Waiters' Race

Waiters' Race is a race that tests the speed that a waiter can carry a loaded tray without tipping it.

100m German waiters race, September 1930.
Waiters' Race, at Belfort, septembre 2017.

Origin of the waiters race

It is possible to find archive footage showing a very old waiters race in Paris, London and Berlin at the beginning of the 20th century.[1] Actually, the origin of the waiters race (the "course des garçons de café"), comes from France.

At their beginning, waiters races started to be organized in order to improve the recognition of the waiter profession in Paris.[2] This is the reason why even today the event has a French Touch and organizers used to schedule races on Bastille Day for instance.[3]

A real international event [4]

Today, it is possible to find waiters races in more than 53 countries all over the world. From Hong Kong to Washington DC, from Brussels to Jerusalem or from Buenos Aires to Japan, waiters are at honor for a day and make a show in front of thousands of spectators. In 2011, "the course des garcons de cafe" come back in Paris after years. Up-to-date, more than 724 waiters races in the world from the beginning have been listed by the International Waiters Race Community Website WaitersRace. And races are found everyday.

Winners of Waiters Races

Winners of waiters races usually receive prizes, but that is not all. Many of them suggest that this victory changed their career. This was the case, for instance, for Bassel Halawani who won the Jerusalem Waiters Race and became manager in his Hotel few days after (watch the interview of Bassel.[5]

References
  1. Annual race of Cafe waiters through Paris AOL Video
  2. http://www.waitersrace.com/the-waiters-race/origin/
  3. Eubanks, Marissa (17 July 2006). "Waiters Race Celebrates Bastille Day in Washington". The Washington File. Washington: america.gov. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  4. http://www.waitersrace.com/waiters-race-in-other-languages
  5. http://www.waitersrace.com/jerusalem-2009
  • WaitersRace.com, the International and Officiel Waiters Races Website
  • National Waiters' Day Website in UK (https://nationalwaitersday.com/)
  • Video from archive showing old waiters race in Paris
  • Link to a documentary on French Television about Waiters Race5 Course des Garçons des Café
  • Old Photo of Waiters Race
  • Courses des garçons de café in New Orleans

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