Phuket contestants needed for PCF Race Day

PHUKET: Phuketians are invited to form teams to race rafts, dragon boats, kayaks and even cardboard boxes for the chance to win awards and prizes at the Phuket Community Foundation’s upcoming Race Day charity fundraiser.

The day of family fun in and around the water will be held at Canal Village, Laguna Phuket on November 7, which still gives potential participants plenty of time to get teams together and register in their racing category.

Apart from all the fun of a traditional community fare, including a bouncy castle, face painting, balloon creations, a goal-kicking contest and a variety of side stalls, the PCF Race Day’s main events will be a variety of boat races and the ‘Great Rubber Duck Race’, where hundreds, if not thousands, of pre-paid rubber ducks will be released to race downstream.

Dragon Boat Races

The dragon boat races are a great opportunity for companies to sponsor a boat and give their staff a fun team-building experience, including expert instruction before Race Ray.

Eight teams of 18 are required for the dragon boat crews, which consist of one drummer, one helmsman (or woman) and sixteen oarsmen.

There will be four races in this competition, each with two teams competing head-to-head. Two of these classes will involve universities and local schools, which leaves two races to fill.

Kayak Races

The kayak races will be divided into separate age categories and organizers are looking for 24 crews to race the two-man kayaks.

Raft Races

There will be two classes of rafts – homemade and “Quest-made” – both with crews of four.

Homemade rafts may be made of anything the teams can buy, beg or borrow. Expect to see old bathtubs and oil drums put to good use in this category, in which prizes will be awarded for the weirdest, the wackiest, the most amusing floating contraption.

Less practical minded participants who want to be sure they will at least float past the finish line can enlist the help of expert raft builders from Quest, who will provide all the rope, barrels and planks needed to build a raft, and a few pointers on how to lash them together. Quest will also supply paddles and life jackets.

Cardboard Box Race

The cardboard box race is for kids aged between 10 and 15 and requires teams of two. The teams will be given a box, bubble wrap and duct tape. Prizes will be given out for the first box across the finish line (or the last to sink) and for the best decorated.

Muay Talay

The final event, the Muay Talay contests, will see people donning boxing gloves and attempt to knock seven bells out of each other while sitting astride a slippery wooden pole.

All materials, boats, kayaks, paddles, gloves, helmets and life jackets for the boat races will be supplied by the PCF.

Great Rubber Duck Race ducks can be purchased from a number of different outlets, including the Phuket Gazette offices, Woody’s Sandwich Shoppes and Phuket International Hospital.

Each duck is priced at 150 baht (US$5), with the proceeds going to the PCF’s grant fund. The owners of the first six ducks to cross the finish line will win prizes, which include a four-night stay for two at a Banyan Tree spa pool villa, a three-night stay in an Amanpuri garden villa and family membership at the Phuket International Academy Sports Club.

For more information, including race schedules, entry fees and downloadable registration forms, visit phuketcharity.org/duck or email racecompetitor@phuketcharity.org or talk-to-us@phuketcharity.org.

— Gazette Events