A testing challenge for Winchelsea ‘fitness family’

Darren Burgess describes the members at Winchelsea Health Club as ‘a little fitness family’.

As the club’s Health and Wellbeing Team Leader, Darren aims to create a community of people supporting each other to achieve greater health and fitness.

Never is this more evident than during the now annual ‘Daz’s Deadly December Challenge,’ where participants test themselves by completing a series of exercises against the clock on the Eastern Reserve oval.

Introduced three years ago at the suggestion of members as a way of staying motivated to train through the final months of the year, Daz’s challenge continues to grow.

“It’s a good way to get members going outside their comfort zones, and doing things they wouldn’t normally do in their training sessions, plus it helps bring out their competitiveness,” Darren said.

“You’ve got to make it that bit harder each year, but not that tough that you won’t get members participating.”

The 2025 edition saw 11 health club members sweating through a 30-metre tractor tyre drag, 40-metre tractor tyre carry, two laps of the oval, 10 slam ball throws, 30-metre bear crawl, 100 bench hops, push-ups (20 for women, 40 for men), and a mystery exercise revealed only on the day: a 50-metre sack hop.

The kicker: in between each exercise, participants had to complete 10 burpees and 10 pull-ups on the oval’s boundary fence.

The fastest members completed the challenge in around 22 minutes, but everyone left feeling like a winner and celebrated together with a BBQ afterwards.

“For the majority, it was just about proving to themselves that they could complete it – it wasn’t about getting the fastest time or finishing in the top three,” Darren said.

A Winchelsea resident for 27 years (“almost a local,” in his own words) and health club member for 12, Darren has held his team leader position for the past three-and-a-half years.

While he’s determined to keep growing the December challenge, the focus for now is on building the health club community and helping more people feel fitter and healthier in 2026.

“It’s never too late to start your fitness journey,” Darren said.

“Come and join our little fitness family at the Winchelsea Health Club.”

Deputy Mayor Tony Phelps said the Winchelsea Health Club is an important way for Council to support community wellbeing.

“Through our Health and Wellbeing Plan we aim to increase active living in the community,” Councillor Phelps said.

“The Winchelsea Health Club provides a fantastic supportive environment for anyone looking to improve their fitness, and Darren’s December challenge is one of many ways the staff keep members motivated and on track towards their goals.”

The Council-run Winchelsea Health Club at Eastern Reserve offers personal training, group fitness, and personalised gym programs. It’s accessible to members 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

For information about joining, call 5267 2336.