There’s no current world record for the biggest pirate sword fight in the Guinness Book of World Records.
That’s something Owairoa Primary School hope they’ve changed.
On April 6, 923 participants gathered to take part in the Great Pirate Clash – a sword fight of epic proportions in the hopes of setting a new world record.
The fight, which took place on the school sports field, lasted for approximately 15 minutes as mini pirates battled one another from various ship bases.
“We are all recuperating from the pirate clash injuries after clashing with such a large number of energetic young sword fighters,” said school principal Alan McIntyre.
It was an idea the school started thinking about toward the end of last year to tie in with a week-long focus on literacy, allowing students to dress up in pirate outfits for five days.
The pirate-themed book week saw kids making ‘wanted’ posters, building pirate ships for the upcoming fight, creating treasure maps and making regular trips to the school hall, which was packed with Scholastic books in an effort to encourage kids to read more.
“It’s one of those weeks we’ll never forget,” said Owairoa Primary School teacher William Howard, who organised the event.
Neither will seven-year-old students Arielle Cowie and Ben Berrington, who raved about the sword fight and the pirate-themed inflatables set up behind the school hall.
For Arielle, learning how to properly pronounce pirate words was her highlight.
Now, it’s a waiting game as the school eagerly awaits a response from the Guinness Book of World Records to discover whether the endeavour to set a new world record was as successful as the fight itself.
