2nd Ahoghill Boys' Brigade company wowed the crowds with their superhero themed display, which took place in Brookside Presbyterian Church hall last night.
The display started at 7:30pm with the Fall In, as the three sections of the company formed squads in the main hall. After some opening remarks from Rev. William Moody and the singing of the BB anthem “Will Your Anchor Hold?”, the company was commanded to fall out in preparation for the first item.
Make Way
The Company Section began the night with a drill down. Company captain William Young gave the commands, as Leader in Charge of Company Section Jonathan McCartney assessed the boys’ performance. The quality of drill had improved greatly throughout the year, so the officers had a tough time finding faults. After some tricky manoeuvres and a few commands in quick succession the squad was eventually whittled down to two boys, who would receive awards at the end of the night.
Race for the Hero
The next item was performed by the Junior Section, and was based on BBC game show The Getaway Car. Two teams competed against each other in a head to head obstacle course, to the relief of the BB treasurer the cars from the show had been substituted with a pair of bicycles. Just like the show the competitors had to answer multiple choice questions by crashing through the corresponding banner, however these questions were based on the various Biblical heroes the boys had been learning about throughout the year.
C’mon Norn Iron
The anchors boys were next up with a PE item themed around the Northern Ireland football team, in recognition of their qualification for UEFA Euro 2016. Two teams clad in green and white burst through the doors of the hall and made their way to the middle of the floor for a series of head to head races, which showed off the boys running, dribbling and heading abilities. Once the boys had finished, it was the turn of the audience. With friends and family invited onto the floor to have a go at the races themselves.
Batman v Superman
After a brief interlude, the Company Section got the display back underway with a Batman V Superman themed item. Team Batman took on Team Superman, as pairs from each team competed in a series of exercises including a tyre pull, shuttle runs and bench presses. The rest of the boys performed jumps on the trampette and vaulted over the horse while they waited for their turn with the exercises. To finish the item three of the older boys performed a short gymnastics routine involving somersaults, backflips and other jumps.
Superhero Bedtime Story
The Junior Section’s second item continued their look back at the Biblical characters they had been learning about during the year. It took the form of a bedtime story, with one boy telling the story of David defeating Goliath while the rest acted out the events. This reminded us of how God can enable ordinary people to do extraordinary things when they trust in him and rely on His strength.
Jesus You’re My Superhero
The Anchor Boys second item tied directly into the night’s theme, as each of the boys got dressed up as their favourite superhero. They began by reading a short poem explaining how Jesus is our Saviour, before performing the song “Superhero” by Hillsong Kidz.
Jesus Is Better
The finale was performed by members of the Company Section, and consisted of a short slideshow accompanied by a voice over. During our Bible studies this year we had been comparing various Biblical characters to Jesus, and had decided to tie that into our superhero theme. Six boys each read a short piece comparing Jesus to a different superhero, including Superman, Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America and Wolverine. Although these heroes may be great, Jesus is Better.
Award Distribution
This year’s chief guest was former Junior Section officer Kenny McDowell. He congratulated the boys on an entertaining display and gave a short address, before remaining on stage to assist with the award distribution.
Junior P.E.
Winner: Peter Cahoon
Runner Up: James Brown
Senior P.E.
Winner: David O’Neill
Runner Up: Dan Brown
B.B. Appeal
Winner: Alex Hill
Runner Up: Peter Whitmill
Drill (Thomas Bell Memorial Cup)
Winner: Ben Maxwell
Runner Up: Rory McCandless
Junior Scripture
Winner: William McCartney – 95%
Runner Up: Peter Cahoon – 90%
Senior Scripture
Winner: Adam Millar – 91%
Runner Up: Paul Millar – 82%
Best Recruit (Ian Buick Memorial Cup)
Winner: William McCartney
Runner Up: Peter Cahoon
Junior Efficiency
Winner: Andrew Gilmore
Runner Up: Aaron Smyth
Senior Efficiency (Dunlop Cup)
Winner: John Lyttle
Runner Up: Adam Millar
Best Squad
Winners: John Lyttle, Michael O’Neill, Peter Whitmill, William McCartney
Gordon Shield
Winner: Ben Maxwell
Discovery Badge
Ross McGeehan was awarded his Discovery Badge as recognition of his efforts during this year’s badge work.
Presidents Badge
Adam Millar, Paul Millar and Michael O’Neill also received their President’s Badges, the second highest award in the Boys’ Brigade.
Promotions
Several boys were also promoted to higher ranks for their effort and attitude throughout the year.
Sergeant: Adam Millar
Corporal: David O’Neill
Lance Corporal: Daniel Brown, James Brown, John Lyttle, Ben Maxwell, Rory McCandless, Gary McDowell and Michael O’Neill.
After the award distribution the night drew to a close with the singing of the national anthem, followed by a benediction by Rev. Moody.
Thanks
Many thanks to all the boys and officers involved in this year’s display, the hard work paid off and provided a great night’s entertainment.
Special thanks to Liz Davidson for her assistance with the Batman V Superman t-shirts, and to Mark and Jonathan for their help with the audiovisual support during the night.
