TeamQuest challenge coming
Published 8:53 pm Saturday, May 4, 2013
Teams of Suffolk residents will get together next Saturday for a physical and mental challenge in a non-competitive environment.
The new Team Quest event at Bennett’s Creek Park is being sponsored by the Suffolk Partnership for a Healthy Community and Healthy People/Healthy Suffolk, along with Suffolk Parks and Recreation. Teams of family members or friends with children and adults are invited to participate.
“The whole purpose of it is to get people thinking about how they can be more physically active,” said Robbie Laughton, executive director of the partnership. “It kind of goes back to the old-timey field days, where you used to have sack races and tug-of-war.”
The six challenges include sit-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks and hitting a disc golf target. A mental challenge will have participants answering questions about nutrition, and they also will be asked to brainstorm ways they can be more physically active.
“This is a little bit different venue where we can do a team event,” Laughton said. “It is our first attempt at a program like this.”
Laughton said participants will not be racing against time or trying to beat each other.
“It is non-competitive, so you’re not out there trying to beat the clock or beat anybody’s score,” Laughton said.
The event, which starts at 11 a.m. with a 10 a.m. check-in, will be held along a 1.5-mile route. There is no time limit, but it is designed for teams to move quickly. All team members who finish will receive a Frisbee and be entered in prize drawings.
Participants will have a group Zumba session after the event. They are encouraged to bring their own healthy picnic lunches. Bottled water and fruit-infused water will be provided.
The event also will feature the partnership’s marking of Rev Your Bev Day, a statewide event sponsored by the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth.
The event is a “promotion to show people how the sugary beverages we take into our bodies every day like sweet tea, sodas, Gatorade, lemonade, those type things, they are not healthy,” Laughton said.
Participants will be quizzed about how much sugar is in a soda and how many pounds one soda a day for a year could equal, he said.
“It’s an education thing about sugary beverages,” Laughton said.
Pre-registration is required and will be accepted through the day before the event. Visit www.suffolkpartnership.org for more information.