The race was on for 21 youths this Saturday as they ran about town eating donuts, busting out dance moves, counting fish, folding pizza boxes, and much more.
In Barrhead’s own version of the Amazing race, six teams with participants ranging in ages 11 to 17 tested themselves and worked together through 12 challenging tasks.
The competition started at 10:30 a.m. and wasted no time getting participants active, as they were required to travel from their starting point at FCSS to the fire station. Once they arrived, each team was put to the test with somewhat of obstacle course. They had to unroll fire hoses, and spray down targets in order to receive their next clue.
After a long dash back to town, the teams made their way to B-Towns where one member was required to fold a big pile of pizza boxes. As some unlucky competitors found out, the boxes needed to be folded and arranged perfectly before the team was allowed to move on to the next task.
The movie theatre was next, where a hidden clue resided under one of the theatre seats. This clue led the teams to the Barrhead Bakery, where their hunger to win came in handy. Four donuts stood between the team and their next clue, and one member had to eat every last crumb.
After someone on the team stuffed their face with the delicious pastries, the elementary school park was up next. As a team, the competitors had to drink one liter of pop to receive their next location. Instructed to keep the empty bottle with them for reasons unknown, the kids headed to the Agrena swimming pool.
“Sink or swim...you either have to swim two laps or retreive the item from the bottom of the pool. Once you finish the laps or get the item, give it to the leader there to receive your next clue,” read the clue given to the teams once they reached the pool.
Some youth came prepared with swimsuits, while others didn’t hesitate diving into the water fully clothed. They dove for the item, they swam laps, and other more strategic players saved themselves getting wet by recruiting other swimmers to retrieve the item.
Teams didn’t have to travel far for their next challenge, which was to either run around the walking track in the ice rink three times, or once backwards.
Perhaps the most challenging task came next: counting fish. Thirty-four small blue fish were painted in the windows of various shops along Main Street, which teams had to find and report. Although the challenge seemed easy enough, in the heat of the moment many fish went unseen and the teams were forced to recount numerous times.
A funny but challenging task was in store for one person on each team as they arrived at Footworks Dance. In order to get their next clue, one team member had to learn and perform a short dance taught by a Footworks instructor.
After tripping over their feet and laughing at their own dance skills, or lack thereof, the teammates lucky enough to be chosen for the task clumsily displayed their awkward dance routine. If the instructor was satisfied, they were able to collect their next clue and move on.
After discovering one of their final clues between Robert Munsch books at the library, another wet challenge was in store at the splash park. Armed with only the empty pop bottle they had been carrying around, the tuckered teams had to completely fill a large jug.
Finally, after over three hours of dashing about town, the teams raced back to where it all began. Everyone put on their thinking caps at FCSS for the final task of the day: answering a single math question.
Conner Kooger, Cole Kooger, Hannah Raju, and Kayla Nanninga were named the winning team of Barrhead’s Amazing Race.
Although he would have liked a bigger turnout, organizer Randy Paupst said he was impressed with the number of new faces he saw come out for the event. Over all, Paupst said he thinks everyone had fun and really enjoyed the challenges.
Not only were the different challenges a source of entertainment for a day, but they required the teams to think outside the box and challenge themselves.
Finding fish on Main Street meant high patience and attention to detail, while learning a dance requires keeping rhythm and learning something new quickly. Even getting from one destination to the other was a challenge, because it tested how physically fit each participant was.
Though some participants did get frustrated and drop out of the race, Paupst said for the most part everyone pushed through.
“It was exciting and they got to run around, and no one got hurt,” he said. “They challenged themselves and they pushed themselves, and I think they would really like to do it on a bigger scale.”
In completing the fun-filled day, Paupst said he thinks everyone who participated had a great time. The race was a good way to get the youth out of the house and interacting with others in the community, instead of sitting around at home on a Saturday afternoon.
“The whole goal is to build friendships and connect with different people,” said Paupst. “When you hang out with people you just feel good about yourself after. I think everybody had fun.”
