Day 9: Race Time
Six days of thrills and spills on Mt Hutt was going to be hard to match and a simple site-seeing tour was never going to cut it. So, to get the adrenaline flowing again, it was off to Supa Karts in Christchurch for the annual Ski Tour Grand Prix. Students were randomly allocated to a team, providing a surprisingly even distribution of experience, skill and ambition. Each driver was then given five minutes to complete some practice laps to familiarise themselves with the track and their kart. During this time it became apparent that Makenzie, Kyle and Zac were the racers to watch. It was also clear that whilst Sachin had mastered Mario Kart on the Wii, there was still room for improvement on a real track.
Before long it was race time. The aim of the game was to complete as many laps of the track as possible in 100 minutes. Driving time could be shared as the team saw fit, but they had to complete nine mandatory pit stops or risk disqualification. The first drivers exited the pit lane and the second the lights went green the accelerators were floored. Drivers snaked and weaved around the track, fighting for the lead. Arms were thrown in the air in frustration when passing opportunities were missed and rev limiters on engines saw penalties inflicted for rough driving. Spectators looked on eagerly, screaming words of encouragement and huddling to talk strategy. It soon became apparent that the goal for many teams was not to win, but rather to beat the teacher's team. Speed demon Mr Ward wasn't making it easy for the students though, setting the fastest lap time early in the race, but only held the record until Kyle took to the track. The leader board continued to fluctuate as the race clock counted down bringing out the competitive side of staff and students alike. Lillian's voice could be heard clearly over the revving engines and the screech of tyres as her team leapfrogged the teacher's, moving into first place with 20 minutes to go. Mr Ward was close on their heels, but with 10 minutes left on the clock needed to pit. Team Purple however, had been strategic and used all of their pit stops already. Mr Melchiori worked hard to chase them down, but in the end they were just too good. The Purple Team (Ben, Lillian, Zac, Niki, Roop) took out first place, followed by the Black Team (Mr Melchiori, Mr Ward, Ms Watson, Ms Adams) and the Blue Team (Alex Fisher, Tara, Emily Coleman, Sophie) finished third.
We then moved on to enjoy some pizza in the park, before a quick visit to Riccarton Shopping Centre. According to Priscilla and Annie, one hour in the South Island's biggest shopping mall is not nearly enough time. Despite the tight time frame imposed on them, quite a few students managed to return to the bus loaded up with bags of goodies.
Our activities didn't end there and after dinner it was time to break out our 70s themed costumes for the trivia competition. We strolled through town to the Methven Conference Centre all dressed up providing plenty of entertainment for those that we passed. When we arrived, the teams quickly set themselves up, and began the five rounds of challenging questions that tested their knowledge of all things Kiwi. Some teams shone in rounds relating to geography, while others topped rounds relating to sport and language. Our final round was a karaoke round. A few teams focused on nailing the lyrics, but some went all out and choreographed their routine earning bonus points from the judges. All in all a tight competition, but there could only be one winner. The team comprising of Emma, Emily Chambers, Makenzie, Zac, Lucy and Tilly took out first prize, by the narrowest of margins.
Before long it was race time. The aim of the game was to complete as many laps of the track as possible in 100 minutes. Driving time could be shared as the team saw fit, but they had to complete nine mandatory pit stops or risk disqualification. The first drivers exited the pit lane and the second the lights went green the accelerators were floored. Drivers snaked and weaved around the track, fighting for the lead. Arms were thrown in the air in frustration when passing opportunities were missed and rev limiters on engines saw penalties inflicted for rough driving. Spectators looked on eagerly, screaming words of encouragement and huddling to talk strategy. It soon became apparent that the goal for many teams was not to win, but rather to beat the teacher's team. Speed demon Mr Ward wasn't making it easy for the students though, setting the fastest lap time early in the race, but only held the record until Kyle took to the track. The leader board continued to fluctuate as the race clock counted down bringing out the competitive side of staff and students alike. Lillian's voice could be heard clearly over the revving engines and the screech of tyres as her team leapfrogged the teacher's, moving into first place with 20 minutes to go. Mr Ward was close on their heels, but with 10 minutes left on the clock needed to pit. Team Purple however, had been strategic and used all of their pit stops already. Mr Melchiori worked hard to chase them down, but in the end they were just too good. The Purple Team (Ben, Lillian, Zac, Niki, Roop) took out first place, followed by the Black Team (Mr Melchiori, Mr Ward, Ms Watson, Ms Adams) and the Blue Team (Alex Fisher, Tara, Emily Coleman, Sophie) finished third.
We then moved on to enjoy some pizza in the park, before a quick visit to Riccarton Shopping Centre. According to Priscilla and Annie, one hour in the South Island's biggest shopping mall is not nearly enough time. Despite the tight time frame imposed on them, quite a few students managed to return to the bus loaded up with bags of goodies.
Our activities didn't end there and after dinner it was time to break out our 70s themed costumes for the trivia competition. We strolled through town to the Methven Conference Centre all dressed up providing plenty of entertainment for those that we passed. When we arrived, the teams quickly set themselves up, and began the five rounds of challenging questions that tested their knowledge of all things Kiwi. Some teams shone in rounds relating to geography, while others topped rounds relating to sport and language. Our final round was a karaoke round. A few teams focused on nailing the lyrics, but some went all out and choreographed their routine earning bonus points from the judges. All in all a tight competition, but there could only be one winner. The team comprising of Emma, Emily Chambers, Makenzie, Zac, Lucy and Tilly took out first prize, by the narrowest of margins.
