This hockey match lasted 53 hours! These guys broke a world record!
Workshop Ladies HC shared this amazing story with us:
The last weekend of May 2016 has been a historical weekend when it comes to hockey breaking records. After Rotterdam HC broke the Guinness record of most players training at the same time, the English club of Old Southendian Hockey Club broke another Guinness record by playing more than 53 hours of continuous field hockey over the bank holiday weekend to raise money for Age UK Essex. This event was the equivalent of running 20 marathons each as they broke the world record for the longest ever match.
The club had originally set itself the challenge of 40 hours of play, but was forced to extend this after an American team broke the word record with a 50 hour match. During the Old Southendian record attempt, which took place at the hockey club on Sumpters Way, Southend, the club heard a team from the Netherlands had just completed a match lasting 52 hours and 30 minutes.
Over the 53 hour match, 32 players took to the pitch. Two teams of 11 players were head-to-head at any one time, taking it in turns to have breaks. The match started at 6pm on Friday and continued until 11.15pm on Sunday.
Determined not to see their hard work go to waste, the players stayed on the pitch for a gruelling 53 hours. They are now eagerly awaiting official confirmation that they have taken the Guinness World Record title. As a rule, players had to stay pitch side for the whole duration, including sleeping and eating. The two teams were split into the Black and Yellow team, with the Yellow team winning 336-333.
