Hula hooping world record bid

A STUDENT from Culcheth will attempt to break a hula hooping world record next month in Peru.
Rhona Mackay, 21, will join a team of 17 Peruvian and international charity workers in an attempt to climb to more than 6,000m and break the world record for hula hooping at high altitude on December 7.
The team of charity workers and volunteers – representing nine nationalities – is using the ambitious challenge to raise funds and awareness for their organisation Helping Overcome Obstacles Peru (HOOP).HOOP is a small organisation working in the city of Arequipa in the south of Peru, with the vision of breaking the cycle of poverty through education, health and social programs.
Its main activities centre around a free after-school program, which teaches English, art, sports, homework help, science and other activities for 100 children and their families. The charity operates with the help of 20 volunteers from Peru and all over the world.
The team has set an ambitious fundraising goal of $10,000 and thanks to a very successful start to the campaign, is already more than two thirds towards this target.
You can support the fundraising campaign at www.hoopperu.org/hulahoop. All funds will go directly into HOOP’s project in Arequipa.
The world record team has been doing weekly training and fitness sessions to prepare for the challenge. Everything from hula-hoop techniques to avoiding altitude sickness are being worked on to give the team the best chance of success when they climb the 6,057m peak near Arequipa called Chachani. With high wind speeds at the summit, and oxygen levels at 50 per cent compared to sea level, the team will face significant challenges in the record attempt. The current record was set in 2010 at an altitude of 5,895m on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
Rhona, who is doing an internship with HOOP as their school co-ordinator, said: “The challenge will be difficult but it’s really captured the imagination of the public and we have already received a lot of support and good wishes from friends and family back home.
“As well as becoming world record holders, we have an ambitious fundraising goal – with all the money raised going straight back into supporting the project in Flora Tristán. The team has been working really hard – I think we have a good chance of success!”
The money raised will be spent on school rental, schoolbooks and supplies, teacher training, a new maths programme and a new social work program.
More information and regular updates on the world record attempt are available at www.hoopperu.org/hulahoop.