(see Photo Gallery below)
The mudder obstacle course challenge on Saturday had everything a kid would want – getting covered with mud from head to toe, a lot of fresh air and exercise, a lot of laughs and happy family time.
The smiles on those young faces was proof enough that the day was a success, said Sara Kozmanuik, the organizer. The youngsters were encouraged to have fun, get lots of exercise and get covered in mud and they loved it.
This is the second year for this event and it has grown substantially, she said. Last year, the kids had fun but it was cold. This year the weather was amazing and everyone seemed to relish spending the afternoon in the sun – and in the mud.
The original intention was to develop it into a family event and it is well on its way to being bigger and better every year, Kozmanuik said.
As the youth liaison worker for the Child Action Plan/ Crossroads Project Reconnect (CAP/CPR), Kozmanuik said she was the organizer, but so many others helped along the way and especially on the day of the big event. Because this is a CAP/CPR event there is no cost to participate. Everything including the drinks, snacks and lunch afterwards was covered by grant funding.
With so many volunteers showing up, the obstacle course was extended to more than double what it was last year, she said. Over the 1.25 kilometre course, there were 16 obstacles. The town workmen began laying out the course several days in advance, digging trenches and building dirt mounds. They also hauled in a lot of the materials needed to make ramps, pylon runs, climbing walls and snow fence (for the snow fence crawl). Hay bales were set up in one mud section and the firemen looked after a long slip-and-slide with a constant flow of water.
The fire department was awesome, Kozmanuik said. They also helped all the way through and on the day of the challenge, they kept the mud pits filled with water and the final station of the run was the hose-down station in which each participant was hosed down from a “gentle” setting on the firetruck’s water hose.
It wasn’t a competition and everyone was encouraged to go through as many stations as they wanted to, she said. The youngest participants went first and after about a half hour the older kids and the adults began joining in. On average, it took about a half hour to go through the course.
As hoped, many parents participated making it a real family event, Kozmanuik said. Last year, it seemed that no one knew what to expect but this year more people participated and she expects the event to keep growing. She estimated that about 45 people went through the course and they were about ages four years to over 50.
The kids were there to have fun, but it was the volunteers who really impressed Kozmanuik. They all took their turns looking after various stations and other responsibilities, but by the end it seemed that everyone ended up going through the course. Kozmanuik gave a big shoutout to Mayor Gina Rakochy who started as a volunteer and ended up just as muddy as the rest.
“We also provided free Subway, juice boxes and water to all our families! Our local firefighters also brought out popcorn for everyone as well.”
“We want this to be a yearly family event and hope to see it get bigger and better each year. Thanks to our grant funding, CAP/CPR is able to provide these events 100 per cent free of charge.”
She also gave a shout-out to JoAnne Sigurdson, the community development officer, who does all the work obtaining the grant money which keeps CAP/CPR thriving.
Kuzmanuik thanked Donna and Dave Medvid for donating the hay bales and lending the coral fencing for the race.
By the third week of September, the fallwinter CAP/CPR programming will begin, she said. Those include: Parents and Tots on Tuesdays, yoga at CJES, snowshoe festivals and various day programs during school breaks.
The next major event in the planning stages is a harvest festival for October, Kozmanuik said. All kind of ideas are already being forged, from hay (bale) rides, pumpkin toss, pumpkin carving to pie eating contests.
Kozmanuik will be at the community’s fall/winter mass registration event on September 3 to explain what programs are available and she is open any new ideas being proposed.
