News & Events 
23 January 2011
Early this year, Dads for Life partnered with SAFRA to bring you the first SAFRA AVventura Dads for Life Challenge. This is the first time that a Dad and Child category has been included in an adventure race locally.
Organized by SAFRA Yishun Country Club, SAFRA AVventura has been a popular event among adventure racers, taking place annually for the past 4 years. This year, the event involved about 310 participants running, climbing, cycling, even kayaking and navigating through a series of trails. To top it off, mystery challenges were thrown in to test the participants creativity and teamwork.
Now in its 5th year, Chairman of the SAFRA AVventura Organising Committee, Mr Jispal Singh, commented, "The surprise element is what keeps participants coming back for more each year, so we try to introduce new challenges and activities for every edition."
For Dads for Life, the best surprise was to watch the action unfolding for the participants in the new Dads for Life category. Teams had to run and bike along a 6 km race route and clear mystery challenges. Mr Singh commented, "All these activities are planned in such a way to encourage communication, teamwork and trust between father and child."
Have a look at our photo story, and you be the judge.
Pre-race registration
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Danial Yap getting inked as dad, Peter, looks on.
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Lee Tian Yew helps his son, Don, don his race bib.
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For many of the Dad-child teams, preparations for AVventura began a few months before. Other dads were more casual. Teo and Jeslyn (photos on the bottom of this page), for example, cited usual active family outings as their preparation.
The father of 2 children believes in regular family outings with his wife Linda, 12-year old son Vince, and of course, Jeslyn. Incidentally, we also caught Linda and Vince at the event. They were there to cheer on the dad and daughter team. Dad adventures are never a solo affair.
Meanwhile, another team, Masnawi and his son Abu Hudzaifah, 11, took a more serious approach to their preparations. Masnawi told us that he had been a regular AVventura participant in the Open Category for the past 2 years.
This year, he decided to give up his spot in that category to be able to participate with his son in the Dads for Life challenge.
The coordinated duo (right) ran and cycled 5 kilometers twice a week, training at Woodlands and Mandai around the mountain biking trails.
We asked Masnawi about his son's sporting achievements, as Abu Hudzaifah looked every part the Ironboy. Masnawi proudly told us that his son had placed 2nd in an offroad mountain bike race in mid-2010. Now that's a sporting duo!
Flag off!
Before the race proper, a quick briefing took place. On the whole, the atmosphere was casual and relaxed. After all, this event was a lot more about teamwork than victory. Still, some dad and child teams did a little pow-wow beforehand, and some were heard reminding each other to hydrate themselves and keep applying the sunscreen. Safety, after all, is No. 1! Mum would be relieved to hear that...
Scenes from the starting line
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They warmed up right next to each other!
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Competitors pacing themselves from the start.
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Bottle Tree Mystery
Participants experienced a crash course in nature, being required to identify flora and capture as many prawns as possible at the Sembawang Bottle Tree park.
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No sweat for dads as they review the race route.
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Dad daydreams while Don goes to work.
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"Is this in Spanish?", Alex asked her dad, Shen.
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Andrew and Miro Bell raise their catch.
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After the tackling the Mystery Challenges in Bottle Tree Park, the AVventurers raced to the next goal, back at Yishun Park. There, dads and their children completed a quiz on one another's likes and dislikes. The moral of this challenge, "know your kids, and let your kids really know their dad." Now, that's a challenge we endorse!
Racing back on foot to the SAFRA Yishun Clubhouse, AVventura Racers then entered some novel challenges, testing their teamwork, communication and giving them a chance to basically unwind and have a great time.
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Sham tosses a balloon to Mirza for the catch.
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Mirza having a little trouble with dad's final throw.
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Javob Schroeter's (with dad, Richard) intense focus.
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Schroeter's shooting Schroeter?
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The Finale
The most exciting part was left to the finish, where the dads led their kids (and sometimes the other way around) through the high obstacles. What a way to end a spectacular race day, and a wonderful morning out with Dad.
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Jeslyn leads her dad, Teo, to the climbing portion.
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Dad and Don getting high on the climax of the event.
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Now, Teo shows Jeslyn the way to a firm hold.
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Looking like a pro, Peter Yap is above and beyond.
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Now its your turn
Peter Yap (above, right) told us that this March, he would be taking his whole family to participate in the OCBC cycle together. In that spirit, we hope you've been inspired to get the family together and get outdoors, get healthy and have fun!
See you next year at the SAFRA AVventura Dads for Life Challenge.
Also read:
A pre-race article in Togoparts, the cyclists' forum.
Watch our YouTube Channel's video of the AVventura Dads for Life starting line action.
Read SAFRA's AVventura 2011 Official Media Release.
The DadsforLife Resource Team loves events for Dads. Let us know if you have come across any great ones, or have any suggestions or questions. Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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