Opinion - Paul Hickey: MCing Dancing for Hospice and Olympics action

Thomas Mackintosh, Hamish Bond, Tom Murray, Michael Brake, Daniel Williamson, Phillip Wilson, Shaun Kirkham, Matt Macdonald and Sam Bosworth celebrate winning the men's eight gold. Photo / AP

This weekend is the culmination of three months of intense practice and rehearsals for this year's 20 brave locals who agreed to dance in front of a couple of thousand people to help raise money for Rotorua Community Hospice.

I've been involved along the way supporting these amazing men and women, who I'm sure will do themselves and their whānau proud this weekend at Harcourt's Dancing For Hospice.

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the original event, and I've been lucky enough to be involved every year, dancing the first two years, and then in the role of event MC for the past three.

This weekend I'm excited to reconnect on stage with Rotorua Lakes councillor Tania Tapsell, who will be my co-host this year.

Tania and I danced together the first two years, so we felt it fitting to work together again for this special anniversary event.

Hopefully we will see you there, but if you can't make it, you can still contribute to the amazing cause by voting for the People's Choice Award, which makes an instant $3 donation to Rotorua Community Hospice.

Voting is open until 9pm on Saturday night, and by making a vote you are supporting this amazing cause.

To register, simply text 'hospice21' followed by your first and last name to 2834. Then follow the registration link you are sent by text from Galabid to login and vote. Once you've registered you're also all set to vote on our silent auction items.

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The past week of Olympics action has certainly got me hooked again.

Some amazing performances from the Kiwis, and the golds from the sevens women (how raw was that emotion?) and the men's rowing eights have been highlights.

And ever since I watched my first Olympics in 1984 when Mark Todd and Charisma became household names, the Cross Country Equestrian has always been one I've enjoyed.

Like many people though, I am still struggling a little with the 'newer' sports that have been added to the Games.

Although I was reminded that while we think of the classic sports, there have always been some unusual events of the day included at the Olympics.

Some of the more unusual for you to think about; Tug of War was an event at five Games between 1900-20.

If neither team succeeded to pull the other over the line after five minutes, a winner was declared based on who performed the best.

Club Swinging happened twice in 1904 and 1932. Participants would perform a routine by swinging clubs that looked like bowling balls.

How about Duelling Pistols? In 1906, this bizarre event saw competitors shoot wax bullets at human-shaped targets dressed in long coats from a 20 or 30-metre distance.

And in 1904, Plunge for Distance saw competitors dive into a pool, then try not to move at all until one minute was up, or until they naturally floated to the surface.

Maybe Skateboarding and 3-on-3 Basketball are not so bad after all.

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Paul Hickey is the host of the local Rotorua show on The Hits Rotorua weekdays between 9am and 3pm. Listen on 97.5FM or download the iHeartRadio app. Follow The Hits Rotorua and Paul on Facebook and Instagram.