The final C.A.C.T.U.S competition takes place this Sunday
The C.A.C.T.U.S programme is an 8-week course where students are selected to participate and required to meet three mornings a week from 6-8am at Feilding High School. This weekend they will finish the programme with 5 hours of activities and a final vehicle pull in Manchester Square at noon. The public are encouraged to attend and cheer on the students.
Although the winter weather tells us it is soon to be the shortest day of the year, 31 secondary students will complete this Sunday as the ‘the longest day’ of the C.A.C.T.U.S programme. C.A.C.T.U.S stands for Combined Adolescent Challenge Training Unit & Support.
The C.A.C.T.U.S programme is an 8-week course where students are selected to participate and required to meet three mornings a week from 6-8am at Feilding High School. The programme is a mixture of mental and physical fitness activities, life skills and leadership growth where their self-discipline, focus and determination are challenged and strengthened.
As this cohort of students are in their final week of the programme, the keynote event is this Sunday when students compete in the longest day before graduating. The day begins at 7am as a 5-hour challenge of activities kicks off throughout Feilding. The longest day concludes with a vehicle pull thru Manchester Square from 12noon, where the public is encouraged to come and cheer on the participants.
Helen Worboys first helped establish the Feilding CACTUS programme with Feilding Police, in her role as Manawatū District Council Mayor and is an active supporter and organiser for the programme. “Seeing the individual growth, the attitude and the confidence of the participants is amazing.” It’s truly a community programme as many people share their time as guest speakers or breakfast cooks, donations of food or finances, or simply a couple of hours of support to ensure the programme is successful. Officially, the programme is now a partnership with Council, Police, FENZ, Ohakea Airforce and Sport Manawatu under the Manawatu District Youth Development and Wellbeing Trust. “There is always room to have more sponsors and volunteers on board, so we encourage those interested to get in touch”, Worboys says.
“After 5 hours of activities, it’s the encouragement from the crowd that keeps the students going during the final vehicle pull so we would love to see lots of families out supporting this Sunday at noon in Manchester Square.”
For more information about the programme visit the Facebook page: Feilding Cactus
