Registration Now Open for Wettest Four-wheeled Competition On Earth Scheduled June 6 on World-famous Bathhouse Row For World Championship Running of the Tubs Bathtub Races!
“It’s time for racers to get ready for The Cleanest World Championship on Earth,” said Alexis Hampo, special events manager for Visit Hot Springs. “The Running of the Tubs will take place at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 6, and racers have until then to get in shape to push standard-sized bathtubs full of water down the main street of the town that once boasted ‘We Bathe the World.’”
The competing tubs will be judged the evening of June 5 at 6 p.m. in the downtown area.
This year’s competition will be the 20th Running since the races began in 2006. No races were held in 2020, the first year of the covid pandemic.
“Hot Springs is proud to boast the most insane competitive sporting event in all of Arkansas or maybe even the world,” Hampo said. “Fans get to watch and even participate from the sidelines as costumed teams push customized bathtubs on wheels past our historic bathhouses in the hopes of winning bigtime glory and even bigger trophies.
“Presented by Bathhouse Soapery and Caldarium, our event is free, family friendly, and the cleanest fun on Earth. Fans soak the racers — and often themselves — with water-soakers as the tubs go past.”
She continued, “Last year seemed like it might have been the wettest competition on record, but I have a feeling 2026 competition will be one for the books.
“If I had any advice for the competitors this year, I would say to start training early. The judges will be coming out with their robes ready and their water blasters loaded.”
The races have drawn national attention as teams dress in wacky costumes to push regulation-sized bathtubs full of water and a driver through the historic downtown district of America’s Spa.
The Running of the Tubs is named in honor of the late Hot Springs businessman Stueart Pennington, who advocated tirelessly for the establishment of bathtub races to emphasize Hot Springs’ reputation as a thermal bathing mecca.
Prizes are awarded in six categories: Traditional, Modified, Stock, Most Spirited, Most Original and Best Overall. The Traditional division is open to cast iron bathtubs. The Modified division is open to plastic or fiberglass tubs. The Stock division is open to nonprofits, religious and governmental organizations. Visit Hot Springs provides free tubs to those entrants.
There is also the traditional Battle of the Badge, which pits teams from the Hot Springs Fire Department, the Garland County Sheriff’s Office and the Hot Springs Police Department against each other in a “grudge match.”
All teams consist of five members, with four pushing the tub and one member steering. Tubs must be at least 48 inches long and 24 inches wide. The wheels on the tub cannot exceed 30 inches in diameter mounted on axles, and may not exceed 44 inches wide. Costumes are required.
The 2025 winners were:
Battle of the Badge – Garland County Sheriff’s Office
Traditional – Riser Ford
Modified – Hot Springs Fire Department
Stock – Princess Nora’s Warrior Foundation / 2nd place – Oaklawn Chapel – received cash
Best Overall – Austin Weirdos
Most Original – Hot Springs National Park Employees
Most Spirited – National Park College
Tubtastic Fan Award – Baby Gary
“While there is a long list of rules, these rules change slightly every year based on the judges’ whim, which makes the outcome of every race surprising and exciting,” Hampo said. “You never know who is going to win The World Championship Running of the Tubs.”