Quests for Kids
Event #2:
Netball Quest 61
-
Guinness Book of Records Challenge for the Longest Game of
Netball EVER>>>>>
- Event: To play a game of Netball for 61 hours
continuously
- Where is it: South Fish Creek recreation
Complex (S.E Calgary)
- Start time: 5.30pm Friday Sept.16th
- Finish time: 6.30am Monday Sept.19th
- Reason to do it: Right To Play fundraiser
- Donate: MARTIN'S DONATION PAGE
During these lazy summer evenings, Sue and I have enjoyed
watching "Expedition Impossible". This show involves teams of three
people attempting to tackle some of the toughest terrain in
Morocco. The scenery has been spectacular and the teams have had to
repel down cliffs, raft down raging white water rapids and crawl
through a labyrinth of caves. The show is produced by Mark Burnett
and you might know him for shows such as "Survivor", "Shark Tank",
"The Apprentice" and "Are you smarter than a 5th
Grader?"
Mr. Burnett has an interesting background. Born in England, he
joined the British Army and between 1978 and 1982 served with the
Parachute Regiment in the Falklands. In October 1982, he decided to
leave Britain for the United States, where he took a live-in nanny
position with a family in Beverly Hills. Though he had no
experience in that field, because of his military background, the
family, realized the advantage of having a nanny and security guard
all in one and hired him. After a year, he moved on to another
family in Malibu, taking care of two boys for $250 a week. He was
eventually given a position in the insurance office owned by the
boys' father.
Two years later, at the weekends, he decided to rent a portion
of fence at Venice Beach and sell T-shirts for $18 each. Realizing
he made more money at this, Mr. Burnett left his insurance job.
In February 1991, he read a newspaper article by Jon Markman,
about a French adventure competition called the Raid Gauloises.
With four other members, he joined the Raid, and called his team
American Pride. Aside from adventure, he saw a business opportunity
in the competition, bought the format rights and launched a similar
race in America, called "Eco-Challenge". It launched his career in
TV production.
Over the years Mr. Burnett has produced many shows, but his
heart is in Adventure Racing. On "Expedition Impossible" each team
has a theme. In this series, teams included the Police, the
Fishermen, the Football Players, and the Cowboys. One of the top
teams was No-Limits and one of their members, Eric Weihenmayer, was
the star of the show. Eric is blind. He was born September
23, 1968 and, on May 25th 2001 was the first blind
person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.. In June 2001, Time
magazine covered his story in an article entitled "Blind to
Failure". Erik is an acrobatic skydiver, long distance biker,
marathon runner, skier, mountaineer, ice climber, and rock climber.
In September 2002, he also completed the Seven Summits,
successfully climbing the seven highest peaks on the seven
continents. He completes these amazing feats with the guidance of
Jeff Evans who was also a team member on Expedition Impossible.
In early 2006, Sue and I had the pleasure of meeting Erik. A
movie was being made of his life, including his ascent of Mount
Everest. It was called "Touch the Top of the World" and was being
shot in Calgary and Banff. They were looking for extras to play a
crowd scene at a local school so Sue and I went along. The scene
was set in Weston High School, Connecticut. Erik was the school's
wrestling champion and he was representing the state in National
Freestyle Wrestling Championships.
Last Thursday was the final episode of "Expedition Impossible"
and No-Limits had to go against three other teams. They started off
having to paddle a tin boat across a lake and then ride Arabian
stallions to the first check point, where the football players came
in fourth and were eliminated. The final three teams had to drive
to Marrakech and figure out a route through the back streets of the
city. Finally, they had to go down into catacombs and solve a
Moroccan puzzle box, in order to retrieve a key which would enable
them to complete the final task. It was a dash to the finish.
No-Limits came second to the Gypsies. Erik had shown that, despite
his disability, he was able to keep up with the other competitors
and proved that he is the perfect role model for people without
sight.
As he said, in his life, "There are no limits".
Dr Randolph Randolph's book of animal jokes
Q: What kind of fish will help you hear better?
A: A herring aid!
Quote of the Day: School Kids
"When running think warm happy thoughts"
Eric (age 9), Mitford Middle School
Jeff Evans leads blind adventurer Erik Weihenmayer on
Expedition Impossible

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