Despite what you might think, this is not an everyday occurance in Tromsø. Last week was Sami week (a week celebrating the indigenous folk of Scandinavia) and so a range of different Sami activities and hand-made products were on offer in the city. One of these was reindeer racing. It involved a senior and a junior competition where two racers on skis are towed behind reindeer running at about 60km/hour. It took place in the main street of the city and it was awesome!It began with the different reindeer owners greeting each other in the marshalling yard.
Then each of the competing animals was paraded up the racing runway, with a guy on a loudspeaker enthusiastically declaring the name of the owner and the beast, where they were from, past wins and previous times etc. Many of the reindeer were incredibly flighty being paraded along the runway, with quite a bit of bucking and kicking going on.
Before the race, the reindeers are placed in their starting boxes, which often took some time given the aforementioned flightiness.
Then they are released and charge up the track going as fast as they can, towing their racers behind them and kicking up a flurry of snow in their wake.
After a range of heats and finals, the winners are declared and awarded their trophies. Both the racer and the reindeer owner get a trophy and a cheque for a wad of cash.
While the reindeers don't appear to get any reward, I certainly hope that they are given some special treat for their performance from their owner when they get home. Although I must say, I do fear for the losers, given that in the laavo beside the track you could buy a kind of hot reindeer bone broth to help warm your frozen body...
I could not bring myself to try this after seeing the beautiful beasts running their little hearts out, but at the urging of some of the locals, J happily gave it a go. He said it tasted like reindeers smell and I am not sure he would buy it again. Perhaps it is a vegemite thing, you have to grow up with it to appreciate it. After it was all said and done though, J and I decided that we really enjoyed reindeer racing and perhaps we might make the trip out to the frozen inland area of norther Norway in easter where a large international competition is held every year. In fact, J enjoyed it so much he decided he might actually have to learn how to ski so that he might be able to try his hand at this sport and perhaps even compete in next year's competition. I think his form looks good. Heia J, Heia J!
xxx
