The Omaha, Neb. club was looking for ways to entertain members while they were at the pool last summer. When a video of a mascot race at a Washington Nationals game was shown, the Kraken Server Races were born.

Great ideas are everywhere. You just have to keep your eye out for them.

Brogan Kanger, Assistant Manager and Internship Coordinator at Champions Run in Omaha, Neb., says club officials were looking for ways to entertain members while they were at the pool last summer.

The club’s general manager showed co-workers a video of a mascot race at a Washington Nationals game and the Kraken Server Races were born.

Ben Lorenzen, the club’s Creative Director, notes the races symbolize Champions Run’s  effort to keep members engaged.

“We’re looking for ways to entertain our members throughout the day,” Lorenzen says.

Champions Run’s primary mascot is Kraken, an orange octopus wearing a pirate hat, but the club has four other mascots: a green gator, a yellow sea dragon, a red ray, and a blue barracuda. Four lifeguards donned the costumes, and raced one another on the pool deck. A child is paired with a mascot and sits in a chair. The mascots ran to the pool deck bar, grabbed a slushie, delivered it to the child they’re paired with, returned to the bar to retrieve a cream pie, scampered back and gently put the pie in the child’s face.

“People would stand by whoever they thought was going to win and … whatever mascot won, everyone who bet on that mascot won free ice cream,” Lorenzen says.

The impromptu races were shown on the club’s social media outlets and has helped attract some new members.

“It’s just one of those things that helps us stand out,” Kanger says.