After a tense week of watching the radar and cyclone activity, the weather gods were smiling on us for our Australia Day activities and the RQYS annual Thong Toss Championship.

 The crowd was a lively bunch and braved the heat and a soggy pitch to join in and we’re pleased to report no injuries were sustained (except maybe an ego or two).

Our amazing MC’s, Adrian Finglas and Paul Bolton, kept the crowd entertained with plenty of questionable puns and encouragement that could have seen our young competitors take gold in the Olympics.

Paul Bolton and Adrian Finglas

We had champions gracing us from every angle, and the thong toss this year may have set a new club record.  Our 2023 Thong Toss champion, Nicole Miller, was outshone slightly this year by Nadine Story who took home the glory for the women.

Nadine Story, Nicole Miller and Amanda Thompson

However, Nicole’s husband, Nick Miller, managed to keep the honour in the family and took it out for the men’s division, and the overall most impressive toss of the entire day.

(Left) The Miller Family, (Right) Nick Miller’s Tossing in action

Our juniors were also in fine form with the boys and girls showing some great throwing skills on the thongs, a commendable effort by all!

(Left) Thong Tossing in action, (Right) Ella McShea and Harry McShea

The great egg and spoon race was once again handed down to the next generation, but it was the sack races which saw our R.C Todd Anderson (questionably) diving over the finish line in an attempt to claim victory, only to finish in second place.

One family in particular must have been practicing their lawn game skills for the last 12 months though, because they took out a medal in nearly every single category! A big congratulations to the McShea family who saw Mum Tarah take out the women’s sack race by a country mile, Dad Andrew take gold in the men’s and sons Harry, Hudson and Henry take a medal in the sack races, egg and spoon, three-legged race and thong throwing! It’s great to see the young fellas coming through the ranks with Mason Prange taking out third in the open age division.

(Left) Tarah McShea, Nadine Story, Sarah Anderson), (Right) Andrew McShea, R.C Todd Anderson and Mason Prange

We’d managed to tire the adults out by tug-of-war, with only the kids braving the rope. Perhaps it was the humid conditions or a nutrition issue – we may never know.

Some handicaps were handed out to balance a few age discrepancies in age and height, and we were off with a bang with the kids put in some great team work to take out the prize. Well done!

 Our fantastic band, Rewind Entertainment, then set the musical tone for the afternoon with some absolute Aussie classics while kids and adults alike cooled down with an ice block, before tackling the inflatable obstacle course and jumping castle.

A huge thank you to our wonderful volunteers who assisted on the day – Pip Fenwick, Nelly and Paul Bolton, Stewart Cumming and Spikey Mikey who captured all of the fun for us. We couldn’t do these events without your amazing help.

Alicia Soszynski and Pip Fenwick