Most people celebrate their 30th anniversary with cake and a night out, but on October 22, 2016, Wasatch Brewery held an event so vast it stretched the entire length of Main Street, with participants flocking in from the East and West coasts.
Last year Breckenridge, Colorado, broke the world record for the longest continuous shot ski. They set the record of 881 people taking a shot off a long line of connected skis at the same time. Tony Coppola, lead organizer of the Wasatch event said, “We blew them out of the water by about 200 people. We’re happy that we did it and happy to be having a little friendly rivalry with them.”
Wasatch Brewery partnered up with local businesses: Sunrise Rotary Club and Big Shots, a new business in Salt Lake City who provided the plastic, stick-on mounts for the cups on the skis. Dave Vogt, owner of Big Shots, got in touch with Coppola and the date for their product launch coincided perfectly with the record-breaking attempt.
It wasn’t just businesses participating in the fun though; local Park City resident, Katie, was a part of the Breckenridge record and couldn’t pass the opportunity to do it again. “It’s a good example of Park City maintaining its uniqueness,” said Katie. Shot ski participant, Erika Lawyer shares a similar opinion about Park City and thinks, “. . . it’s awesome we beat Colorado. Park City dominates in so many other ways, it’s only natural we dominate with this.”
Participants that didn’t live in Utah took red eye flights, and all night road trips to be a part of the record. Brent Klovstad, an Idaho transplant, came to support his love for Utah’s local niche breweries and, in his opinion, “the fact that they are expanding every year is making Utah a great place to live.”
This event did more than just break a world record, it was a weekend targeted at locals and the power of community. It was also a step forward in Utah’s opinion of alcohol and public drinking Several participants, including Forrest Evans, was “surprised Utah was doing a big outdoor public drinking event.”
This may be a sign that Utah is becoming less conservative, but it is also a sign that Utah has great comradery and plenty of support for local businesses. We would like to congratulate all those who participated, and Wasatch Brewery, Big Shots and Sunrise Rotary on a new world record!