General News
23 November, 2023
Energy Breakthrough legacy continues
With a strong 30-year legacy fuelling the town’s beloved flagship event, Energy Breakthrough (EB) has continued to evolve through the years wheeling in many changes, but over three decades there’s been one constant — the lessons its...
With a strong 30-year legacy fuelling the town’s beloved flagship event, Energy Breakthrough (EB) has continued to evolve through the years wheeling in many changes, but over three decades there’s been one constant — the lessons its participants take away.
After a tumultuous past couple of years, EB is slowly shifting gears back to normalcy, with its 31st edition already on track to be a success.
The five-day event kicked off on Wednesday after students from 90 schools arrived in town, ready to get the show on the road.
While participants numbers are slightly up from last year, they still continue to be relatively low compared to pre-COVID years — but organisers remain hopeful.
“We’ve had our ups and downs,” EB event site director Alisha Chadwick said.
“I think we’re seeing the interest in the event build again and it’s going to keep growing from here.
“At the end of the day, we’re hopeful that it will get bigger and better — we’ve built something really unique here.”
Working alongside Central Goldfields Shire Council to host EB, Country Education Partnership’s Nigel Preston agreed that the event would grow, but the direction it takes could change.
“For schools, most of the activities they undertake have remained the same, like the Human Powered Vehicles (HPV) racing but there’s been a lot of changes too, in one way or another,” Mr Preston said.
“We’ve added a coding activity in robotics and we’re also doing a junkyard challenge, which is something we didn’t do five years ago so there’s been change and there might be [more in the future].
“What we’re doing is responding to the change in times and we are tapping into some of that technology that young people are familiar with.”
The most prominent change, as of last year has been the absence of carnival rides, games, and show bag stalls and while they’ve been a regular fixture in the past, the EB committee axed the side shows following consultations with participants.
Another major change to the program, this time around, will see both the primary and secondary school races taking place on the same track — a decision made based on available resources.
However, with changes aplenty, there’s been a sole constant across the board — one thing that hasn’t changed and won’t, even into the future.
“EB is so important on a number of levels,” Mr Preston said.
“Over the years, we’ve consistently seen that EB brings out the best in all participants, they come up with really innovative ideas, their creativity is boosted and they learn how to work in a team — at the end of the day, that’s what EB is about.”
Featuring a jam-packed program this weekend, including the much-awaited 24-hour Trial which will begin at 12 pm tomorrow, there’s a lot for families to do. Attendees can enjoy themselves at a chill out zone organised by FReeZA with outdoor games, disc golf hosted by Sports Focus and live music — on tomorrow from 11 am until 8 pm.
