When you think of the Olympics, usually the 100-meter dash or pole vaulting comes to mind.
But what about the lawn mowers and weed whippers park groundskeepers use?
Well, they had their moment to shine on July 27, when teams from Addison Oaks, Waterford Oaks, Groveland Oaks, and Independence Oaks gathered for their biannual Groundskeeper Olympics.
The Addison Oaks team, which included Rocky Coleman of Lake Orion, Adam Fairbairn of Oxford, team captain Tom Elsarelli, of Lakeville, Elliot Backe, of Rochester, and Steve Wologast, of White Lake, won the event with their individual and team lawn mowing skills.
Coleman said they had to ride a lawn mower through an obstacle course made up of tennis balls on top of cones. ‘If you knocked them over, you lost points,? he said.
Other events included blowing a ball into a garbage can using a backpack leaf blower and lighting matches on fire with a weed whipper.
Elsarelli said the olympics ‘was a lot of fun? and the event was established to promote teamwork throughout the county parks.
At the end of the event, the groundskeepers also enjoyed getting to test out new equipment from various vendors. The Addison Oaks team now has two trophies and one plaque from winning at the olympics.