Sunshine and blue skies helped hundreds of people turned out for fun and games at the Glenlyon Sports Day, the town’s traditional New Year’s Day event.
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The day’s quirky, old-fashioned family activities did not fail to draw a laugh or two.
The crowd favourite mineral water drinking championship had participants drinking water from the region’s mineral springs as fast as possible, with some spillages, spitting and sour faces.
Ladies mineral water drinking champion Jo Murdoch drank 500mL of water in just under five seconds. Ms Murdoch also won the renowned bull boar eating competition, making her bull boar eating champion for the third year in a row.
Despite moving house away from Glenlyon, she returns to the much-loved sports day each year for a fun day out with friends.
Have a laugh at the mineral water drinking championship and bull boar eating competition in the video below.
The ladies gumboot throw and nail drive, pony races, show jumping, cross country horse riding, and children’s race are some of the other activities on offer.
For new Daylesford residents Anthony Meechan and five-old-Thomas, this year’s event was their first time at the Glenlyon Sports Day.
“Lots of country towns have an event like this, but the Glenlyon Sports Day is unique because it involves things specific to the area that we don’t see every day, like the mineral water drinking and bull boar eating,” Mr Meechan said.
Other revellers have been having fun at the event for almost 50 years.
Wood chopper Harold Suckling said he competed at the Glenlyon Sports Day wood chopping competition for 47 years and has attended as a spectator every year since retiring from the sport.
Fellow wood chopper Brian Boase said he had been to most sports day’s since he was a child when his father was competing as a wood chopper.
The Glenlyon Sports Day has run in the town for almost 160 years.
All proceeds from each event is donated to the community.
The 2017 sports day raised $16,000 which was donated to organisations including the Daylesford District Hospital, sporting clubs and charities.
It is the biggest fundraising day of the year for Glenlyon CFA who run a wheel spin raffle.
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