If you’ve been in Cincinnati for any period of time, you likely know of our city’s general love of German culture. What you might not know is that Cincinnati is also the world’s hub for steinholding (or masskrugstemmen, if you prefer the German word), a physical endurance competition where contestants hold a filled one-liter stein straight out in front of their bodies for as long as possible.
Next month, the U.S. Steinholding Association National Championship returns to Cincinnati, where men and women from 21 different states will compete for this year’s title at Cincinnati Lager House downtown on Nov. 21.
Jim Banko, founder of the U.S. Steinholding Association (USSA), said the sport is deceptively simple.
“You could probably explain it in two sentences to somebody, if you want to give them a high-level explanation. But when you get into all the different things that people can do… it gets kind of nuanced. How high can the arm be? What angle can the arm be at? How can people grip the stein?”
While steinholding is an Oktoberfest staple across the country, Banko’s organization treats it like a sports league and is the only one of its kind in the world. Twenty-one states have their own steinholding state championships as part of the USSA, and the winners of each are the participants in the national competition.
There are different competitions for both men and women, and stats are recorded just like you’d see in any other sport. Last year, Texas competitor Cody Bane smashed the world record for steinholding with a brutal 29-minute hold to win the championship.
“When you get up there, you kinda just have to distract yourself. It gets more and more uncomfortable the longer you go, and eventually people end up losing control if they go all out. You’ll see people spilling their beer at the end, or shaking just from trying to set it down,” Banko said.
He would know: at one point, Banko held the world record for longest hold with a time of 17 minutes and 11 seconds when he competed in a steinholding competition organized by the Bavarian beer chain Hofbräuhaus.
“I’ve always liked German food and German beer, and I’ve always been athletic and competitive,” he said. “I did it on a whim and came in second place the first time I tried it, and was immediately hooked.”
Now a “has-been steinholder,” as he retired from competition entirely following his record-setting win in 2015, he founded the USSA out of a desire to help the sport grow and a realization that he missed the sense of community he got from his involvement in the sport. Now, the thing he’s most proud of is how many friendships the USSA has created.
A Pennsylvania native, Banko was initially unaware of Cincinnati’s love for German culture. He realized it was a “perfect fit” when he started coordinating the event with Greg Hardman, a managing member of Cincinnati Lager House and the founder of the Cincinnati Christkindlmarkt, a Christmas-themed festival that also takes place at the Lager House during the National Championship.
“Jim is very methodical. He was like, ‘Hey, you have to have proper risers, you have to have proper tables, bring in the beer steins. You got to have a backup location.’ And when I heard all those logistics, I was like, oh my gosh, we better make sure we do this right,” Hardman said, laughing. “For example, we partnered with Servatii to make a giant pretzel that says champion on it, and so not only do the winners get a huge trophy and a $4,000 prize, they also get something from Cincinnati to eat. I think of it like how you get a jug of milk for winning the Indy 500.”
To Banko, the event is noteworthy because “people get really into it and you get to see people that are the best in the world at what they do.”
“It’s not a huge sport, as you can imagine. A lot of people have heard of it, but we’re not the NFL yet. But the best competitors in the world going head to head is not something you see very often,” he said. “I’m looking forward to seeing how it grows as we keep building this event and get more people into the sport. And there’s so much great German culture in Cincinnati. I’m excited to keep that going.”
For more information on the USSA National Championship, visit the organization’s official website.
