6 years ago, Jonathan Lassus-David, a Paris firefighter from Oloron-Sainte-Marie, lost his life in a tragic fire while doing his duty, leaving behind his wife and two children. In tribute to his commitment, his friends and colleagues decided to create the Jonathan Lassus-David Challenge, which takes place every two years in Oloron-Sainte-Marie.
The aim of this event is to transcend sadness by sharing a day together and celebrating the commitment of the fire brigade and supporting their families, who sometimes pay the price…
Taking part in this cause was a natural step for us, so Blocbox also wanted to contribute by supporting this challenge.
The challenge offers two multi-sport and multi-activity routes, each with two levels of difficulty: the sports raid, a 25km route, and the leisure raid, a 12km route. These routes take the form of an orienteering race with a variety of fun tests. And don’t forget the children’s raid.
Nearly 240 participants, forming 80 teams of three people, put all their efforts into successfully reaching the finish line during these two raids, which were perfectly orchestrated by the local coordinators and volunteers.
Accessible to all, from the youngest to the oldest, the challenge ended in the evening with a giant concert by Skip the Use, an internationally renowned French rock band, on the esplanade of the Oloron municipal fronton, with several thousand people in attendance.
To find out more about the Jonathan Lassus-David challenge : https://www.facebook.com/ChallengeJonathanLassusDavid
But… things never go according to plan…
Indeed, 2 September proved to be a day of emotions ranging from stress to joy and relief.
The changing moods of the weather tinged the event with driving rain, jeopardising the sporting events. Indeed, several of the events took place on water, such as the perilous rafting crossing of the Gave d’Oloron, and the paths taken by the runners gradually turned to mud. The fire brigade put a lot of thought into offering participants a variety of unique and original events. They also asked each sponsor to design an event. These were, of course, designed with the safety of the participants in mind.
There were 16 events for the 2 raids :
- Tyre path
- Relay in a swimming pool
- Climbing a rope net
- Gave river crossing
- Throwing the ball
- Crossing a net suspended above the water
- Climbing
- Fencing
- Find the ingredients for the garbure recipe
- CrossFit session
- Basket
- Rafting race
- The firefighters’ trail
- Tunnel crossing
- Biathlon (archery and running)
- Crossing a haystack
Some sponsors chose to create obstacle courses, precision tests and even a giant egg hunt organised by Lindt, which thrilled all the participants from the start of the race.
For this ambitious challenge and route, Blocbox naturally also wanted to challenge itself and offer each team the chance to test a secret and fragile object in real conditions, which they would discover at the finish. Blocbox’s effective protection combined with the teams’ concentration enabled all the teams to bring their mug back intact to the finish line !
One problem leading to another…
A mechanical mishap that immobilised Skip the Use’s bus almost compromised their long-awaited performance. Fortunately, a solution was found with the arrival of a second bus from Belgium, transporting them just in time for the concert.
Skip the Use social networks :
- https://www.instagram.com/skiptheuse/
- https://www.facebook.com/skiptheuse
In theory, this type of event could have led any music group to cancel, but they kept their promise because the group insisted on going anyway, as the cause was very close to their hearts.
Despite feeling very tired from the long journey, Skip the Use gave us an exceptional performance, bursting with energy.
Skip the Use : https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cw4dKhFSGL3/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
We would therefore like to congratulate each and every one of the dedicated organisers of this commemorative event, who orchestrated this day dedicated to Jonathan’s memory in an exemplary fashion. Without their determination and dedication, nothing would have been possible.
The commitment and resilience of all the participants and Skip the Use made the day a rich moment of sharing and conviviality, so precious these days.
Thank you all, and see you at the next challenge !
Relive the event :