Phillips, Hager & North host the Downtown Sumo Obstacle Course

The downtown courtyard beside 200 Burrard Street was the scene of super human strength and agility on Friday, November 25. Six sumo wrestlers battled a challenging obstacle course to win a coveted gold trophy and to raise funds for the United Way of the Lower Mainland.

Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management | RBC Global Asset Management Inc. hosted the event.

PH&N is a financial investment company, staffed by professionals who spend their regular working hours on the upper floors of the 200 Burrard Street complex. The only wrestling that takes place in those offices is the mental prowess required to study numbers and assist their clients to be winners.

Once a year the PH&N staff breaks from their offices to flex their competitive muscles and to battle it out for the gold trophy to raise awareness for the annual United Way of the Lower Mainland Campaign.

This year, two executives from each of the three floors were teamed up to battle. Sumo wrestlers are pitted against the downtown courtyard concrete and man-made obstacles.

Spectators lined the walkways, the steps, and the Food Court to see Floors #19, 20 and 21 jostle for supremacy.

Employee Campaign Coordinator Scott Bassillion led the entire team into the final day of their 2011 United Way Campaign Wrap Up Event. His Master of Ceremonies, Trevor O'Reilly, introduced the adversaries and described the challenging course.

The crowds cheered as the contestants arrived, treading heavily and carefully down the stairs into their arena. The refs arrived with them and quietly looked about at the scene.

As the sumo wrestlers were introduced to the waiting audience, they were welcomed with a pelting of water filled balloons. In true courageous manner, they stuck out their chests and bounced the projectiles back! This was the warm up they needed. Now they were ready for the race!

Up the stairs as huge boulders crashed down towards them – OK, they were large plastic balls but they were fierce! Some of the men were so anxious to start off the race that they lost their footing on the steps and needed to be picked up by referees and visiting dignitaries.

Once they arrived at the summit of the steps, they ran to the left and came down another flight of stairs. At the bottom, they mounted skateboards and rolled towards mats. On the opposite side of the mats were baseball bats. They held the bats and ran around them in circles.

Next was the headstand competition where several helpers were needed to get a sumo onto his head!

So dizzy from the skill-testing exercise, the wrestlers flung themselves onto the waiting mats. The man on the bottom – the winner!

Thank you PH&N for a rousing afternoon of good belly laughs.

All the contestants welcomed our own United Way Mascot CARE-Y into their athletes' circle and posed with him and the coveted gold trophy.

Congratulations PH&N for another successful United Way campaign and for donating much needed funds for children and seniors in our community.

See more photos here.

- Contributed by Gail Macbeth