Connellsville sets world record with line of 645 swim tubes

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The 645 Tube da Ville participants float in the Yough River minutes before they officially broke the world record for most people connected by inner tube Saturday. [Garrett Neese]

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To officially set the world record, Tube Da Ville participants had to hold on to each other or the adjacent swim tube for 30 seconds — no small feat in the currents of the Yough River. [Garrett Neese]

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The crowd reacts after hearing they had officially set a new world record of 645 people connected in swim tubes. [Garrett Neese]

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The first wave of participants in Tube da Ville's record attempt walks toward the shore Saturday. [Garrett Neese]

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Tube da Ville drew people from Connellsville and parts beyond to take part in the fun. Dressing up in festive attire for the world record attempt were Brigham Blume of Canonsburg, Tyler Cooper of Cumberland, Md., Blaise Blume of Frostburg, Md., and Angelica Cooper of Cumberland, Md. [Garrett Neese]

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Tube da Ville volunteer Chelsea Stewart stacks swim tubes ahead of Saturday's successfull world record attempt in Connellsville. [Garrett Neese]

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Some of Saturday's record-setters grab a picture with Sarah Casson, official adjudicator with Guinness World Records. [Garrett Neese]

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In addition to a new world record, Saturday's Tube da Ville festival in Connellsville had a full day of vendors and live music acts like Fungus, who played the main stage during the world record attempt. [Garrett Neese]

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Kevin Leonard, a co-owner of new Connellsville brewery Trippy Hippie and an organizer of Tube da Ville, holds the certificate certifying the new world record that was set on his 40th birthday. [Garrett Neese]

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Not many people have a 40th birthday as memorable as Kevin Leonard’s.

There were food trucks, community groups, bands on two stages and crowds spilling out across Yough River Park in Connellsville for hours Saturday afternoon.

Oh, and a world record.

In the centerpiece of the inaugural Tube Da Ville event, 645 people formed a continuous snake line of swim tubes on the Yough River Saturday. It broke the old mark of 620, which had stood since a group set it in Portland, Oregon, 13 years ago.

Leonard came up with the idea for the day with Jason Bandemer to celebrate their new brewery, Trippy Hippie, which is opening adjacent to the park.

The Tube Da Ville committee chose Saturday to avoid conflicting with other summer events.

But while the date was a coincidence, it still wound up being a fantastic birthday present for Leonard.

“It’s amazing,” he said after the attempt. “A lot of work. It’s very surreal.”

The festive mood started early, as participants showed up hours before the event to check in and admire the scene.

When Trudy Nicholson’s son and daughter backed out because they had company coming, she eagerly took their spot, inviting a former co-worker along for the excitement.

“It puts Connellsville on the map,” Nicholson said. “I’ve never seen so many people in Connellsville in my life.”

The beach was cordoned off to distinguish the many spectators from the participants, who were counted by clicker as they grabbed a swim tube.

And during the attempt, Guinness World Records official adjudicator Sarah Casson was assisted by volunteers stationed down the line watching closely for a broken link.

Casson became a celebrity during the event, with people grabbing photos with her even as they walked toward the shore.

And she’s just as excited to be there to witness the latest attempt at the biggest and best, she said.

“It’s really inspirational to meet people that kind of have that drive to be the best in the world, or to organize something like this, where everyone can kind of come together to do something amazing and do something really memorable for the community,” she said.

Groups went out in successive waves of red, white and blue tubes, tethered at first by guide lines.

Organizers, aided by volunteers who waded out into the water, helped the group cohere into single-file lines.

Casson also advised the crowd on meeting the requirements.

“It’s the world record for longest line, not world record for longest blob,” she said.

To meet the record, the group had to remain interconnected for 30 seconds, either by holding on to each other or their swim tube.

While that might sound simple, the currents of the Yough, and the rigors of waiting in a tube on a muggy day, made maintaining the line a challenge.

It “took a lot of core strength,” said Don Swaney of Uniontown, mimicking the sitting-up pose required for participants.

“My fingers were pretty numb, holding on to two of those rafts, because the one girl let go one time and I wasn’t ready, and she was gone,” he said. “So once she got back, I was locked on that thing. It wasn’t coming off.”

After the first attempt, the crew waited in the water for an official verdict while Casson reviewed the evidence.

It met all the standards, she told the crowd. And with 645 people in the water, the record was theirs.

With immortality secured, they were able to raise their hands in celebration.

The record-setting 645 then grabbed their swim tubes and made their way back to the park. Many, like John Salatino of Connellsville, planned to stick around to take in the bands and grab food from one of the many vendors stationed around the stage.

“This is great,” he said. “I love to support the city of Connellsville and help out with all this. I’m a little older; I’m 65 years old, but I figured, ‘You know what, I’m gonna do what I can.'”

Participants said they enjoyed coming together with others to make history.

“It was a lot of fun,” Swaney said. “It’s nice to see the community just being together, being happy.”

And that communal feeling will return next year in some form, Leonard said.

They might try to set another world record. Or it could be another huge festival.

“I know the group wants to continue the Tube Da Ville, so even if it’s not for a record, it may just be a giant float,” Leonard said.