The day of fun, challenge and entertainment was co-ordinated by Belinda McElroy in memory of her father and we had a great time organising and running the 'race' element of the day. Money raised came from entry fees for race teams, raffles, auctions and kind online donations from supporters who could not attend the event itself. Belinda can be very proud of the achievements by her and her team of supporters and helpers, raising in excess of $4000.
Nine enthusiastic teams of race participants arrived at the Colmslie Beach Reserve dressed in team colours and costumes ready to test out their skills. We had Superheroes, Hawaiian Singletons, Wheels on Fire, and Kiwi Rush just to name a few.
On the whistle runners headed off into the trees in search of their race kits and first set of clues. Teams had questions to answer in the park and decorations to attach to their cars before they were given directions to the next checkpoint. It was all action and I'm not sure what the families in the playground thought was going on when they saw 'Radioactive man' and 'Lara Croft' running towards them.
After some creative problem solving and a bit of back tracking, all teams had received their clues and were off on the next stage of the race, balloons bobbing behind them.
Matching up pictures of un-named buildings with the real thing at the next checkpoint proved easy for some teams and they were soon on their way to the seaside.
Down by the seaside we got to see some fabulous landscape/seascape paintings as people embraced the fun challenge of creating an orignal work of art. The pressure of judging was on Emma, our volunteer for the day who was so impressed by the efforts, enthusiasm and finished products that she awarded top marks to all teams.
At this checkpoint some teams also took this opportunity to score some extra points with the bonus challenges, so we saw much making of sand angels and convincing strangers to join them in conga lines. Kiwi Rush (orange team) even managed to use their charm to return with a bright orange rubber crab to show they could find a creative souvenir in their team colour!
Artists then farewelled the seaside and raced towards their next checkpoint - THE BIG RED AND GREEN SHED, and then back to the park for the tallying of scores. First team home were the girls from Wheels on Fire - a great effort considering they only had three team members!
As we began to check answers and photographic evidence, the creativity of the teams was even further revealed. We were entertained with videos of conga lines and photographs of people pretending to do all sorts of jobs - policewoman, barista, barmaid, snowcone maker to name a few. Fantastic! Teams also eagerly took up the challenge to bring back something fabulous and creative in their team colour - we were ceremoniously handed items such as a bag of red capsicums, a blue Bacardi Cruiser, silver thank you notes, and a purple silk banner that looked suspiciously like it used to belong on a shop front (All in the name of charity remember).
In the end it was the girls from Wheels on Fire - looking red and thinking blue, who took out first place (a $200 dinner voucher from Sienna restaurant). We hope everyone enjoyed the race and it was great fun for us to see it all come together.
The day continued with that great Aussie classic of sausages in bread, accompanied by the beautiful sounds of Pepperazzi - definitely Google their details if you are looking for a fantastic band! All this and then the raffling and auctioning of some very generous prize donations made for a great atmosphere.
It was a great pleasure for us to be included in this event and feel that we could in some way contribute to this very worthwhile cause. From us also, a huge thank you to those family members and friends we called in as volunteer pink helpers for the day - great job!
Wheels on Fire
Be great in act as you have been in thought William Shakespeare
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