All that’s left now is the paperwork.
A brand new Guinness World Record was established at Quest University on Friday (Sept. 19) after a total of 310 people hit the court as part of Martin Parnell’s Quest for Kids fundraising campaign.
Quest University was the first stop on a 10 university tour across Canada to help complete Parnell’s original goal of raising $1 million to help children worldwide with Right To Play.
Parnell is aiming to set different world records at all 10 universities and said the students at Quest University helped kick off his campaign right.
“It was unbelievable,” he said, minutes after achieving the world record. “There were some highs and lows and we had to hang in there for a while, but to hit 310 people two minutes before our deadline of 4 p.m. is phenomenal.”
Students hit the court at 8 a.m., with players continuously rotating and subbing in until 4 p.m. The new record was established at 3:24 p.m., with Quest graduate Charles Impey signing on the dotted line to establish the new record of 310 at 3:58 p.m.
“It’s a really great thing for Quest,” Parnell said, noting the previous record was 294 players. “This was beautifully organized and I was very impressed by the students here.”
The experience at Quest University kicks off what will be a busy fall season for Parnell. He travelled to Calgary to set a new record for most participants in a Quidditch game on Monday (Sept. 22) and then heads to Edmonton, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Newfoundland. He completes his tour in St. John’s on Oct. 14.
“This is all about helping disadvantaged kids around the world,” he said. “It’s great to set the record but we’re here to help the kids.”
Local organizer and Quest student Georgia Ens said it was a busy, but successful day.
“It went really good today and I’m really happy with 310,” she said. “We got to choose our own world record to go after back in April and we figured volleyball was the most manageable for our school.”
Ens said the goal was 300 and now the next step is to submit all of the paperwork and evidence to Guinness. She said documenting the event turned out to be quite a task.
“You had to sign in when you walked in and got a number, then you had to take a picture and sign in again at the scorekeeper’s table,” she said. “Then you had to sign in and get a jersey before you played, then you played and then you had to sign out once you were finished.”
The entire game was also filmed to send in to Guinness for additional proof. Ens said she hopes to run more Right To Play events at Quest University and noted that the local chapter of the club has 15 volunteers this year, up from three the previous year.
She thanked the local businesses and community members who helped sponsor the event and all the participants who helped make the record happen. Those who missed out can donate online at www.canadaquestforkids.com.
The next step for Ens and her Right To Play cohorts are sending in the paperwork to Guinness and she hopes the event to officially be recognized as a world record in a few months.
