Inspired by the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Thomas Van Buskirk, manager of Greeley's Linn Grove Cemetery and several others, decided to come up with his own version of the Summer Games. "I hope that people realize that this is serious," says Van Buskirk. "The objective is for us to be with our peers and show off our skills; in no way are we trying to be demeaning or trivialize this."
The competition consists of seven categories: burial digging, a backhoe course, funeral setup, mowing, grass trimming, power blowing and trailer backing. "There are different criteria for every category," says Van Buskirk. "In burial digging, for instance, you want to dig to a certain depth, make sure it's level. The standard grave depth is five to five-and-a-half feet, but we judge on only three feet. Any deeper than that and we would be here all day, because it's our most popular category."
Organizers are expecting about fifty competitors, who will be judged on time, safety, neatness and precision. "The skill levels are really showed off in mowing, trimming and trailer backing," says Van Buskirk. "Those are the toughest categories."
And don't worry if great-grandma's funeral is scheduled for this weekend; the games take place in a portion of Mount Olivet Cemetery that isn't currently being used. "It gives our people an opportunity to relax and enjoy what they do," says Mike Wright, director of Mount Olivet. "We're so busy that we don't have much time to practice, but it gives us something to work towards."
Instead of gold medals, the grand prize in these games is a large trophy -- topped with a utility vehicle, not a casket -- and, more important, bragging rights for two years until the next competition. "If you win, you'll certainly have a feeling of accomplishment and the knowledge that you have a quality staff," says Van Buskirk. "These games are very important to us."
