If you’re planning to enter the Ice Cream Eating Contest at the Waimea Town Celebration on Kauaʻi, HI, it’s not too early to start preparing. Competing successfully in this popular festival event requires a hearty appetite plus strategy, skill, and determination. These training tips might help you earn the first-place prize.

3 Secrets to Help You Win Eating Contests at Festivals

1. Drink Lots of Water

Training for food eating competitions requires increasing your stomach capacity. Professional eating contestants drink large quantities of water to stretch their stomachs. You may need a month or more to work up to drinking a gallon after each meal, which creates extra room for holding all that ice cream. 

2. Videotape Your Training Sessions

Perfecting speed and consumption techniques help contestants become winners. Tape your practice sessions and analyze them to improve aspects such as hand-to-mouth movement and swallowing speed.

Watch videos and read commentary about previous contests for insight on how competitors achieved their first-place finishes. For example, turn the spoon upside down so the utensil, rather than the ice cream, hits the roof of your mouth. This trick lets you avoid getting a cold mouth as you eat so you can consume more of the ice cream faster.   

3. Wear Loose Clothing

Wearing loose, comfortable clothing gives you more breathing room. During training and on the contest day, put on relaxed pants or shorts with an expandable waistband and a loose-fitting shirt or top that lets you move freely.

The exciting Ice Cream Eating Contest is one of the most popular events at the Waimea Town Celebration. For more than 40 years, the festival has offered live performances, concerts, races, and contests that showcase the unique culture of Kaua‘i. Competitors and participants of all ages thrill audiences with their talents, speed, and capacity. Next year’s events will be held on February 13 to 21, 2021. To learn more about the schedule and contest entry requirements, call (808) 645-0996 or visit their website.