A new sporting event has made its way to the beaches in Barrie. The 2026 Dash for Flags Challenge was hosted by the Georgina Rapids Aquatic Club over the weekend highlighting a challenging event lifeguards use to improve their skill sets. Adrian Wong, manager and referee of the event, said the challenge is quickly gaining popularity. “This is a lifesaving sport event is played around the world and for us right now, we’re essentially getting junior lifeguards to practice their agility in the sand,” said Wong. The endurance game is looks simple, athletes start on their stomachs facing away from the starting line and on the whistle, they have to turn around and run and grab flags 20 plus meters away. “It’s really exciting and it’s similar to musical chairs because there’s always one less flag than there are people, so you’re always competing,” said Avery Ellison, one of the competitors. More than 40 people joined the competition on the beach, that requires a mix of different skills, especially for future lifeguards “It’s helpful to help spot, targets the distance, and you’re running on sand, which is a little bit different than running on regular grass,” said Gabriel Wong one of the competitors. With the athletes saying its also a mental game. “It’s kind of just all myself in my head and I’m kind of just running to try and get a flag,” said Callie Mason who is also competing. “It’s a lot of mental trying just to push yourself to your best.” Three local clubs participated in the event with the next stage set to take place in Port Elgin later this summer.
