July saw the return of the likes of Usain Bolt, Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis Hill to the London Olympic Stadium for the Anniversary games. More importantly, Cawthorne Park was the host venue of the JCI Barnsley Sports Day. Two teams of five JCI Barnsley members were geared up and ready to challenge each other to the hurdles, shot put and javelin, however JCI Barnsley had even harder challenges ready for us.

All our events were team relays, the first saw the All-Stars take on the Hot-Shots in the bean bag race, where one by one each team member needed to cover 30 metres with a bean bag perfectly balanced on their head! Technique was a must, hair spray a must not, and the All-Stars with some inventive methods ran out comfortable winners in the best of three opening round to take a 1-0 lead.

The next disciplines were finely balanced as the All-Stars led the way in the bean bag throw, but the Hot-Shots stayed within touching distance after winning the egg and spoon race in a photo finish to leave the scores at 2-1.

We were then faced with events that required stamina and staying power; the 3 legged race and the sack race. The Hot-Shots took the first leg of the 3 legged races, but then their legs turned to jelly as the All-Stars got used to the velcro and roared back into action to turn the tide and win the 3 legged races 2-1. The sack race was gruelling for all competitors and the sacks as most ended up damaged, the All-Stars jumped their way to a 4-1 lead.

When equipment was removed, the Hot-Shots showed speed that Bolt himself would have been proud of as they raced to victory in the team sprint. That led us to the finale, the JCI Barnsley Freestyle, a combined egg and spoon and bean bag race! The Hot-Shots were about to claim another victory until an egg and spoon fumble on the finish line allowed the All-Stars to claim freestyle victory and win the sports day 5-2. The All-Stars are now living in hope of the receiving a call up to Team GB for Rio 2016!

Blog by Finance Director Ian Bragger