2021 Stuffie Olympics - Waterfall Barreling

 Good morning folks! Welcome to the 2021 Stuffie Olympics!! Today, we are pleased to show you the extreme Olympic sport of Waterfall Barreling. A fairly new sport for our competitors, but they are all eager to compete in today's event.

Today's even features Sandy Bear, Cocoa Beanie Mouse and Otto the Otter. As you can see, Otto's already been testing the waters and he reports that the water temperature is "good".

Now let's take a look at today's course... ooh... it's a challenging one. What with the drought conditions, waterfalls don't have a flow right now. There was some discussion as to whether today's event should be cancelled but... all of our athletes are eager to give it a try...

Today's event has an impressive array of judges, five turtles... all experts in water events. And we have Rusty the dog as the referee...

Not to psych out our athletes but... I don't know a lot of stuffie who would try this event... nor in these conditions!!

Let's get a few words from our athletes... Sandy Bear, tell us what drew you to this event?

"Well... I've always had a bit of a fear of water and of heights but... you have to move through your fear sometimes and this seemed like the perfect event for that!"

Oh wow, thanks for those inspiring words, Sandy! It's true... we do need to move through fear... although I'm not sure I would do it this way. But, to each his own...

Cocoa Beanie, can you tell us a bit about why you chose this event?

"Well... when I was swept off Mouse Island by the Great Tsunami, I was adrift for weeks... this seemed easy peasy in comparison. Plus, it's fresh water, not salt water!"

Ooookaaayyyy... easy peasy? Wow... that puts it into perspective for all of us. That Great Tsunami must have been wicked!

And finally, Otto the Otter! Tell us a bit about what drew you to this event...

"Well... I love water... and I love slides and... honestly, this waterfall is a prefect combination for me. I'm really looking forward to it and showing off my skills!"

Thanks Otto!! Do what you love and what you're good at. Excellent advice!

Right then... here are the athletes with their barrels... 

Sandy is squeezing into his old peanut butter jar... it has a serious screw-top lid and Sandy is hoping it will remain waterproof...

Us too Sandy...

Beanie has chosen a ziploc container for his barrel... a good choice. Solid screw top lid which should withstand the stresses of these extreme event.

He looks all ready to go!

And finally Otto in a click top lid barrel. Hmmm... interesting choice of barrel... but Otto is confident that he can compete with this equipment. Good luck matey!

Otto's checking the seal on his container... hope it holds up in these conditions!

While the athletes are getting into position at the top of the falls, let's have a closer look at our referee... Rusty the dog comes from a spaniel background, a well-known water-loving breed. He'll be making sure that there are no corners being cut during this competition.

Here are three of our judges, all with sharp eyes for this event...

And our final two judges... a solid group, if I do say so myself.

Right then... our athletes are in position... Due to the low water levels, the barrels are being launched into the waterfall, rather than floating over the edge of it... should make for some interesting viewing... Let's go to our live team in the water... and get a look at the course... (click here for video if it doesn't appear below)

OK... Sandy Bear is ready... wish him luck folks!!! He's aiming for the red pentagon... wow... sure does look more challenging from up here!!

And... here we go! (click here for video)

Oh... wow!!! Not what was expected I'm sure!!! Let's get a few instant-replay close-ups... it looks like the launcher was a bit over-enthusiastic... a danger with going first in this event... Sandy seems to have bounced down the waterfall... but he did hit a few cascades in his descent...

With a few more bounces along the bottom part... Ouch, that must have hurt!

But he's giving us the thumbs up after being fished out of the water by the retrieval team! That's the benefit of being a stuffie... lots of padding to absorb the shocks...

He does seem to have sprung a leak though... the technical crew says his lid wasn't cinched on all the way... still, an impressive attempt!

Up next is Cocoa Beanie... wish him luck! (click here for video)

Oh wow... another bouncing run... that might just be par for the course with today's water levels... a touch run to be sure! Let's have a closer look at some moments...

Oh, Cocoa did hit a few cascades as well...

And he had a lovely splash down right on target. Good job Cocoa!!

And his barrel does seem to have held up to this punishing course...

Two athletes are done... and now it's just Otto the Otter... we'll have to wait and see how he does...

Here he comes... (click here for video)

OH!!!! Did you see that!!??? Oh my, epic equipment failure for Otto... but... rest assured, the retrieval team did fish him out of the water! He's safe folks, he's safe. Whew... heart was in my mouth for a moment there... 

Let's see what happened... our slow-mo is experiencing technical difficulties but... here you can see, Otto's barrel hit something and the snap-lid just popped off. Lid went one way, barrel went the other, but Otto went straight down the middle. Bit of luck there, as he was in the water stream the whole way!

Can you see him in the water stream on that last cascade? Just coming over... well placed!

Took a bit of a tumble landing but Otters are so slinky in the water... he might just be doing a barrel roll for the fun of it!

Another slither and...

Finally, almost in the pool...

There he goes... what a landing!!

And a solid run for Otto, despite the equipment failure... he's such a natural in the water...

Brilliant finish Otto!!

And... here's the bum flash... Sandy with quite a soggy behind, even Cocoa got a bit damp and... of course, Otto... well and truly soaked!!

Our judges have quite a bit to decide here...

Technical difficulty, skill, equipment... landing... etc...

But... in our eyes... these three are all winners!! They took on the Waterfall Barreling event with style and all came through it alive! Let's get a word from each of them...

"OMG!!! I think I'd do this event in the winter when there's more water!"

"OY!! Piece of cake... bit bumpy though..."

"Whheeeeeee!!! Best rock water slide ever!!"

Alright folks... that's it for today's even... stay tuned for more events as our athletes compete in two more events... not quite as challenging as this one though...