Rub a Dub Dub with the Greenpoint Lions Club!

It’s not every day you get to jump in the bathtub with friends, family, neighbors and elected officials, but lucky for us Saturday was one of those rare occasions, thanks to the Greenpoint Lions. Last weekend was the first-ever annual Greenpoint Lions Bathtub Race, a community-based event that pitted Greenpoint/Williamsburg-based restaurants, businesses and organizations against each other in some friendly neighborhood competition for a cause.

The rules of the game were simple enough: Each three-member team hopped into a bathtub, mounted on a rolling wooden base for maximum aerodynamics, and steered along the makeshift track—one of McGolrick Park’s walkways—with an extra-long toilet plunger, trying to beat their opponent to the finish line. The winning teams were awarded golden trophies, while the losers received bright yellow rubber duckies.

Saturday saw a grand total of 13 tub races between 26 teams, ranging from pizza joints to funeral homes, the American Legion to Peter Pan Donuts, the office of Assemblyman Joe Lentol to a handful of neighborhood insurance companies—all of which chipped in $200, to be donated to the Greenpoint Lions to replenish food pantries, buy coats for school children who can’t afford them, supply those in need with a Thanksgiving dinner, purchase toys for underserved tots and more.

“The bathtub race is a different form of charity drive. This way, the community can come together, have a few laughs and raise money for the endeavors that the Greenpoint Lions are undertaking,” said Greenpoint Lions President George Mueller. “It’s a chance for us all to have a little fun.”

In addition to the organizers, the tub teams took it upon themselves to get creative: Some donned uniforms or costumes, decorated their bathtub decals and came up with team names—Peter Pan’s “Donut Divas,” Emily’s Pork Store’s “Sausage King Racers,” Assemblyman Joe Lentol’s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Bathtub,” to name a few—to make the event as festive as possible.

In fact, John Pieprzak and Tony O of the American Legion Post 1771 on Leonard Street, calling themselves “Captain Red Beard Express,” even brought their own bathtub, which they decorated with fake missiles and ammunition.

“We want to be as involved in community events as possible,” O said. “We lost, but it’s ok. The real winners are the charities—all this is for fun, and for a good cause.”

Local restaurants also did their part, especially Grandma Rose’s, who donated an extensive (and delicious!) spread to the cause.

“We actually had to limit the number of teams we could allow to race, because we were worried about running out of daylight, there was so much interest!” said Michael Marro, a Greenpoint Lion. “It’s been awesome, totally amazing. Everyone loves some friendly competition!”

Because the first year went off without a hitch, in spite of rainy weather and several bathtub-related technical difficulties, the Lions are confident that this is the beginning of a tub-tastic tradition.

“Oh, we’ll definitely do this again,” Marro said, beaming. “Next year, we want people to really get into it, maybe even decorate their tubs!”