September 5, 2006 Source: :
http://www.uoguelph.ca/mediarel/2006/09/u_of_g_students_2.html U of G Students Set Two New Guinness World Records University of Guelph students and staff broke one world record and set a new world record during orientation week festivities yesterday. This is the 10th year students have participated in world-record breaking challenges. A total of 1,790 U of G members beat the old Guinness World Record for the largest number of people participating in a synchronized dance to the song Locomotion by Little Eva for five minutes. The old record was 800 people. Students and staff also set a new record for the most simultaneous hi-fives, setting the bar at 1,740 participants.
"Entering students banded together to create a sense of community in meeting a common goal," said Shawn Cooper, student activities co-ordinator in the University’s student life and counselling services office. The new records, which still require official verification from Guinness in the United Kingdom, were witnessed by U of G fire safety and prevention officer Mario Deschamps and Ward 5 city councillor Lise Burcher. This marks the fifth and sixth time U of G students have set or broken a world record. In 2005, 1,415 students beat the Guinness World Record for the largest game of Duck, Duck, Goose. In 1999, more than 2,000 first-year students set a new world record for simultaneous soap bubble blowing. In 1998, 1,000 students made it into the Guinness Book of World Records by forming the largest-ever human conveyor belt. In 1996, 1,665 students squirmed their way into the book by forming the world's largest human centipede. For media questions, contact Communications and Public Affairs: Lori Bona Hunt, 519 824-4120, Ext. 53338, or Rachelle Cooper, Ext. 56039.
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