This in from the Earl Mountbatten Hospice, in their own words. Ed
This EMH Virtual Balloon Race is a balloon race with a difference – the balloons are not real!
Protecting the environment
It’s not because we can’t be bothered to blow them all up. It’s because when real balloons come down, they litter the countryside and fall into the sea, where creatures like turtles can mistake them for food.
So our race is 100% eco-friendly, with no threat to British wildlife.
Great features
The virtual race system has some great features including a decorator function which allows you to colour-in a balloon shape of your choice and add a few words of text. Similarly you can change the amount of helium inside the balloon, the thickness of the rubber and the shape. All of these parameters affect the speed and vulnerability of your balloon.
A larger, more aerodynamic balloon may fly faster – but it also is at a greater risk of exploding!
Balloons made of latex rubber are notoriously vulnerable, so if you chose thin rubber to make your balloon fly higher and therefore faster, your balloon could just explode if the wind speeds become excessive. But if your balloon is flying low towards rocky Earth, it could strike an electricity pylon or be burst by a church spire. Choose your balloon carefully.
How to take part
First things first – you’ll need to buy a virtual balloon. You can buy one balloon for £3, or you can buy more to give yourself more chances to win.
You can pay for and design your balloon directly online, or alternatively you can pick up a Balloon Race Activation Card for £3 from all of the Hospice Shops, Arreton Barns, The Dairyman’s Daughter, The Steamer Inn, The Bargeman’s Rest or other the phone on (01983) 528989.
Simply create and enter your balloon by midnight on 28th September 2013 for your chance to win an amazing prize!
Virtual balloon release
Then it’s quite simple – we will release all the virtual balloons as part of the Sweetcorn Fayre at Arreton Barns on Sunday 29th September 2013.
The wind will blow, the rain with fall and over the week the balloons will fly or fall. Whoever has the balloon that flies the farthest in one week will win a Ladies Seiko watch & Gents Burgmeister watch, there are more great prizes for the runners up too.
System tracks virtual balloons
Where the balloons will fly to will all depend on the real weather during race week. Over the seven days of the race, our system will cleverly track where each balloon would have flown to according to the real Yahoo Weather for the week. Will it fly far and wide, or will it crash into the nearest hill?
Throughout the race you can “track your balloon’s progress online
This event is held as part of the Sweetcorn Fayre at Arreton Barns on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th September and has been kindly sponsored by HSS Hire on the Island.
We thank them for their valued support.
Image: LeAnne Crowe under CC BY 2.0
