Let the games begin
Published:Thursday | September 8, 2016 | 12:00 AMKeisha Hill
Let the games begin! Heralded as one of the most gruelling, physically challenging showdowns packed with family fun and entertainment, the Guardsman Games makes its debut onto the local stage on Sunday, September 11, at the Hope Zoo.
The Guardsman Games is a live reality competition where teams compete in challenges that test their strength, endurance and mental ability. Four teams will battle it out to win the title of Guardsman Games Champion and other great prizes.
According to Sheila Benjamin-McNeill, group director for public relations and advertising, the Guardsman Games was born out of the desire to have a customer and media-appreciation event and also to introduce persons to the varied services offered by the Guardsman Group of Companies.
CREATE EXCITEMENT
"We did not want to have a traditional format, so we came up with a concept which would create some excitement and get people involved. The initial idea has evolved into something that we feel has tremendous potential to morph into a very positive event going forward," Benjamin-McNeill said.
The games will include four challenges with the first being a gym circuit challenge, which will lead into a fear factor challenge and then into a mental challenge, where the contestants have to figure out a code to enter a door which takes them into the final challenge - the military-style obstacle course.
Each challenge is fashioned after companies in the Guardsman Group, namely, Gymkhana, Orkin, Guardsman Alarms, Marksman, Guardsman Armoured and Guardsman Elite. The challenges start at 2 p.m., however, the day's activities start at 11 a.m.
Other activities will include self-defence demonstrations, capoiera, mini obstacle course, zoo tours, petting zoo and gym challenges.
"The Guardsman Group has extended this function and made it public because the concept of the games lends itself to crowd engagement to get the excitement going. We felt that it was an excellent way to inform everyone of the kind of lifestyle solutions that the Guardsman group has to offer," Benjamin-McNeill said.
"This we feel was important to us, as generally, the name Guardsman has always been seen as a company that only provides security services and that it mainly caters to corporate Jamaica. This is far from the truth and we wanted to correct that misconception," she added.
The public is invited to come and cheer on their preferred team or bring the family to enjoy a day of good, safe fun. There will also be a food court and rides for the children. The event will culminate with an entertainment show.
For more information and updates, go to www.guardsmangames.com. Tickets are available at Fontana Pharmacy (Kingston) and Western Sports (Twin Gates).
Sponsors include Stewart's Automotive Group, Wisynco, RJR, the Jamaica Observer, Miracle Corporation, Cari-med, Jamaica National, Tyre Warehouse, Sagicor, GraceKennedy, Sagicor, JP Farms, C&W Business, and Future Energy Cooperation.