Set On

April 11, 2015

Location

Nelson Mandela Bay

Info

State/Province: 0 On 11th April 2015 an attempt was made to set a world record for the "Largest number of people in a continuous loop to pass a hula hoop". The event took place at the NU2 Stadium, 7 Stofile Street, (corner Stofile and Bhugane Streets) KwaNobuhle Motherwell 2, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa, at coordinates -33.8024555, 25.611119444 (33°48'08.8"S 25°36'40.0"E) commencing at approximately 10:00 am and ending at approximately 11:00 am South African Standard Time (SAST). The attempt was organised by City of Champions pursuant to its objective to position Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth), Eastern Cape, South Africa as the “City of Champions” ©, a Nelson Mandela Legacy event. It was staged upon the conclusion of the annual Freedom Run organised by Ikhamva Athletics Club which involved simultaneous ten and five kilometre runs in commemoration of the end of Apartheid in April 1994, which is truly heterogeneous and drawn participants from all local societal segments, ethnicities, age groups, genders. Participants and spectators were invited to take place in the hula-hoop record breaking attempt. The Freedom Runs took place outside the stadium but in each instance ended within the stadium, runners having finished by running along a demarcated proportion of the athletics track. After the two races had been finalised, the record breaking attempt was staged on the entirety of the athletics track with participants being required to form an unbroken continuous loop, standing within touching distance from one another. In order to confirm the number of participants, after the conclusion of the two races, all participants were required to exit the track area and all entrances thereto were sealed with marshals maintaining security at all points. Participants were thereafter re-admitted to the track area in two’s and counted by independent assessors using mechanical clickers. In order to confirm the number of participants taking part in the record breaking attempt, the assessors were requested to recount all the participants along the entire length of the track, the counting process having been continuously filmed by video cameras which also recorded that both counters attained the identical final count. Assessors were positioned around the entire length of the track with approximately one umpire per fifty participants. The attempt was duly completed by a total of five hundred and thirty-seven (537) participants, five hundred and forty (540) having been counted at the commencement of the attempt with three persons having departed due to emergencies (in response to car alarm or need to visit the lavatory) during the attempt. The claim therefore is five hundred and thirty-seven (537) participants having successfully completed the world record attempt for passing a hula hoop under the criteria listed above.