WV Farm Bureau Magazine June 2014 | Page 21

the top three winning teams in each division receive medals and cash prizes (first place $100; second place - $50 and third place - $25). Teams consist of at least two people, but no more than four of any gender. Most events require 1-2 team members each. to their hen’s nest and gathers eggs, one at a time, trying to find the lone hard-boiled egg in the nest. To find that egg they must run back with one egg at a time and crack it over their teammate’s head. The team that finds the hardboiled egg first wins. So, what are these Olympic events? The first is “Stack’n Hay,” where a team of two is given one minute to throw bales of hay/straw off a pickup truck and stack them on a pallet as high as they can before time is called. If any of the bales fall when time is called, the judges count how many are left standing. Another event,“Toss’n Grain” consists of a team of two who toss a bag of grain. The team who tosses it the farthest wins the event. Each year, more and more teams enter as the audience has grown in numbers. Teams get quite creative with their team names as well, adding to the fun. Morgan County Farm Bureau directors serve as judges, timers and announcers, and set up the various events. While events are being set up, the Morgan County 4-H Program Director, Cindy Smalley, holds other games for those kids under age 11, so there is always something going on for the crowd to watch. There are sack and threelegged races and even an egg toss. Now the Olympics move into the running events: “Go’n to Town” has two teammates racing to town (actually up and around a cone and back to the starting line). This game always has the audience in stitches as one team member pushes the other team member (who must be in a dress) in a wheelbarrow up to the cone, where they switch places. The crowd cheers while the teammate in a dress tries to remove it and the other tries to put it on, all while attempting to beat the clock. They cannot head for home until the other teammate has the dress on with both arms in the sleeves of the dress. “Come on Back” uses the wheelbarrow again with two teammates. This time the wheelbarrow driver is blindfolded and the teammate in the wheelbarrow must give directions to the driver all while going in and out of cones, and then racing back to the starting line. This event is also timed and teams are penalized if they miss or tip over a cone. So if you don’t have anything on your schedule and want to compete or just watch and laugh your head off, visit Berkeley Springs the last Saturday evening in July and then stay for the fireworks that close the day’s events. It’s a perfect way to end a summer evening. For “Herd’n Livestock”, one team member uses a yardstick and tries to move their potato “cow” through an obstacle course which mimics moving cattle from one field to another. What makes this event more difficult is the use of an odd-shaped potato - the more odd, the better. The team with the fastest time minus any penalties wins. The event always left for the end is “Fetch’n Eggs”. One team member runs West Virginia Farm Bureau News 21