Hula hoopers hoping to break the Guinness record get rained out

EVERETT — An attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the most people participating in a hula hoop routine was upended in part by the weather.

Sunday’s afternoon showers sent the 150 people at Everett Memorial Stadium scurrying for cover. But while it lasted, they had fun.

Chris Maddy, of Arlington, brought her 7-year-old daughter, Reese, to the event as well as Taylor Villareal. The girls have been friends since they were infants. Maddy said she heard about the event on Facebook and thought it would be something fun she and her daughter could do together.

Participants were led through a few practice rounds of a two-and-a-half minute routine with hula hoops, involving lunges, squats, and marching in place.

“They enjoyed it,” Maddy said. Reese, an incoming second grader at Pioneer Elementary School, said she has been using a hula hoop since she was 4 years old. “It was really fun,” she said.

Goldie Groat, 87, of Seattle, decided to attend the event after hearing about it while visiting her daughter’s family in Mill Creek.

“They said, ‘Would you like to come along?’ I thought it would be a bit of a lark and I did,” Groat said. Despite the sudden rain shower, “we were having fun,” she said.

Bianca Hernandez, 16, of Everett, said she helped a little girl at the event. When asked if she would go back if the event is scheduled again, she responded “Yes, of course. It was so much fun.”

The event was organized by the Providence Institute for A Healthier Community. The nonprofit has set a goal of improving the health of people living in Snohomish County in the next five years. Breaking the world’s record would have required 600 participants. They had hoped to attract some of the crowds attending the nearby Everett AquaSox baseball game to the event before the rain cut it short, said Lisa Daly, a Providence spokeswoman. Nevertheleess, the event “was a chance to bring people together and demonstrate that fitness can be fun,” she said. “What better way to do than hula hooping?

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.