On November 14th, Auckland, New Zealand, phone-books will be torn, carpenter’s nails broken, giant balloon hats made and shopping trolleys pushed in the name of challenging the impossible, and breaking world records along the way.
Jumped, thrown and run successfully in Zurich, Switzerland and Munich, Germany since the 1980s, the Impossibility-Challenger festival of record smashing is being staged in New Zealand for the first time, and Director Budhsamudra Knox is confident that success will not be impossible—“We think Kiwis have what it takes to step up to the mark.â€
Attempting to cross that mark, and in world record time, is an international field of participants including Alistair Galpin, the New Zealander with the most World Records, Albert Walter of Switzerland, a bench press champion who tears phone books better than anybody else, and a team of mechanics who will attempt the 4-man car wheel change world record.
The impossibility challenging event also encompasses the Self-Transcendence Games, where hundreds of school children will compete together with celebrities in just for fun events like hula-hoop racing and catching an egg thrown the greatest distance.
The Impossibility-Challenger games were founded in 1982 by the late peace visionary Sri Chinmoy, upon the premise that challenging limitations and the seemingly impossible not only brings the individual joy, but inspires others to transcend that which is challenging in their lives as well.
The event is organised by the Sri Chinmoy Centre, a prolific non-profit organisation also responsible for the world’s largest participant torch relay, the World Harmony Run, and The Oneness-Heart-Tears and Smiles humanitarian aid programme.