Foul-Smelling Footwear Always a Winner

Author: Peter Faroni

On Tuesday, March 18, the Green Mountain State's capital city of Montpelier was host to the 28th annual Odor-Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest.
Though it may sound unappealing at first, don't be too quick to turn your nose up at the Rotten Sneaker Contest. What started back in 1975 as a marketing ploy to help a local sporting goods store sell more sneakers has become a national competition in which entrants compete for the title of "Most Rotten Sneakers."
Contestants must be between the ages of five and 15 in order to be eligible. They may enter their sneakers in one of the local contests, ranging from Louisiana to Alaska, or online, through the Odor-Eaters Web site.
The local competitions award a number of prizes, including a year supply of Odor-Eaters insoles and memberships to local museums. Grand-prize winners from the local contests and the pool of online entries were awarded all-expense paid trips to the national championship in Montpelier, a.k.a. the "Rotten Sneaker Capital of the World."
For one entry an exception to the age requirement was made, bringing international competition to the 2003 event. The special entry was a pair of sneakers that were shipped to event organizers from a member of the USS Montpelier submarine.
The sneakers arrived in Vermont, double-bagged, from an undisclosed location in the Persian Gulf where the submarine is currently stationed. The acrid smell of fish that permeated the sneakers moved judges to give the shoes an honorary "Most Rotten Sneaker Award," despite their ineligibility.
In reference to the military sneakers commentator Dave Moody, who moderated the event, joked, "That's a weapon of mass destruction right there!"
Contestants were required to wear their dirty, torn, worn-out and foul entries while the judging took place. Aside from being judged on the overall appearance and smell of the sneakers, contestants were required to provide an account of how the sneakers became so "fragrant."
This year's champion in Montpelier was 10-year-old Jeffery Soto, who hails from the Bronx, N.Y., where he won his local competition last November. Although his entry stumped a judge in the "heels" category (as they didn't have any heels to speak of), fellow competitors and judges alike agreed that any contestant who could enter such a truly rotten pair of sneakers surely has a lot of "sole."
The fifth grader, who went home with the contest's top prize of a $500 savings bond, refused to take full credit, pointing out that his pit bull helped make his entry the winner. "I had a fight with my dog," he said. "I was trying to get [the sneaker] away from him because he uses it as a chew toy."
The contest was a spectacle to behold and all who attended enjoyed the fun-filled atmosphere. Event organizers have already set the locations and dates for next year's local competitions - the finals are to be held in Montpelier yet again.
The Rotten Sneaker Contest served as a nice segue into the 10th annual National Sense of Smell Day, which participants will celebrate on April 26.