ABU DHABI // Residents seeking an adrenaline rush went head to head yesterday to be crowned winner of Yas Waterworld's Survival of the Fittest challenge.
Contests included jousting, competitive cake eating, paddling and puzzle.
Nineteen four-member teams from UAE colleges, universities and clubs, plus entrants from radio competitions and Facebook fans, took part.
Joanne Warburton, 32, of Dubai, was part of the Radio One team.
"We have not done much preparation but we hope we are fit enough anyway," the Briton said. "It should be a good event."
Her daughter Lily, 6, bellowed support from the sidelines.
"I came to cheer my mum on," she said, having saved her biggest cheers for the jousting event.
American Kristin McGehee, 29, a teacher at the Institute of Applied Technology in Abu Dhabi, was part of Team Periodically. "We are really excited - we came here to win."
Fellow team member Michelle Bresloff, 38, a nursery teacher at Sheikh Zayed Private Academy, said the team had been training for the event.
"We are all fit anyway but I thought it would be a fun way to challenge myself," she said.
The elimination rounds began with teams having to throw as many balls as they could into rubber rings.
Entrants then took part in a paddling race on a two-man tube before jousting on a paddle board.
But it was not all about physical prowess. Entrants in the semi-final had to prove they had a strong stomach by taking on a cheesecake-eating and giant slushie-slurping competition.
Billy Graham, of Team Bokiwi, braved the cheesecake challenge - eating three huge slices against the clock before passing on the baton to teammate Jeremy Manning for the slushie challenge.
Together they helped get their team to the final.
"It was awful by the time I had got to the third piece," Mr Graham said. "But we got to the final so I am reasonably pleased."
As the sun beat down on the water park, cheering crowds gathered to offer their support. "I have never seen anything like this before," said Emirati Mohammed Zem, 27, who watched the event with his friends."It is amazing."
The final task involved swimmers racing to retrieve clams from the bottom of a pool that fitted together to form a puzzle.
Teammates then worked together to solve the puzzle, with those that were able to put all the pieces together quickest walking away with the title.
The Come Alive team of accountants claimed first prize.
Team members Chris Fraser, 28, Sean Hutchinson, 30, Moose Miller, 32, and David Prokopiak, 28, were delighted with the win.
"We're very happy," Mr Fraser said. "It was harder than we thought."
Prizes included annual membership to Yas Waterworld, a night stay at Yas Viceroy, passes to Ferrari World, and golf passes for Yas Links.
"We are obviously a fitness-orientated destination so we wanted to encourage the community to get active in a fun and challenging way," said Tim Mow, Yas Waterworld park manager.
