Mud and smiles all round for tough test
The saying goes, “tough times don’t last, tough people do”, and that could not be truer for some of the students at Hamilton’s St Joseph’s Catholic School who took on the Junior Tough Guy and Gal Challenge alongside thousands of other primary and intermediate aged children.
Making it that extra bit special for some of St Joseph’s senior students was that this was their sixth and final visit to the Junior event.
Archie Mason, Billy Stewart, Layla Carter, and Shelby McLeod-Dunn all shared their plan to do their final Junior Tough Guy and Gal Challenge together as a team and have as much fun as possible during the 3km course.
The school registered 45 students to participate in the first day of events in Ngaruawahia, taking along year 3 to year 8 students.
Coming back year-on-year shows that the Junior Tough Guy and Gal Challenge is a staple event for schools and why the Ngaruawahia events in particular sell out often.
With 2023 being completely sold out and having had to turn competitors away, Event Promotions is looking to extend the event next year to four Junior event days.
This will allow a further 1100 or more primary and intermediate aged children to join in on the fun and learn how to push through tough obstacles to reach the finish line.
This year’s Tough Guy and Gal Challenge Series started in Wainuiomata in late May and has already visited three venues around the lower North Island ahead of the events in Ngaruawahia.
Ngaruawahia had perfect conditions with lots of mud and lots of smiling, energetic competitors, making it an outstanding atmosphere with hundreds of supporting parents, grandparents and school staff
cheering on the children as they tackled the 1.5km or 3km off-road course and both natural and manmade obstacles.
Event Promotions’ Georgia Frame said there is always a huge interest in the school events, with the secondary school event on the Friday having also reached more than
1100 registered competitors. “It is always amazing coming to our Ngaruawahia venue,” Frame said..
“The smile on the kids’ faces getting out in the mud and testing their abilities is great to see. We like to encourage the kids to have fun … challenge themselves to
build confidence, resilience and a love for the outdoors and physical activity.”
“Then when you hear that some of them have been attending for the majority of their school life, it’s pretty special to think this event will be a lifelong memory for them.”