by Jim Boyle
Editor
Katy Olson and Angela Hauge didn’t set out to blaze a trail, but the two Elk River Municipal Utilities employees did just that when they took the Hydrant Hysteria contest by storm last fall in Duluth.
Olson and Hauge became the first and only duo of women to compete in the Minnesota arm of the American Water Works Association contest, in which competitors race to assemble hydrants.
They left for the American Water Works Association’s Minnesota convention primed for success. The duo had trained for months and took their game to another level at the open house celebrating the opening of ERMU’s new field services building last August. The community has been very supportive ever since.
Their best time at the state convention was 1 minute, 53 seconds. If not for an infraction from having a loose nut that cost them on their score, they would have won the Hydrant Hysteria at the AWWA state convention in Duluth over all their male competitors.
The state AWWA board agreed to send one male team and one female team to nationals earlier this year, giving the two women the green light to compete against other women from around the country in the Hydrant Hysteria national competition.
The pair learned on the trip they were plenty competitive, even though it was their first trip and they had to learn how to assemble a different style fire hydrant. AWWA switches up the type of hydrant from time to time so warm-weather states don’t have an unfair advantage and vice versa.
The women from ERMU did not make the cut from 20 female teams of two women down to six teams. They finished eighth, with a significant drop in the scores of those who finished below them.
Olson and Hauge got approval to be the first women to compete at Minnesota’s state contest after one of them saw the 2022 competition and began asking the state board if women could compete. Olson had noticed that there were not any women in the contest.
She learned from talking with the AWWA state board they could and already did in many other states.
The number of women competing in the contest is apparently growing nationally, as evidenced by this year’s group of 20 female duos being the largest group yet. There were 27 two-person male teams competing at nationals this year.
“You know, at the beginning, it was exciting to be in more of a male-dominant field,” Olson said. “After doing it for so long, you become one of the guys and you don’t really take note of being a woman among mostly men. But when other people bring it to your attention and cheer you on, I think that helped us understand we’re representing more than just us.”
Field services open house helped launch duo
The hundreds of people who attended the Aug. 24, 2023, open house to celebrate the opening of the field services building will remember seeing the two women assemble a fire hydrant there in less than 2.5 minutes. Their best time at the open house was 1 minute, 55 seconds.
“I think it worked out really well for us,” said Olson, who lives in Elk River. “We did it every half hour (eight times at the open house) in some of the hottest conditions in the back of the building where there was no wind.”
Olson’s counterpart, who lives in Buffalo, said having all the people there to cheer them on helped them get used to an audience.
“When they were there cheering us on, it was a little nerve-wracking,” Hauge said. “But the more we put it together with people watching you, the more I think we enjoyed it and got more pumped up about it. And I think that really helped us in Duluth, because we had a big cheering section of women up there.”
They also had a big send-off last fall on the Friday before they left for the state convention and Hydrant Hysteria contest.
“We told everybody that wanted to come watch us and cheer us on to come watch while we assembled a hydrant one last time before we left,” Olson said. “So we had all the field guys come down there, and they were cheering us on and we finished it in 1 minute, 47 seconds.”
The best time at nationals a few years ago when it was the Minnesota-style fire hydrant was 1 minute, 54 seconds — a time they beat here in Elk River and at the competition in Duluth.
Paths to water industry started as 18-year-old
Hauge got into the water industry in 2005 as a summer employee, and she came back to work on college breaks. Once she finished college, she joined ERMU full time.
In 2007, she became a water operator, a job she held for almost 10 years. Since 2016, she has worked as a geographic information system (GIS) mapping technician, which is what she went to college for.
Olson had been working in government and was looking for a change. In 2017, she worked in water and wastewater, and ERMU piqued her interest because they were just water.
“I decided to give it a try,” she said. “I have been a water operations foreperson at ERMU since 2019.”
She supervises full-time water operators and seasonal water workers.
Hauge does a lot of work for Zimmerman Fire Relief Association’s charitable gambling activities.
Olson stays active with her two boys, having coached their basketball teams for many years.
The fire hydrant assembly has taught her how to harness her emotions, which can run wild as a coach.
“Katy gets revved up differently than the way I do,” Hauge said. “I have to bring it down (a notch), so I can think.”
Olson said her initial reaction while coaching is to yell. With this competition she has to limit the number of words she even says.
“With (competitive assembly), you have to breathe and think and just do it,” Hauge said. “It is definitely a learning process.”
Both strength, finesse needed in Hydrant Hysteria
Assembling a hydrant quicker than your competitors is a lot harder than it might look at first glance.
“There is lifting, upwards of 60 pounds, but there is also finesse that goes along with that,” Olson stated in a water works industry newsletter.
Her teammate agrees.
“You almost have to dance around the hydrant,” Hauge said. “I sit in neutral at times during the competition, getting out of Katy’s way as she puts bolts on, and then also help her out.”
Hauge’s height gives her the leverage to be able to lift the main part of the hydrant into place. Olson’s finesse allows her to attach small components to the hydrant. Hauge also has incredible strength. Together, their collective talents make them an effective team.
As they trained, the two women found it rewarding to see the seconds fall off their time.
“Every second counts, and communication is really key,” Hauge said. “We have certain code words that help us communicate and help our teammate know if we are behind and when we need the other teammate to compensate for something that is happening.”
Any infringement of the rules results in a time penalty. Incorrect personal protective equipment, hydrant components touching at the beginning of competition, and loose parts all result in a penalty. Physical and mental strength as well as precision are needed for a team’s score to add up to victory.
Hauge and Olson say they have not decided yet if they will continue to compete in Hydrant Hysteria, noting it’s a big commitment. They are, however, encouraging others, including other women in the water industry. They have, after all, blazed a trail for their female colleagues.
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