The Guinness World Records is a place reserved for those chosen few who manage to achieve something unique. A milestone like no other in the world, showcasing the complexity for those seeking this glory. A glory that could be within reach for a school located in Tenerife.
What started as a search for ideas to motivate a class has culminated in Luis Diego Cuscoy Secondary School, in Cabo Blanco, in the municipality of Arona, preparing the paperwork to submit evidence for a new milestone to the Guinness World Records committee. This is according to their principal, Esther del Val, to whom a physical education teacher at the school approached with this idea: “He is the tutor of a sixth form group and was trying different ways to motivate them, but was not succeeding. One day he came to me saying that he would have been interested if he had been challenged to break a record, that there were some things that could be attempted. As the principal, I like it when different ideas are proposed, when the students seek alternative things, and obviously, this seemed interesting to me.”
The teacher referenced by the school’s principal is Ángel Luis Martel, who had a question pop into his head while brainstorming: “Hey, why don’t we break a world record?” What some might have dismissed as crazy, this Gran Canaria native teacher saw as an activity with “a different kind of motivation”. Without straying from the curricular and obligatory part that all physical education teachers have to impart, the wheels for this challenge were set in motion.
Preparations to attempt breaking a Guinness World Record / E. D.
Permissions, paperwork, and an email that changed everything
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Aiming to break a Guinness World Record is not as simple as doing it and that’s it. Along the way, there are many steps to follow, the first being convincing the students of the school, the physical education team, and the top authorities of the school to sign up for Ángel Luis’s idea: “I proposed it to the students and they liked the idea. In the department, as soon as they show us a little interest, we get motivated. The entire school management welcomed the idea very well and what started as a vague and crazy idea, a fleeting thought, ended up bringing together a large part of the school.”
While the physical education team at Luis Diego Cuscoy focused on finding and selecting the record, the school management got to work to obtain approval from everyone. First, it had to go through the School Council, as Esther explains, “permission had to be requested from the council because, if the record was successful, the school’s name would also be mentioned”.
The green light came quickly, as “the School Council thought it was a good and different idea, I informed Ángel Luis and he dared to do everything else,” as recalled by Esther from her office at the school.
“We don’t dare to confirm or deny if we achieved it. If we look at the numbers, we have managed it”
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With the necessary permissions obtained, it was time for paperwork and to decide which record to attempt. “We created an account at the Guinness World Records institution in the name of the school. Once inside, you can see the records you want to break, and out of all that we saw, we chose ten that seemed more or less feasible,” states Ángel Luis, who set two criteria for choosing: “one that involved movement to relate it to physical education, and the second, that it was a group activity to involve the entire class, and that’s how we chose one of those options”.
The idea started off for his form group, but ended up with a hundred students signed up, from the third year of ESO to the second year of Bachillerato: “Once we chose what to do, we submitted the application to attempt breaking the record. The institution took approximately two weeks to respond, and it was positive, granting us permission to attempt breaking the record.”
Going for the record
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With “quite a few” instructions and rules to follow to qualify for the approval of the Guinness World Records, the objective was clear: keep a total of 135 balloons in the air for more than a minute.
The students gathered in the pavilion of IES Luis Diego Cuscoy / E. D.
For this, they used the school’s court, where a hundred students were spread out across it. Additionally, several teachers and volunteers were positioned to comply with the requests of the WGR.
On Thursday, April 25, was the chosen day to attempt it, releasing all the balloons into the air at once. “We gathered all the requested evidence, which they refer to as proofs, and took photos, regular and slow-motion videos, and even witness statements as they asked for,” states Ángel Luis, who summoned “a local police officer, a social worker, and a councilor from the Arona City Council“.
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“What started as a vague and crazy idea, a fleeting thought, ended up bringing together a large part of the community”
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Extreme caution from the centre as they do not dare to affirm that the record has been broken: “We don’t dare to confirm or deny if we have achieved it. If we look at the numbers, we have accomplished it, but we have noticed some things in the videos like errors and others that make us cautious. Some seem to hold onto the balloon for too long before releasing it again, others fell to the ground…”.
Now it will be World Guinness Records’ turn to study all the graphic content to determine if they validate the record: “We will collect all the information, which will take us a week, we will carefully select the videos and photos, and send it to them. Initially, we released 179 balloons into the air, so in terms of numbers, we believe we broke the record, but we need to gather and see which number we send them. In the end, it is up to them to decide if the record has been broken according to the rules.
“The experience is what matters”
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The centre does not obsess over breaking the record and values the journey. Ángel Luis describes the experience as “very positive” and states, “when you embark on a journey, everyone wants to reach the final goal, but we give little importance to breaking it and much more to the educational aspect, the experience of participating, and the learning the kids have achieved with different physical activities, concentration, group work skills, or motor and coordination skills”.
The teacher responsible for all this madness gives a clear warning: “Achieving the record? Great. Not achieving it? Well, we’ll try again at another time”.
An answer that may be delayed for a few months. Initially, World Guinness Records informs applicants that the response to their request may take up to twelve weeks, about three months.
The centre affirms that, despite this timeframe, “the first request was answered within two weeks”, and they point out the importance of confirming whether the record is broken or not “before the end of June when classes end”.
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Regardless of the final outcome of this attempt to enter one of the world’s most famous books, what is clear is that IES Luis Diego Cuscoy is a pioneer in these matters, with the centre’s physical education department setting an example that motivating students is an essential part of education.
