Jesse: The Staple Race

Today was the “Race Around Minyerri”. Modelled on the hit television series, “The Amazing Race”, it forms a staple in the Tijimbat holiday calendar. It’s not our Grand Final. It’s more of our Essendon versus Collingwood on ANZAC Day – you’re into the season, you get a decent crowd and there are fierce rivalries, but you’re not quite ready for it all to be over just yet.

Over 30 kids split into five teams headed off for a 90-minute race in which they had to navigate a set of challenges and location clues.

Rita set up the school’s table tennis table and had the kids aiming balls at targets up the other end. The first team struggled, but the rest had their skills in check.

Amy had a pretty fancy obstacle course set up in one of the classrooms, complete with entry chamber (a couple of cotton sheets draped over a table). The kids threw a tennis ball into the obstacle course. One at a time, each team member donned a blindfold and was guided – in a loud, multi-voice mesh of Kriol and English – to retrieve the ball by their teammates.

Erin ran the kids through a munchy, crunchy food relay. Starting with the cruel yet amusing Weet-Bix Challenge – in which the kids had to chew down a dry Weet-Bic without the aid of milk or water – the kids then had to tag their teammate standing over a bucket of water for a spot of orange-bobbing (in the absence of over 30 apples).

Daryl held a 10-pin bowling contest on the community basketball court and had a small grandstand of younger kids watching (and playing at every opportune break in play).

Eamon had very securely taped up a makeshift see-saw with a bucket on each end. The challenge for the kids was to move water from one end to the other to make it balance – ie. have neither end hit the ground for 10 seconds. This activity was right on the bank of the closest billabong. Eamon is rethinking the location after he sunk into the mud.

Another successful day and icy-poles all-round!

Most of the afternoon has been spent planning next week. We’ve had some very productive chats with community members today as well. I’m very much looking forward to the local knowledge sessions that some community members are talking about for the next week or so. Watch this space.