Race Rules & Regs

#1 RULE

It is mandatory that all Sculpture Pilots, Pit Crew, Officials, Spectators, Law Enforcers, Communicators, Volunteers, Merchants, and even Innocent Bystanders put great effort into having great fun for it is such Craziness as this that keeps us all Sane! If you insist on being a grumpy racer and not having fun, you may declare “diplomatic immunity” (since you are surely from another planet) and not be cited by overly excited officials for that infraction, but we reserve the right to adjudicate any such declaration.

There are a number of quirky race rules. The personal security rule requires that each sculpture carry a comforting item of psychological luxury, namely a homemade sock creature made from a not-too-recently washed sock. Another stipulates that each vehicle must be totally human powered, with no pulling, pushing or paddling allowed, although the natural power of water, wind, sun and gravity can be used. The sculptures must also fit on public roads and follow the rules of the open road. Mom’s high anxiety clause dictates a quick exit strategy. The honk and pass politeness rule requires yielding the right of way to another sculpture that wants to pass. A one-finger salute is encouraged. Time penalties are incurred for rule infractions, while time bonuses are given for carrying a passenger, called a barnacle, along the entire course. The Mediocre Award is given for finishing exactly in the middle. The Next to Last Award is highly coveted, making the end of the race particularly exciting. Awards are also given for best costume, the most memorable breakdown and the most interesting water entry. The winner of the Speed Award gets to be addressed as ‘Most Visionary Professor.’ (The above paragraph is an excerpt from Jan Friedman’s wonderful, Eccentric America.)

There are about a scazillion rules and regulations for entering this race (10?) … way too many to be putting in this post. Instead, here’s a link to the .pdf file that contains them all. Fact is, it’s a lot of fun to just read the rules! Whoever wrote them all down had a great sense of humor, but then that’s part of what this race is about … isn’t it? (See Rule #1 above) So, click on the link for the .pdf to download it. It’s six pages of fun and frolic, but the rules are there and you’d better follow them else you’ll be generously disgraced, maligned and possibly booted out!

Race Rules & Regulations (PDF File/60KB)

photos by Elliott Nicholson