Sunday, 9th of June was the day families and friends in Colombo, who were interested in city “romping” looked forward to.
The day of the "We Did It: Amazing Colombo City Romp” was a day for people to get boosted and stack up stamina and enthusiasm to familiarise Colombo in fresh ways, while teams had their chance to unleash the hidden potential of each team member – having fun was the desirable dose of bonus in the process.
Graham and Eli of Entertrainers, the group and personal fitness solution provider are the people behind the Amazing Colombo City Romp. A mish-mash of treasure hunt, family race, physical endeavours and trivia craze, indeed puts your knowledge of your home city to test. Armoured with a map, clues, means of transport and modern technology and whatever resources you could muster up of your own, the Amazing City Romp sends you round the city to several venues, some iconic, others strange, all in all unpredictable.
Teams that were more successful than the others will be able to vouch that team effort and endurance were the name of the game. Teams were sent out in three batches, each commencing at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., and 12. Noon, and by the time we arrived there just before 10, we could see people in various, eye-catching attires and t-shirts, eager to collect their clues and maps, and with lots of enthusiasm stored up to last the journey.
After the briefing, Eli made the crowd bust some feisty moves to the beat of well loved dance anthems, through what was called a hale and hearty “warm-up session.” We could see teams with some of the most curious names, and decided it’s worth giving a shout: Beira Babes, Rampey, Hell Raisers, Sarong Johnnies, Aiyo 6000, Cloud Runners, Keg Busters, Karapincha, Freak-a-zoid, Loopies and so many more.
What was evident is that almost all of the 50+ teams had put in tremendous preparation in selecting an interesting name and picking a costume. As teams moved out in their vehicles as soon as they could, we followed them on trail too! Here are snippets of what we captured of what turned out to be an absolutely fun venture to the participants and a well laid out success for the organizers.
CHALLENGE D12: 11. 05 a.m. Gangarama Temple
Challenge description: “Located on what was once a swamp this vulnerable location is now a treasure trove.”
The location described creatively above was none other than the serene Gangarama Temple, and here teams were plunged into a two-fold challenge, one as described on paper and the other at arrival.
Teams were expected to take a photograph of the smallest item in the world located in the temple and counting skills of the competitors being tested, teams had to choose from either counting the number of Buddha Statues in the Boro Budhur section OR the total number of Buddha Statues located in the Boro Budhur section, including the Seema Malaka Pavilions on Beira Lake to complete the challenge.
“It’s pretty tough, but fun. Our counting skills are being tested!” – A Team
CHALLENGE E14: 11. 30 a.m. Independence Square
Challenge Description:”Independent Safety”
Physical fitness, team spirit and first aid were skills tested in this challenge by the “Falck” team at the Independence Square (hence the name of the challenge!) Teams had to watch and mirror the Falck team treat a broken arm, cardiac arrest and transporting a trauma victim on a back board, all within 3 minutes! A unique challenge that added value to the romp experience!
“Really interesting. Nice challenge. All the challenges test how well you know Colombo. We are supposed to strap this body and carry it around and return within 5 minutes, or we get no points! We are supposed to think it is a real body and do it. We ran a bit too fast!!” – Avocado Mafia
CHALLENGE A8: 11. 50 a.m Galle Face, Chaitya Stupa/Lighthouse
Challenge Description: “Bridge Climb!”
The “Bridge Climb” included climbing and counting accurately the 233 steps of the Chaitya Stupa Temple. Once completed, a female member of the group was required to drive a “Tuk-Tuk” to the lighthouse with prior instructions given.
This aspect of the challenge brought wide smiles to the faces competitors after focused counting and a tedious uphill climb!
“It was tiring. This was the first time we ever counted so many stairs with focus, and so much silence. Not exactly exhausting, but enjoyable!” – Ehindaas
CHALLENGE D/E /12/13: 12. 30 p.m. Viharamahadevi Park
Challenge Description: “Allegra’s Ice Cream Cart Challenge”
Allegra’s Ice Cream Cart was stationed by the road side close to the Vihara Maha Devi Park and lured parched competitors who were asked to taste and guess the different flavours of ice cream while being blindfolded.
However, certain competitors did face difficulty in guessing the flavour at first lick and just had to finish the entire scoop of ice cream to complete the task!
“It was good, fun, adventurous to do with friends, (and a friend’s dad!). Fun getting free ice-cream.”
- APIA
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Also part of this challenge was to draw the We Did It: Amazing City Romp logo! Everyone put their artistic skills to test, while those who ditched art lessons back in school were surely the ones to sulk. The team that spoke to us was also the one that grabbed the award for the best replication of the logo.
“This one is fun, we like this. This brings people to Kala Pola and brings attention. It’s good that they did not do this sort of thing at the stables, but brought us here. The social and cultural aspect is involved. These guys need to be known internationally. On the logo we are including the face portraits of the team members.” – Fruitella
CHALLENGE F12: 12. 46 p.m. Sandwich Factory, Colombo 7
Challenge Description: “Hot, Hot, Hot at the Yummy Factory!”
It was ‘Man vs. Food’ at the Sandwich Factory as teams devoured 6 spicy chicken wings or 6 spicy chicken wings plus a burger meal (including fries and a milkshake), all within 3 minutes! This challenge was no doubt a real hunger buster too!
“Dinasha is going to eat. The rest of us are going to shout and cheer her on. Or stuff it down her mouth. Hopefully, it’s not too spicy. We are being given hot spicy chicken wings.” – Purple House Mafia
CHALLENGE D7: 1. 15 p.m. Wolvendhal Church, Armour Street
Challenge Description: “Find the Slave Pews”
At arrival, teams were seen carting bundles of old Wijeya Newspapers down Wolvendhal Street as a part of the challenge.
Competitors were then required to take a photograph of the entire team seated on the slave pews located inside the historic Wolvendhal Church to complete the challenge. Finding the unnamed pews from quite a few that looked alike was a real challenge!
“This challenge was great. We got to see an old beautiful church that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise.’ – Power Puff Girls
GRAHAM: “People are looking forward to it. They’re having fun. The typical thing is, people arrive last moment which makes it difficult to organize but the turnout has been more or less good.”
ELI: “We were very happy with the turnover. Lots of people participated at the warm-up session and Gangnam Style really brought them to life. So far we are very happy with the romp. Everybody was happy. Challenges were different this time around, and Colombo was certainly more relaxed this time, since it was a Sunday (unlike last time, when it was a Saturday and the city was busy).
Lots of families and friends have participated and have enjoyed the challenges very much. It was a bit complex to check the photos at the conclusion, and also so many teams had ties and score closely. The quiz came out both good and bad.”
OVERALL WINNERS’ COMMENT (COLOMBO AVENGERS: SHALINI, SHANA, LILANKA, SAM)
Secret of success –“strategic planning, having someone who knows Colombo and using a Colombo Tuk-Tuk instead of our own vehicle”
Favourite Challenge – “Gangnam Style! It wasn’t a Romp challenge, but doing it was certainly challenging!”
Toughest Challenge – “Medical Challenge! The one by the Falck team”
WINNERS OF THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS CATEGORY (TEAM LOST: VIVEK, ANUKA, MINUSHA, RADHIL)
Secret of success –“Strategizing. We spent hours before planning everything out we actually set out. We left Colombo at the last moment since we knew the roads well.”
Favourite Challenge – “Everything, actually!”
Toughest Challenge – “The questions of the quiz”
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