Santa Claus World Championship –Samnaun, Switzerland

Posted by Jill Bowen on Fri 2nd November 2007 at 01:18 AM, Filed in Europe,  December

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The 7th Santa Claus World Championship is being held on 1st December 2007.

Who can enter?
All aspiring ‘pretend’ Santa Claus/Father Christmas’s who want to prove they’re best at their job. (Obviously the ‘real’ one can’t take part, as that would be cheating!)

Actually these ‘pretenders’ take part to give the real Santa Claus a few ideas each year as to how he can speed up his work. Because, if you think about it, his wonderful job can be a bit onerous with all those heavy sacks he has to drag through the skies whatever the weather. So he can use a few tips and hints to make life easier at his busiest time of the year!

About 100 Father Christmases from all round the world take part in this fun packed event, with 8 disciplines to compete in.  Competitors are divided into teams of four, with the best 16 (four teams) entering the finals in the evening to compete for the title.

• Santa Parade
• Chimney Climbing
• Capricorn Sprint
• Decorating Gingerbread
• Donkey Trekking
• Santa Scooter
• Santa Race
• Santa show

The Parade

The event starts in the morning with all the teams parading through the village of Samnaun reaching the village centre where all the competitions are held. Each team has the chance to present themselves to the jury for 30 seconds; points are given for the originality of the teams.

Chimney Climbing

Father Christmas has to be able to climb chimney, in fact this is so important that if ever the ‘real’ Father Christmas goes sick on Christmas eve the winner of this event takes over! Each member of the teams has to climb up a 5 metre high chimney – carrying, of course, a bag full of gifts on their back. The fastest team gets the most points.

Capricorn Sprint

This is a relay race, with competitors sitting astride the ‘wooden’ Capricorns.  The Santa’s have to navigate a special trail as fast as possible with the fastest team being the winner, not easy to ride or manoeuvre with their wheels and very curved *****. The winner is the fastest team.

Decorating Gingerbread

To bring out the artist in the competitors. Material is provided, and gingerbread has to be decorated with 10 minutes. Votes are given according to originality and artistry.

Donkey Trekking

The Santa Claus’s have to fill a bag with presents; this is put on the neck of the donkey. A trail has to be navigated and the presents delivered to the right people waiting at the end. No mistakes must occur with the delivery!

Santa Scooter

Just in case the reindeer are ill on Christmas Eve, there has to be a contingency plan. So. A relay race is held using scooters – actually these are more like sledges – the fastest team gets the most points.

Santa Race

Santa has always used sledges to go down hills. But this new event uses more trendy fun modes of transport that really go-fast – just to see how agile the Santa’s are; they have to go down the hills and climb up. Points are given for ‘spectacular’ happenings and sympathy!

Santa Show

The grand finale, where the teams have 2 minutes to present any talent they want in order to impress the audience and the jury.

The jury consists of former Santa Claus word champions – so they are very hard to impress, the prize is 5000 euros, and the accolade of being the champion.

It’s a great fun day out, heralding the start of the festive season, a real spectator event where not only can you watch the show, but also have fun skiing yourself and joining in the parties. The aroma of mulled wine, the arena lined with Christmas trees adds to the atmosphere.

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