HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Two out of state teams won top honors this past weekend at The World Championship Steuart Pennington Running Of The Tubs bathtub races.

The annual races were held on Saturday along Bathhouse Row.

The Austin Weirdos (Texas), competing for the third time in the annual event, won the World Championship in the Modified Tubs Division of the races, which take place before large crowds lining Central Avenue in the heart of downtown.

The Shreveport team (Louisiana), competing as Treasure Isle RV, took home the trophy for Most Original Tub.

The World Championship in the Traditional Tub Division went to a hometown team representing Bathhouse Soapery, which was also the presenting sponsor of the races.

The Austin Weirdos team consisted of Brett Beeler, Jen Guerra, Courtney Bartsch, Logan Buckner and Jean Seney. Their motto was “Rollin’ With My Gnomies,” in keeping with their garden gnome costumes.

They successfully piloted their modified tub through competing heats that are governed by an incredible list of arcane rules, which are subject to change at the whim of the race judges even during the races themselves.

Members of the Shreveport competitors were: Emily Mitchell, Bo Wilkinson, Mo Wilkinson, Matt Tidwell and Brittany Tidwell.

The Bathhouse Soapery team pushed their way to their World Championship despite losing one of the tires on their tub.

Other winners included the Hot Springs Police Department, which defeated their Fire Department colleagues in the annual Battle of the Badge.

The winners in the newly organized Stock Tubs Division (for teams that lack the expertise to construct their own racing tub) were a team representing TACO, the new Hot Springs/Ouachitas chapter of the International Mountain Biking Association.

The trophy for Best Overall Tub went to a team representing Window Mart. The  Most Spirited Tub award was split between teams representing The Arlington Resort Hotel and Hale Entertainment.

In all, 23 teams took part in the 2019 races, 11 of them first-time entries.