Former Bradwell Tiger and current National Football League linebacker Gary Guyton kicked off his third annual sports camp with his own version of the Amazing Race on Sunday at James Brown Park.
The rain from Tropical Storm Debby created less than ideal field conditions but did not dampen the spirits of the race’s participants.
Guyton, who signed with Miami in the offseason, was joined by former Georgia Tech teammate and current Cincinnati Bengal Michael Johnson and Florida State alum Tony Carter of the Denver Broncos.
Fifty participants competed in two different heats to decide the winner of the race. Heat one featured teams that had an adult and one child. The race featured questions and different tasks that the teams had to answer to advance. Team Mego made up of mother Melissa Megoulla and her sixth-grader son Richard Megoulla won with a time of 22 minutes, 5 seconds.
Melissa Megoulla said she quit smoking to do the race with her son since her husband is serving abroad in the military. The winners of the race received an autographed Gary Guyton New England Patriots jersey.
“This one of the most popular contests that we do at all the camps we coordinate for athletes throughout the country. We take the top 25 teams and have a national Amazing Race in New Orleans, and the winning team receives $2,000,” said Greg Benton, CEO of Flying Color Sports, which helped sponsor the camp.
Benton’s company provides an opportunity for professional athletes all over the country to have camps in their hometowns.
“Out of all of the NFL players in the league today, only about 10 percent come back and give back to the communities that they grew up in,” Benton said.
As he began to talk about the race, he reminded the audience that one of the most important aspects both of the race and in a child’s life should be academics.
“The activities that are part of the race are based on the idea that all families should exercise every day for at least 30 minutes. Students should also spend at least 30 minutes reading and discussing what is going in school around the table with their family,” Benton said.
He said families follow that schedule, it will increase the chances for a student to get an academic and athletic scholarship.