Maritime
The biggest ship to sail Australian waters plays host to
competition winners from acrossthe country in iconic
childhood game re-imagined
A
ustralia’s biggest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s
Ovation of the Seas, today hosted Australia’s
Biggest Game of Hide and Seek, with Ben
Harrison, age 26, from Hornsby NSW, taking
home the AUD$10,000 prize, and a family
cruise for four, all thanks to his stealthy hiding
techniques.
In an Australian first, Aussies aged eight and over boarded the
megaship docked in Sydney Harbour to play a huge version of
the iconic childhood game, as part of a unique competition to
celebrate 10 years of Royal Caribbean sailing Down Under.
“What an amazing day it was. The first ever official game of
Hide and Seek on any ship in Australia, and I it was a massive
triumph”, said Ovation of the Seas’ Cruise Director, Joff Eaton.
“Ovation of the Seas is the biggest, newest and most modern
cruise ship ever to sail Australian waters, and with features like
bumper cars, a Bionic Bar, rock-climbing wall, iFly sky-diving
tunnel, FlowRider surf simulator and the North Star viewing
capsule, she really was the ultimate location for this supersized
game,” continued Joff.
Two games were held – one for adults aged 15 and over and
another for kids aged 8-14. Competitors were picked from over
20,000 entrants and came from far and wide; NSW, QLD, NT,
SA, WA, VIC - to seek out the best hiding spots onboard in an
attempt to outwit the “Seekers”, Australia’s national Hide & Seek
team The Nascondingos, who competed in the 2017 annual
World Championships in Italy.
12-year-old Ryan S from Kincup in regional QLD took home
the kids’ prize which was a family cruise for four, after hiding from
the Nascondingos under a couch. Runner up Benjamin H from
Winner of the
adults’ game, Ben
Harrison aka ‘Big
Red’
24
NSW is also taking his family on a holiday.
Winner of the adults’ game, Ben Harrison aka ‘Big Red’ used
sheer distance as his tactic, attempting to get as far away from
home base as he could in the allocated hiding time. He chose
curtains to hide under in rounds one and two, and in the third
– his winning spot – Ben managed to squeeze underneath a
table that was concealed by a curtain. After being awarded his
novelty size check, Ben said “It’s a pretty big accomplishment. I am
very surprised, I still have butterflies in my stomach. I’m very very
happy”. He and fiancé Jess will be putting the $10,000 towards
their wedding at the end of the year, and will use the cruise for
their honeymoon.
The Nascondingos have heralded it their hardest game yet,
“There was just a lot of ground to cover. We’re short twitch
athletes and we’re used to five-minute rounds. These 20 minute
rounds covering eight football fields really put us under pressure.
It was far more challenging than we thought it would be. Curtain
and couch hiding were the most popular spots” said Alan Jones,
Nascondingo’s Captain.
From attempts to host unofficial games in a certain Swedish
furniture store, to a campaign for Hide and Seek to appear as an
official exhibition sport in Tokyo in 2020, the event took place as
the game gains traction as a serious sport among people of all
ages.
MC for the day, TV personality Jason Dundas said of the
frivolity; “I’ve been travelling the world filming Getaway from over
100 countries for 11 years and I’ve never been on a cooler ship
and had more of a fun experience onboard in my life”.
With the ship almost to themselves – minus nearly 5000
guests –the unique competition encapsulates the spirit of
Royal Caribbean’s new “Come Seek” brand campaign, inviting
Australians to re-consider everything they think they know
about cruising – and to come onboard and see for themselves.
https://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/
YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/BKc18Ts_6Cg
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