winner. The placement of entrants in the preliminary heats is done by drawing names from a container.
Members of the crowd can bet on their favorite entrant in a heat by buying tickets ($1.00 each) of the color assigned to that entrant for that heat. All tickets are numbered and double, so the purchaser gets one half and the seller retains the other half.
Sample Race:
Suppose in the first heat that the entrants are teams W, X, Y, and Z. Team W has been assigned the red ticket color, team X has been assigned the blue ticket color, team Y has been assigned the orange ticket color, and team Z has been assigned the yellow ticket color. You wish to bet that team X will win this heat. You then buy a blue ticket from a seller, who is a member of the Bristol Rotary Club and is wearing a sandwich board listing the names of the entrants for this first heat and the ticket color assigned to each. This information is also posted at the registration desk and announced over the public address system. There is generally no shortage of ticket sellers.
The first heat is run, and team Y is declared the winner. Team Y was assigned the orange color, which means that your blue ticket can be properly discarded, along with all the other blue tickets, red tickets, and yellow tickets sold for the first heat. Do not despair--there are three more heats and a final heat to come, and your dollar, along with all the other dollars wagered on this race, will go to help provide scholarships to worthy Mount Abraham High School students. The orange tickets sold for the first heat are placed in a marked envelope.
This process is repeated for each remaining heat, with ticket sales occurring during a 15-20 minute interlude between the heats.
Once all heats have been run, the winners of each heat are assigned a ticket color for the running of the final heat, which runs exactly like the preliminary heats described above.
At the conclusion of the final heat attention is turned to the Parade Judge's platform (where the PA system is). All orange ticket stubs from the first heat are dumped into a container, stirred, and one stub is pulled out. The number on this ticket is read over the PA system and the person who holds the matching color and number wins $25.00. At this time a trophy is presented to the members of team X.
This process is repeated for all other heats including the final heat, with the exception that the holder of the winning ticket stub for the final heat wins $75.00, and the members of the winning team for the final heat get a larger trophy.
A trophy is then presented to the team, as selected by a consensus of the Bristol Rotary Club, who has the best decorated outhouse.
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