VERO BEACH — Do you have what it takes to complete the Navy SEAL Museum “Bridge Challenge?”
“It is not for the faint of heart,” said Rick Kaiser, Executive Director of the National Navy SEAL Museum.
The “Bridge Challenge” will be held Saturday, Nov. 30, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Barber Bridge right next to the Riverside Café. The final “Champions” heat is expected at 4:15 p.m.
“This is a way to test your strength, endurance, and mental ability, while raising funds for the SEAL Museum. The challenge is based on elements of Navy SEAL training.
Called “evolutions,” these tests separate those who succeed from those who quit. Taking on the challenge will take more than mere physical conditioning.
“You’ll need a mental attitude that matches your speed, agility, strength, and stamina,” Kaiser explained.
Racers will go head to head; teams of two will be chosen at random to compete on parallel courses.
1. Jump into the water at the starting whistle.
2. Swim approximately 75-100 yards fully clothed with life jacket, pants, and shoes to a caving ladder.
3. At the ladder, each racer will clip on to the safety rope, and at the thumbs up sign from a race official, commence climbing.
4. Half way up the ladder, each racer must remove a flag from the ladder and hook it to their body simulating a SEAL pulling his side arm while climbing to neutralize a threat.
5. Climb to the top of the bridge, approximately 70 feet above the water.
6. After unhooking from the safety rope, racers must complete a half mile run to the western end of the bridge and back.
7. Racer must then put on a safety helmet, hook back up to the safety line, and fast rope off the bridge. Before entering the water, racers must place the flag they retrieved earlier to a designated position. Once complete, drop into water, and remove safety line. Failure to switch flags will add 5 minutes to total time per missed flag.
8. Swim back to start to stop the clock by ringing the bell 3 times.
The two lowest times will then compete in final head to head race to crown the champion of the bridge challenge. The winner will have his name on the Bridge Challenge trophy located at the Navy SEAL Museum for the next 12 months.
Top three finishers will receive a trophy. All contestants will receive a Navy SEAL Museum T-shirt and challenge coin.
For more information, watch an informative video, and to sign up, please visit the website at www.NAVYSEALMUSEUM.com.
