In the middle of the street, a man dressed as a turtle lifts a box off the ground. He reveals the day’s fierce competitors in a decades-old race.
Three turtles, one of which was wearing a a gold Solo cup, race to the finish line, while their teams of sorority women cheer them on.
The Phi Delta Theta Turtle Derby is an annual spectacle during Moms’ Weekend, and has been for the last 60 years, said alumnus Dradin Kreft.
The turtle-man, Ben Lothspeich, said he had a good time.
“The Greek community comes together, participates. It’s really cool to to see everyone come together and give to a good cause,” Lothspeich said.
The men of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity gathered more than $5,000 to donate to charity through the event, said Turtle Derby Chair Hunter Kaarlsen. He said the money goes toward fighting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Lou Gehrig was a member of Phi Delta Theta, and the national fraternity started fundraising events to help combat ALS.
However, members of the fraternity at the University of Idaho had to fight to put on the first Turtle Derby 60 years ago, Kreft said. He said university officials told the fraternity they couldn’t put on the event.
“They kind of stood up and and put it upon themselves,” Kreft said. “It’s kind of cool someone stood up in the face of adversity and being told ‘no’ and did something for a good cause.”
Sixty years later, Kreft said it’s a tradition at UI, and the house takes pride in their premier event during Moms’ Weekend.
While Phi Delta Theta organizes the event, it’s the sororities that participate. Kaarlsen said each sorority makes a basket to auction off and creates a skit to introduce their turtle racer. The houses also dress up their turtles for the big race.
The race works by placing the turtles under a bin in the middle of a large circle. Once the bin is lifted, the first turtle to reach the edge of the circle wins. The fastest sorority turtle faces Phi Delta Theta’s prized racing turtle “Killer.” Kappa Delta Sorority’s turtle fell in the final round to the much larger Killer, but it was Delta Delta Delta Sorority that ended up winning the whole event. The house’s final scores are based on their skits and how well their basket sells at the auction in addition to their racing turtles.
Kaarlsen said an alumnus orders the turtles every year for the house’s event.
“They got in a week early last Thursday so we had to keep 12 turtles alive for a week, which was a hassle,” Kaarlsen said. “They lived in our first floor shower for a week.”
The last way money is made is through the “Pie a Phi” auctions. Attendees bid to slam a plateful of whipped cream into the face of a Phi Delta Theta member.
Cameron Cochems was one such target — by his own mother.
“It was a rush of adrenaline, just terrifying,” Cochems said. “When my dad just started putting his hand up and I’m like ‘Oh shit. This is happening.’”
Jack Olson can be reached at [email protected]