AmAZAng activity

Participants running around the streets with dual-colored lipstick, a female member of the team begging a blonde man in a white singlet to give her a piggy back ride and pose for a photo, burying a team member in the golden sand to create a mermaid on the beach, and an unforeseen dip in the sea wearing regular attire were some of the highlights of the second AmAZAng Race organized by the Australian Zoroastrian Association (AZA) of New South Wales on March 9, 2014. Thrilling challenges were set along the route for the 90 enthusiastic participants constituting 15 teams of six members each registered for the Race that started at Milson’s Point, proceeded to Luna Park and wound its way along the Harbour Bridge to The Rocks, Circular Quay and Bondi Beach.
Each member of the winning team, Bindaas Bawas, won $ 100, while the runner-up team of Pimp My Stride won $ 50 and the best performing children’s team, The Unstoppables was presented $ 25 each. There were five all-teen teams who gave a good fight to their peers and adults. "The excitement had built up for months, strategies were formed against their most formidable opponents and an atmosphere of competitiveness had blanketed the area,” wrote Naasha Dorabjee who with Nerina Shroff was the principal organizer.

The participants were sufficiently creative to give their teams names like The Spider Pigs, Team Invincibles, WTF —Where’s The Finish? The Wolves of George Street, Scrambled Legs… They had been advised to dress suitably, carry sufficient cash for lunch and travel, purchase My Multi Day Pass or the Sunday Family/Funday $ 2.50 ticket, but they were not prepared for the challenge that awaited them at their one-hour lunch break at the Bondi Junction Westfield food court. "An exotic dish awaited them — deep fried crickets… A bowl of protein-packed fried insects were to be consumed by each team member so as not to incur a 30-minute time penalty. Some teams did this without batting an eyelid. Others had to convince the weaker links to swallow the creepy crawlies down with water or coconut juice! Of the 90 competitors, only four did not taste this Mexican delicacy — two were exempt as they were vegetarian, the other two from the children’s team persisted at the challenge for almost half an hour, stomping back and forth, mentally distressed from peer pressure, trying to build up the courage to give it a go, alas…in vain,” recalls Dorabjee.
Congratulating the youth of Sydney, the principal organizers were particularly appreciative of their team of dedicated volunteers — Farah Dastur, Farishte Parekh, Kainaaz Variava, Kaizaan Irani, Paula Martins and Zenobia Katrak, as also their large-hearted donors Anya and Behzad Panthaky of Bluestream Events, AZA, and Prochie and Adil Dorabjee.