Great Amazing Race!

A group of around twenty-five Year 5 boys, along with their mums, spent an energetic Sunday afternoon racing around the city, participating in the Great Amazing Race.  Starting at Belmore Park near Central Station, teams of 4 or 6, worked through a series of challenges set up at sites all around the city.  From acting like ‘zoo animals’ in front of the Hyde Park Fountain, trying to catapult balls into a designated area at Cook and Phillip Park and encouraging random strangers to form a conga line in Martin Place, the teams showed great ingenuity and determination in completing all their challenges.  There were also a series of bonus challenges that were set which gave extra time credits towards your team’s finishing time, these included taking a photo of your team posing like the Opera House…with the Opera House in the background (not so easy with ferries and cruise ships obscuring the view!).

It was a close race with at least five teams in equal second place, but the winning team was Team 8 – Lachie Brownrigg and Jack Mannix (and their mums Vanessa and Isabella).  Lachie and Jack share some of their thoughts on the day…

What did you enjoy about the race?

We enjoyed the teamwork required and the team spirit everyone showed. We also liked the satisfaction of figuring out the answer to questions and being able to move onto the next task. It was also good seeing parts of the city that we hadn’t seen before. 

Did anything surprise you during the day?

The biggest surprise was the win! We think the bonus points from having the longest conga line helped us in the end. That was really funny as we needed to ask strangers to join us. We were also surprised how well our mums could find their way around the city!

Did you learn something on the day you didn’t know before?

We learnt that the people in our team all had different strengths, which meant that we needed to communicate well to figure out the clues.   We also learnt that one of our mums is really competitive! 

What would your advice be for someone who will do the race in the future?

Everyone in the team needs to be working together so communication is important.  Also, don’t rush, as one silly mistake could cost a lot, and read the information you are given CAREFULLY!  But most importantly just enjoy the day, as it goes by so fast!

Huge thanks to Jo Stewart, Year 5 Class Parent, for her fantastic organisation of the day.  Everyone had an absolute ball and if you would like to find out more about the Great Amazing Race, please feel free to contact Jo.

Vanessa Brownrigg and Isabella Mannix