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Active Farmers Games to make competition debut in WA

Headshot of Kellie Balaam
Kellie BalaamAlbany Advertiser
Boyd Rae being carried in the Active Farmers Games in 2020.
Camera IconBoyd Rae being carried in the Active Farmers Games in 2020. Credit: Supplied

Great Southern farmers will descend on Torbay this weekend for the Active Farmers Games — the first time the national event will be held in WA.

The third edition of the Active Farmers Games was originally planned for NSW, but it was postponed because of COVID-19.

Albany’s Boyd Rae, who runs fitness classes in towns across the region with Active Farmers Great Southern, started working on bringing the Games here.

The event will be held on Mr Rae’s family farming property from 1pm on Saturday, with an overarching aim to raise awareness about mental and physical health in regional Australia.

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He wants to get farmers out and active before they “go hiding in the headers for harvest season”.

A recent funding boost of $6340 from the Foundation for Rural Regional Renewal enabled Active Farmer Games to get the 2021 Games back on track.

Boyd Rae.
Camera IconBoyd Rae.

Mr Rae said the money would go towards amenities such as showers, toilets and sanitisation stations.

“These things don’t come without a price so FRRR helped made it possible ... these events are so hard to get up and running,” he said.

With a 3.2km course featuring about 30 obstacles, Mr Rae said there were plenty of challenges and plenty of fun to be had by all for a good cause.

The team-oriented events have been designed to mimic real-life farming challenges and include hay bale climbs, tyre-pulls and “Mission Impossible-style” rope obstacles.

With more than 100 participants already signed up, Mr Rae hoped to have 50 teams of three to tackle the course.

“It’s just bringing all the towns together to have fun,” he said.

“The event is massively important for the regional community. The response I’ve had from Active Farmers starting up has been huge. It’s turned some people’s lives around.”

Visit Active Farmers on Facebook.

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