Race on emergency-related tasks kicks off 5th SWEEP Awards

Putting their mental and physical abilities to the test, 10 teams of teachers and students raced around Mandaluyong City to complete seven challenges in under four hours. This teambuilding activity, which is patterned after a popular reality TV show, jumpstarted the recently concluded 5th SWEEP Awards activities.

In keeping with this year’s overall theme “Managing Emergencies and Maximizing Education” (ME2), the opening activity billed as SWEEP AMEzing Race included emergency-related tasks.

Eighty-one students and teachers from 40 partner schools under the Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program or SWEEP participated in the teambuilding activity.

The teams assembled at Congo Grille El Pueblo where they were each given SMART Money cards for purchases that would be required in some of the tasks. After using their phones to activate their SMART Money cards, they boarded their vans to go to SM Megamall Supermarket and purchase First Aid supplies. A volunteer SMART staff accompanied each group, ensuring that no one was left behind. The teams then rushed to find the designated PLDT payphones in the mall where they received the next clue, then to PLDT Innolab-Dansalan in Boni Ave. to sign up for First Aid training with members of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) .

"You'll be learning three bandage techniques: burned back of the head, burned hand, and finally sprained ankle, shoe off," announced Asther Calmateo, a volunteer instructor from the PNRC-Rizal Chapter.

PNRC instructor Raffy Amata also taught them two ways to carry victims: the lovers' carry, where the rescuer scoops up the victim (similar to what newlyweds do) and the six-man or hammock carry which involves several rescuers and a large-sized victim.

The teams then sped to nearby barangays to apply their newly-learned First Aid skills. For some groups this meant rushing to the Barangay Barangka Itaas Basketball Court and performing a six-man carry on one of the senior citizens.

The last task had them buying a book on First Aid at Fully Booked Shangri-La then proceeding to Netopia Internet Café in Megamall, where they referred to the book to answer an online crossword puzzle. The teams then raced back to Congo Grille El Pueblo where celebrity host Ryan Agoncillo met them and announced the official time for each group.

Prices included P15,000 for the champion, P10,000 for the first runner-up and P5,000 for the second runner-up, courtesy of Sysnet. Members of Team Infinity, which was the first to complete the Netopia leg, each received 12 hours of free Internet usage in any Netopia branch. Team PLDT Payphones also received premium items for completing the PLDT Payphone leg of the race. Team Smart Buddy won the “Most Dramatic Moment Caught on Camera” for the shot taken of team members pushing their van to get it to start.

University of San Carlos's Thamar Tan, who is part of the winning group Team MyDSL, said they first thought that they had lost because one of the teams arrived earlier. “But we found out they had a 30-minute delay penalty." For his group, cooperation and team effort made all the difference.

"We anticipated what was going to happen next, and we divided the tasks to be done," Tan shares. Even their driver played a very crucial role. He knew the roads like the back of his hand and could get in and out of tiny spaces like a pro.

Tan's teammate, Carlos Lacson from Ateneo De Manila University says they made it in spite of the odds. "In the middle of the race, the door on the passenger's side got stuck. There was no way to get out of our van except through the rear door." Thus, Team MyDSL ended up hurdling the car seats and jumping out the back door at each destination. "We also had a rough time looking for the correct payphone in Megamall B because there were just too many of them."

As for the First Aid training, Systems Plus College Foundation's Antonio Dungca Jr. says he was already able to apply what he learned on himself. "I sprained my ankle last Saturday. It was better but with all this running around, it started to ache again. So, the bandage technique came in handy," he explains, showing his bandaged ankle.

Catherine Miranda, from St. Mary's University, said in order to bag second place, their team had to run all the way from Megamall to Congo Grille. "We wanted to avoid the traffic." She also adds that her group instantly bonded. "We liked each other instantly and really helped each other."

Like Miranda, Arnulfo Gutierrez from Don Bosco Technology Center in Cebu says AMEzing Race was a good activity for teambuilding. Gutierrez, who won third place along with the rest of Team PLDT Payphone, says: "It's like we've known each other for a long time. This activity was really fun and unexpected. It's different when you're just watching it on TV. It's good to know how it actually feels to play the game. I hope we can do it again."

The SWEEP Awards is an annual activity organized by Smart Communications, Inc. as part of its SWEEP program, an industry-academe partnership that seeks to improve the level of technology and engineering education in the county. For five years now, students from SWEEP partner schools gather for the much-anticipated SWEEP Innovation and Excellence Awards, a search for the best wireless applications by student-teacher teams. The event also features the annual PalaECEpan quiz bee. Other highlights include performances by today’s most popular young artists, a mini job fair, learning sessions, raffles, interactive booth exhibits, and free Internet surfing.

(Published 31 March 2009, Smart Communications Inc.)