On April 24, 96 Secondary students and staff gathered for the 5^th annual “Amazing Race CQ.” at YCIS campus.

To start, self-formed teams of 4 were combined to allow groups of 12 to compete in a series of physical challenges that tested everyone’s strength, patience and perseverance. Blindfolds, jump ropes, roller boards and inflatable bubbles became obstacles to the group’s success.

Upon completion of this stage, the groups were separated back into their teams of 4 and directed to the primary playground where a mix of luck and logic were needed for the next challenge.

Armed with only a set a keys, a pen and a pack of puzzles and riddles, each team set out to find the one lock that could be opened by their key. Each correctly answered riddle earned them a chance to try to their key on one of the 30 locks hanging on the fence. An opened lock meant the advancement to the next challenge, a Zorba dance in the Great Hall. Linked arm-and-arm and forming a perfect circle, groups of 8 studied the dancers on the big screen to practice before performing on stage before the judges. A thumbs up was the signal needed to allow each group to move on to their 4^th challenge of the day, lego building. Down in the canteen, boxed “lego” sets were waiting to be built to exact specifications. Communication was key for this challenge as the half responsible for building the set was not the half with the directions. To add to the confusion, every two minutes, the team members had to switch roles. Eventually, all 24 lego sets were built successfully and have been donated to the primary classrooms for future use.

Finally, teams were directly to the clocktower courtyard the original teams of 4 were required to fit 20 random words into a song that was performed in front of an audience to the tune “It’s a Small World After All.” Sounds of laughter filled the courtyard as the players were rewarded for their efforts with food, drinks and homemade desserts.

Congratulations to this year’s winning team: Matthew Leano, Caroline Miller, Melisa Sener and Ryan Shin. A huge thank you to all of the volunteers that made this event such a success. We hope to see you all again next year!