WILLOW CREEK — For the first time in its 85-year history, the Willow Creek Ice-Out competition will accept entries from outside the town limits, organizers announced this week, opening the quirky spring tradition to participants as far away as California.
Town Clerk Margaret Hollis, who maintains the official Ice-Out ledger, said entries will be accepted by mail and through a new online form on the town’s website — a first for a competition that has operated on a handshake-and-cash basis since 1927.
“I’ve had calls from a woman in Portland, Oregon, whose grandfather grew up here, and a man in Florida who read about the Ice-Out in Yankee Magazine in 2003 and has been following it ever since,” Hollis said. “They wanted to enter. I didn’t have a way to say yes.”
The entry fee remains $5. Online entries will be processed through a PayPal account set up by town hall administrative assistant Deb Pearson. Mailed entries must be postmarked by March 10.
The change was approved by the Board of Selectmen after Hollis presented data showing that 18 former Willow Creek residents living out of state had contacted her about entering in the past three years.
“Eighty-five years of tradition can feel fragile,” First Selectman Arthur Pendelton said. “But the tradition was always about the pond and the ice. It wasn’t about who was allowed to guess. Expanding the entry pool doesn’t diminish the event — it spreads the story.”
Amos Homan, the three-time defending champion and the competition’s most famous participant, said he is unconcerned about the increased competition.
“Let them send their five dollars,” Homan said. “I’ve been watching this pond since 1949. No amount of PayPal is going to beat my knees.”
Hollis reported receiving 47 out-of-town entries as of Tuesday, from 11 states. The Ice-Out potluck and winner announcement will be held March 13 at the Community Hall.