It's summer, which means that most of you are probably subjecting your poor sneakers to all kinds of gross things, knowing fully well that when the school year begins, you will swap them out for a brand new pair. However this year, do something different - Continue wearing them until the stench makes even your most stoic friends swoon, because that is the only way to win the prestigious title of owning the Smelliest Sneaker in America and earning an easy $2,500 USD.

That, is exactly what Connecticut teen Casey Adams did to edge out the eight finalists in the 38th Rotten Sneakers Contest that was held in Montpelier, Vermont on March 19th, 2013. The eighth-grader's secret? Walking her dog and cleaning out her chicken coop, resulting in a winning combination of chicken and dog poop smelling pair of sneakers.

The odor was so bad that whilst most other contestants came in wearing their smelly sneakers, Casey's had to be transported inside numerous bags which were duct-tapped and thrown into the back of the car. When the sneaker was removed from its encasings even master sniffer George Aldrich who has been judging this fun contest for 14 years, had to admit that he had never experience a whiff so bad.

While feedback like this would normally make any parent cringe in shame, such was not the case here. That's because Casey managed to out-stink her fellow competitors and win the annual contest, which besides a hefty check, also earned her the Golden Sneaker award, a trophy, a basket of Odor Eaters products and, an all expenses paid trip to New York City to watch Wicked on Broadway. More importantly, her rotten sneakers will forever be enshrined in Odor Eater's Hall of Fumes.

The Rotten Sneakers Contest was conceived in 1975 by a sporting goods store owner in Montpelier, Vermont to promote a new line of shoes. When the city's recreation director heard about it, he decided to make it a citywide event. In 1988, the makers of Odor Eaters decided to take it over and make it a national event.

The contest is judged by expert smellers, which include 'Master Sniffer' George Aldrich, a chemical specialist for NASA Space missions, Rachel Herz, a professor at Brown University and Montpelier City Manager, Bill Fraser - Their criteria? Sneakers that are really tattered and torn, but most important of all, ones that smell foul - And they mean foul enough so that you can smell them even from a distance.

Ready to get a head start? Now is the perfect time - Start dragging those sneakers through every kind of muck possible and see if you can make your parents proud and earn yourself some cool cash not to mention, the fame of being the owner of the most disgusting, smelliest sneaker in America! To read more about this fun contest, go to www.odor-eaters.com.

Resources: odor-eaters.com, sltrib.com, desertnews.com