On February 9, Twitter users in Wollongong began reporting flash flooding, complete with images of cars floating along creeks that looked suspiciously like streets. Rotaractors were worried – not because of the flooding itself – but because of the event that was coming that weekend. Wollongong was to play host to the first Australian Rotaract Games on Saturday and Sunday.

Wollongong’s flash floods come and go quickly, and on this occasion nobody was hurt and little property was damaged. Representatives of eleven Rotaract Clubs from three states and the ACT began arriving in the city the following night for an informal Welcome event hosted by the University of Wollongong Rotaract Club.

The Games were organised by the Rotaract Club of the Southern Highlands (District 9710) and the Rotaract Club of the University of Wollongong (District 9750). They were held as a way of bringing Rotaractors together to demonstrate the friendship of Rotaract, and allow networking opportunities in a more relaxed environment. The winner would be awarded a $500 donation to Rotary’s Polio Plus campaign, plus a perennial trophy.

On Saturday morning, Games participants convened at the University of Wollongong for a series of indoor events instead. They included drama games, silent ball, building towers from straws and marshmellows, and YouTube trivia. A trivia event was conducted on Saturday evening. In addition to Games participants, other Rotaractors and Rotarians from the Wollongong area joined in. The Wollongong City Surf Lifesaving club generously provided free staff for the night.

On Sunday morning, participants were invited to the participate in the Wollongong Challenge, which included a series of five activities and fifteen questions to answer about the city. They were given maps and set loose, with instructions to arrive at the University of Wollongong by midday. The Rotary Club of Corrimal provided volunteers to supervise the activities, and also cooked a barbecue lunch each day.

Each Games event had up to 50 competition points available, with the overall winner being decided at the conclusion by the team with the most points. The Rotaract Club of Lower North Shore was victorious. It is hoped another district and club will take up the challenge of hosting the Games in 2013.

Travis Holland – Rotaract Games organiser

The Illawarra region in NSW was host to the Illawarra Rotaract Club’s Rotaract Hospital Bed Run 2012; a fundraising event that seeks to assist Wollongong Hospital in purchasing life-saving medical equipment. The Hospital Bed Run involves a team of four people pushing a hospital bed along a street course in timed heats, with one additional person acting as the ‘patient’ on the bed. Now in its fourth year, the event is a part of Wollongong’s Australia Day celebrations, with teams sponsored by local businesses and community organisations.

The event was a success, engaging eight competing teams, raising over four thousand dollars for Wollongong Hospital, providing a fun spectacle for a large proportion of the Australia Day crowd and gaining significant local and state wide media coverage.

Wollongong City Lord Mayor, Councillor Gordon Bradbery OAM said the event was always entertaining and encouraged local organisations to consider entering a team.

“The Bed Run is one of the many events on the day. It’s a great team bonding exercise and also a good way to raise some money for WollongongHospital”

Illawarra Rotaract Club president, Siddharth Yadwad said the funds from this year’s event would be directed to the Patient Recovery Unit at the Hospital.

“We’re glad we could help out with this very worthy cause in a way that was so fun and engaging for the wider community. We’ve already started working hard to ensure that next year’s event is bigger and better!”