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Contestants prepare for bathtub race

Contestants will race their bathtubs on Okanagan Lake in August as they raise money for a hospital expansion.
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The Great Ogopogo Bathtub Race will be held in August. This is the second year for the fundraising event.

Contestants will race their bathtubs on Okanagan Lake in August as they raise money for a hospital expansion.

The event is the Great Ogopogo Bathtub Race, which was first held last year.

The Great Ogopogo Bathtub Race is a continuing fundraising effort for the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation’s new Penticton Regional Hospital tower project.

All the entry fees, admission fees, and silent auctions proceeds will be directed to the medical foundation.

Any event sponsorship funds remaining after the event will also be donated.

There will be the 40-kilometre competition course for more serious racers.

Races start at Powell Beach in Summerland on Aug. 20.

Also this year The Great Ogopogo Bathtub Race is presenting a new race named the Putt-Putt or Paddle Fundrace, where if it floats and you have a way to make it move, then It’s a contender.

For those who don’t have the materials to build a bathtub racer within the rules of the 40 km race, it’s not a problem. The Putt-Putt race is only two miles long. Those who don’t have a motor can row.

The boat doesn’t have to be the fastest to win either. There are three components to this competition. The first is the race, the second is the most inventive entry and the third is about the entry that raises the most funds through pledges. The main focus of this race is to have fun and raise funds for the Medical Foundation.