CAMDEN — Every year the U.S. National Toboggan Championships has tried to outdo itself in terms of ice parties, costumes and hilariously-named toboggan teams. The blizzard of February 2013 altered the event a bit, condensing the weekend's packed roster activities into one day, but not the enthusiasm.

On a sunny 30-degree Sunday, the usual suspects were out on the ice in their die-hard ice shacks, but because Saturday's events had been cancelled and Hosmer Pond was buried in snow, the high-energy vibe from the last few years was replaced with a bit more of a subdued atmosphere. Partly, it was because you had to slog through 2-feet of snow to get anywhere on the ice; partly, because the population was smaller, but the 2013 Toboggan Races actually felt like a time warp back to 10 years ago when the locals made it their event. Small, personal and neighborly. 

Though there were a smaller number of teams and outrageous costumes, there were still many who came out to play. The Royal Dutch National Toboggan Team won "Best Costume" as well they should. Every year, they come up with a theme and costume that is wicked over-the-top and this year's theme of giant whistles on their heads alludes to "whistling in" the Dutch Queen Beatrix who will abdicate on April 30 after 33 years as head of state, so her eldest son, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander can become the first king in a century. The whistles on the top of their heads were made out of "foam and feathers from a blue chicken." Asked if they were disappointed by the storm changing the Toboggan Races schedule, they said, "No, no, we were amazed by the people here that they could make it all happen today."

The Pirates of the Dark Rose came out to pillage the chute. "We were doing a lot of screaming and "arrrgggh" ing down the chute," said one gentleman, who preferred to go by his pirate name, The Viceroy.  Asked if they were keeping warm, Blood Thirsty said, "It's the the rum keeps us warm. And me mates."

"And the rum," added The Viceroy, once again.

Arma-Sledden, a wacky Mayan themed three-person team was headed up by Andrew McCabe, Deirdre Rynne, and Nicanor Garrido. "We're representing Mayan gods. The end of the world did not come to fruition, so we decided to go sledding," said McCabe.

Asked if they were prepared to meet their maker on the chute, Garrido said, "We were more worried about that yesterday with the storm." Added McCabe,  "We had pictures of Nick angrily shaking a shovel at the storm fully decked out in his costume."

One of the first two-person teams I came across were the experimental team Flux Capacitors, a nod to the Back To The Future trilogy, headed up by Mainers, Kristin Cole (Marty McFly) and Josh Robinson (Doc Brown). Their sled had the actual licence plate Out A Time. Other notable costumes included the four (wo)-man team, The Desperate Housewives. Gywneth, Nicole, Sylvia, Nicole, (who preferred to go by the real housewives names) admitted their wigs and weaves and faux fur coats were a deliberate fashion choice to keep them warm.

"Nobody outside of our friends and family know what we are until we say 'Desperate Housewives' and then everyone is like 'oh yeaaah!'" said Nicole. Asked if they were desperate to win, Nicole said, "Actually, we're just desperate for a good time. We're all moms, so this is kind of a break for us."

The Ice Cold (Polar) Bears were a four-person team and first timers from Massachusetts. They deserve the "Come Hell Or High Water" award (if there were such an award) for making it up here. Gabriel Lortie, Dan Kinan, Kerry Kinen, and Nicole Hendricken planned on being here all weekend, but while the Kinens were able to come up Thursday night, Lortie and Hendricken drove through the blizzard Friday night.

"It's a great place, we're having a blast," said Lortie. "I can't believe they cleaned the parking lots and got everything ready in time," said Kerry Kinen. "We can't wait to come back next year," added Dan Kinen.

All in all, Sunday ended up being the perfect weather day to cram in all of the fun and festivities of the 2013 U.S. National Toboggan Championships. And like the Flux Capacitors and the Arma-Sleddin teams could tell you, when you're "out a time," you've got to make the most of what you've got!

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com.