On Saturday April 18th, HNC held its Annual Walkathon. As the day dawned,
there were some concerns about the weather as overcast skies threatened to
dampen the day’s prospects. But by 7 am, the skies cleared leading to
spectacular weather that formed the backdrop for HNC’s biggest and best
ever Walkathon!!
This year the event focused on participation and fun. Families (immediate
and extended) showed up as early as 6 am to register and participate in the
traditional “warm-up” routine before taking the short walk to the Savannah.
A new feature introduced this year was that each participant was provided
with a number pinned to his/her clothing – this helped to distinguish our
participants from other persons using the Savannah and allowed for easier
distribution of prizes.
At 7 am sharp, with a signal from Mrs. Aqui, the crowd took off heading
west past NAPA and TGI’s – all seeking to complete one lap of the Queen’s
Park Savannah. While some attempted to better their own records by making
the lap in sub-twenty minutes, others relaxed, taking a cool stroll in the
company of their friends and families (and some with their pets!) enjoying
the sunshine that had, by then, appeared in all its glory. Late comers,
perhaps initially ambivalent about attending given the early morning cloud
cover, arrived even as the sprinters were finishing their lap. Even so, in
the true spirit of the event, the late-comers proceeded to complete the lap
enthusiastically, all in great fun and school spirit.
Back at the school, each person who finished was awarded a commemorative
ribbon. Participants and friends were then able to partake in a wide range
of sumptuous breakfast goodies including the ever-popular
bake and buljol, chased by refreshing fruit juices. Then came the Prize
Giving which, for the first time, was purely by random draw among all
finishers – in this way, once you finished, you were eligible to receive a
prize. In addition, prizes were awarded for a wide range of categories
such as oldest finisher, latest finisher, youngest finisher as well as the
more traditional largest family and best effort. Thanks to generous
contributions obtained by our volunteers there was a plethora of prizes,
and the ceremony continued for almost an hour as Mrs. Aqui braved the heat
that was, by then, becoming almost unbearable.
The event culminated in the traditional Ice Fight which has taken on a
competitive spirit of its own – here students enjoyed a friendly game by
which residual ice was eliminated.
Special thanks to everyone who turned out for this event – it truly was the
biggest ever with over 500 persons participating in the walk . Special
congratulations to the champion house and Form year – St. Dominic’s and
Form One – which had the highest returns in terms of value and number of
sheets returned.
We look forward to an equally successful and enjoyable event next year!