HIGH SPEEDS: Folks preparing for 30th annual U.S. National Toboggan Championships

Folks in Camden are once again gearing up for the 30th annual U.S. National Toboggan Championships.

Tom Dowd says, "It brings an awful lot to the town economically and spiritually. We've got to break that cabin fever and this is a great excuse to do that."

And this year folks are also competing for the World Championship.

He says, "Every 5 years we do the world championships. So, anyone that has won the 4 person in the past is eligible to become the world champion and we run all of them. So we are going to have the original winners from 30 years ago.

Starting Friday, February 7th through Sunday, February 9th thousands of people from all over the world will be flying down the chute.

Dowd says, "There have been people here as far away as Australia. There was someone here a few years ago from Hawaii who had never seen snow before. It's just a blast, you see people screaming coming down then getting off and going back up the hill to do it again."

The event is fun for all ages.

He says, "Imagine preparing and training for the national championships simply by sitting on your couch binge-watching Netflix because there is no athletic preparation needed. I've seen petrified, I've seen fun but at the end, they are all laughing and that's what this thing is all about."

Jim Jefferson says, "We have won the 4 men 3 times. Haven't won it in a while, last time was 2011. So, trying to get back into the hunt. We are close, every year we are close."

Folks can reach up to 45 miles per hour on the 400-foot long wooden chute.

Dowd says, "You come to watch the costumes, you come to watch the people, you come to eat the food, you come to meet your friends. You couldn't ask for anything more with an event like that."