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Connecticut Kickball Teams Attempting to Break Guinness Record

January 27, 2012  |  Posted by Ronald DeRosa

The goal is a three-day game, meaning 60 hours straight, beginning March 30 to raise awareness and money for child cancer research.

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Former Naugatuck resident Sean Cummings has an ambitious goal set for the members of his World Adult Kickball Association: Beating a Guinness Book of World Records’ challenge by holding the longest kickball game on record.

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“Some people are a little nervous; some people are just super pumped to try and play as long as they possibly can,” Cummings said. “I’m actually dieting to get into shape. I’m never going to survive unless I do that.”

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But there is motivation behind this 60-hour, three-day game that is expected to go down in late March: all of the money raised will go toward research for children’s cancer.

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Every year, members of the World Adult Kickball Association (WAKA), a group that Cummings belongs to, pick a charity to work with and to raise awareness for during the league’s season.

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Cummings, a Beacon Falls resident who grew up in Naugatuck, decided to partner with Kick-It for Children’s Cancer, a non-profit charity that supports cancer research, all while holding sporting events to raise money.

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He said he thought about ways to promote the effort in a unique way, and an idea popped in his head about breaking a world record.

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“I mentioned it to my contact at Kick-It, and she was fully behind the idea,” he said.

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So, at 9 a.m. on March 30, members of the Naugatuck Triumph league will assemble at Linden Park in Naugatuck. The teams will face off in kickball matches until noon on Sunday, April 1.

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Players from the CT Ivy league in New Haven are already registered, Cummings wrote in an e-mail to Patch. There is a WAKA indoor kickball league in Farmington, he said, but he couldn't confirm at this time if any of the players are participating. While the majority of the players are mostly from the Naugatuck area Cummings said others are coming from areas around the state as well as Boston and even Atlanta, GA.

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There will be 26 players on each team, with 11 players on the field at a time. All must be present during the entire duration of the 60-hour game, which is required by Guinness for the game to be considered for a record, Cummings said.

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Each of the players has to raise $100 toward Kick-It’s parent organization, meaning at least $5,200 will be raised. But Cummings said he hopes many more from the public donate. His goal is $20,000.

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Here's the link the website where you can donate to the cause.

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Players are still being sought. Right now, they are still about 18 players short, and volunteers are welcome to join in.

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The two teams are named Team Sammy and Team Juliana, both named two local children who had contracted cancer as infants but beat the disease and are now in remission. See their information attached to this article.

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Wolcott resident Tim Beloin, explained how heartbreaking it was to find out that his one-year-old daughter had contracted cancer so young.

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“She had one cold her entire first year,” Beloin said, emphasizing how healthy Juliana seemed. “To have a one-year-old that really didn’t even start life yet to have cancer, it was sad.

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Benloin added that, hopefully a cause such as the kickball marathon will hopefully help raise awareness and funding needed to help combat cancers in the future.

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Already, the donations are coming in. Cummings said $3,200 has already been pledged through all 36 players that signed on, and a number of area businesses will be donating food and accommodations.

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The Parks Commission has worked well with the effort to secure the field and some equipment, and restaurants including , J&M, Mona Lisa and The Hills are all donating food. will also be donating banners.

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There will also be a 50/50 raffle that will go all weekend, and some fair-type activities like face painting and a bounce house, Cummings said.

http://windsor.patch.com/articles/connecticut-kickball-teams-attempting-to-break-guinness-record