Soccer Reviews was on hand to go behind the scenes at the world first Adidas All In challenge. Melbourne was at the centre of a world first competition as 6 teams competed for an opportunity to win a holiday of a lifetime. Soccer Reviews was there to watch the start of the challenge.
On a typically cold Melbourne morning, the scene was set at Queensbridge square for the 60 hour sporting marathon. A huge cordoned off area in the busy Southbank area of Melbourne attracted plenty of interest, from suits on the way to work to people wondering what the commotion is on the passing trams. It’s fair to say that Adidas have managed to cause quite a scene in the middle of rush hour on a Monday morning!
Six teams of three people chosen from around the country will be competing in their specialiast ‘code’ and are attempting to last 60 hours doing what their code is best known for in the ultimate test of skill, endurance and teamwork. The teams of three will compete across the three categories of skating, dancing, Aussie Rules, basketball and football over the 60 hour period.
During the challenge, two people from each team will be competing at all times, allowing one person to rest to recover, prepare video diaries, conduct media activities and chat to fans on Facebook.
So what can the teams win? The team of three left standing will win AUD$10,000 and a trip to LA to see Katy Perry live in concert, watch David Beckham play for LA Galaxy and win a Los Angeles tour featuring a visit to Rodeo Drive and a walk down Venice beach. It’s an incredible prize and probably worth the gruelling 60 hour sporting marathon! But if more than one team is left standing after the 60 hours, then the team with the most ‘likes’ on their Facebook page will win!
When the Soccer Reviews team arrived, the event had only just kicked off. Soccer Reviews managed to have a chat with a few of the boys who were representing soccer. Soccer boys Darren Hewitt, Chris Duncan and Elias Rallis have to continually shoot on goal for the next 2 and a half days to win the trip of a lifetime to LA. When asked why they entered the All In challenge, Chris told us that fellow teammate Darren was a huge fan of David Beckham and it was a great oppurtunity to see him play live. It’s fair to say that after having a chat with the team that they will try their best to win this amazing experience and seem really passionate to win the challenge.
Darren tries his best to stop Elias' shot
Darren, Chris and Elias weren’t the only ones in the challenge though. Nearby, we watched Briony, Ben and Katellin ripping up the dance floor to the tunes of Katy Perry and Taio Cruz pumping from a nearby stereo. At the top of the adidas ‘stage’, Adam, Geordie and Michael were decorating the huge adidas logo in their art challenge. Next to the soccer boys, basketballers Simon, Justin and Jason effortlessly shot hoops in their basketball challenge. In the lower level of the adidas stage, Jared, Kane and Lachlan represented the popular Australian Rules football, while skaters Chip, Leigh and Corey pulled off some awesome tricks in their small skateboarding area.
Dancers Ben and Briony show off their moves
Just as the challengers were half an hour into the challenge, some well known Australian sports stars and atheletes turned up to motivate the challengers and to lend support. AFL stars and Richmond players Brett Deledio and Trent Cotchin had a chat with the AFL boys (admittedly most of our audience won’t know who they are), international Rugby League star Billy Slater came in for a chat, while Mebourne Victory striker Danny Allsopp, midfielder Leigh Broxham and Melbourne Victory captain Adrian Leijer revved up the soccer boys for their challenge.
From left, Elias, striker Danny Allsopp, Chris, midfielder Leigh Broxham, Darren and defender and captain Adrian Leijer
After posing for a few photos, Soccer Reviews was lucky enough to sit down and chat to Adrian Leijer as we talked about captaincy, some of the opposition he’s come up against, colourful boots and what he’s achieved in his short career. Check back on Soccer Reviews in the next few days for our full interview with the Socceroo and captain of Melbourne Victory FC!
At the end of the interview, the Soccer Reviews team was fortunate to leave the event with a momento signed by Leijer and Broxham, something we’ll definitely cherish for years to come! The challenge will run until 7 pm on Wednesday night, so if you’re in Melbourne, head down to Queensbridge Square at Southbank to support the teams. The Soccer Reviews team would like to thank Jeremy Drake for arranging our access at the event. Soccer Reviews left the event to leave the teams to battle it out over their marathon challenge.
As we’re obliged to help out our fellow footballers, head over to http://apps.facebook.com/adidas_all_in/ to help out Chris, Darren and Elias. So far, they’ve got the least amount of ‘likes’ so head over and help your fellow footballer! This is the first of many Adidas All In challenges around the world so check on your local Adidas website to see the one closest to you!
About Jordon English
nice article Jordon.
They’re all wearing f10s. Blades are fine for 3g though but they’re using a turf sole
Hey Nick,
They weren’t using a turf sole. They just had indoor ones on. Turf soles still have those small rubber things, while this was just an indoor bottom