“Pigtathalon 2019…”
Shared by Breanne Smedley
Every summer, a couple of our friends organize an event at their house called the Pigtathalon.
It’s an all-afternoon event of intense competition in classic and invented lawn games, followed by a feast of a pig that has been roasting in a cinder block pit all day.
I’m not exactly sure how many years running it’s been going on, but judging by their registration system, flow of event, and carefully calculated lawn games, they’ve spent years perfecting it.
The annual event brings in 25-35 people each year, ready to harness their competitiveness and let it all out in the best way possible.
Through a game of corn hole, of course.
This year, I competed in a group that rotated through flip cup, ladder ball, horseshoes, corn hole, and beersbee.
(Beersbee-a fun combination of frisbee and horseshoes where players alternate throwing a frisbee to a pole with a bottle on top. The goal is to hit the pole or knock the bottle off without the opposing player catching the frisbee or bottle.)
I made it into the bracket round and ended up losing an intense game of ladder ball in the quarterfinals.
I’m still replaying that last throw that bounced off the top ladder and cost me the win. (Sigh, next year…)
For the final championship, everyone at the party gathers around as the last two participants compete against each other in a game of corn-hole with a twist.
The twist-one large board with crowd participation (think “I drink, you drink, we drink”) based on where the players throw their bean bags.
In the final round, the winner from the “young people” bracket faces off against the winner of the “old people” bracket.
It gets intense as the “young” player starts to come from behind and ties the game, throwing them into sudden-death overtime.
The crowd behind them is shouting, cheering, and taunting a little.
The atmosphere is fun, people are high-fiving and kids are running around laughing and stopping to celebrate when the adults do.
The young guy ends up winning the sudden death round in come-back fashion and is presented with the porcelain pig by last year’s champion.
He’ll keep it for the entire year until he comes back to either defend or pass on the title.
Needless to say, it’s a fun event that we look forward to when we can make it.
I imagine it’s not easy for our friends to put this on every year.
We came back the next day for breakfast and their property was still littered with lawn games, chairs, tables, and decorations from the day before.
There’s probably a ton of set up and a ton of takedown.
I imagine they’ve had to deal with the logistical beast of how to organize so many people to play games, keep track of wins/losses, and the ultra-competitive personalities that inevitably show up to an event like this.
It probably costs a good amount of money too.
But, they do it anyways.
I was chatting with another couple at the party who said they live in Arizona, but come back every year just for this event.
In a world where it’s easy to get busy.
When it seems like time is best spent being productive and getting things done.
When it feels like there’s not enough time to do it all.
Too tired. Too busy. Too complicated. Too much of a hassle.
The Pigtathalon reminds me of how important connection is.
And that if strong relationships matter, I must invest in the things that create them.
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#IntegrallyRelational
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