MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A band of leg-sore Australian friends are claiming a new world record for the longest nonstop game of beach touch rugby, accumulating around 1,500 points during a grueling 34 hours of play, one of the players said Friday.
Neither side knows who won. Organizers of the Tama Touch Group, which played the game on Wednesday and Thursday as a charity event at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach, decided against providing a running score for fear of overexciting the fatigued players’ competitive instincts, competitor Harry Preston said.
“It’s not about who beats who. It’s about collectively breaking the record and doing it for a good cause,” Preston said. “It does get a bit competitive, but it’s all about the mateship and the camaraderie.”
Guinness Word Records has yet to confirm the group has broken the record set by the Sandbaggers Beach Touch Rugby Team in Britain in August 2022. But Guinness confirmed in a statement Thursday that its records team was assessing the bid.
The name “Tama” comes from the smaller Tamarama Beach, south of Bondi, where they formed their social group to play in 2001. Better known as Tama Touch, the group’s 22 men began their six-a-side game at 6 a.m. Wednesday and declared themselves world record holders Thursday afternoon.
Beating the clock and aiding mental health
The Sandbaggers record set on the coast of southern England was 34 hours and 6 seconds. Their match raised donations for motor neurone disease charities. Tama Touch claimed a numerically significant record of 34 hours, 9 minutes and 25 seconds. The numerals represent the date of the two-day match, Sept. 3 and 4, 2025.
Video of the entire game will submitted to Guinness, as well a log of every point scored and substitution made. Witness statements also will be included as evidence of a record.
“Some wanted to go on,” Preston said. “Our theory is that we didn’t want to break it by a huge margin because we want other people to break it and we want other people to raise money and awareness for causes and that’s ultimately what it’s all about.”
Tama Touch’s match raised more than 167,000 Australian dollars ($109,000) for Beyond Blue, an Australian mental health organization providing free support to help manage anxiety, depression and suicide prevention.
Player Andrew Lord said regular social matches with Tama Touch on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays helped his own mental health.
“I’ve had my own experiences with mental health and this group helped me through. Now we want to help others find that same support,” Lord said in a statement.
Playing through the pain
Preston said the whole group of 22 stayed to the end despite players suffering a dislocated toe, a suspected broken toe and a broken thumb. The injuries happened late in the game.
There was no limit to how many substitutions could be made, but there always had to be 12 players in the game and 10 on the bench. One player said a smart watch told him he had run 70 kilometers (43 miles) during the match.
“There’s a lot of pressure on the ankles and the Achilles (tendons) and the calves because sand is a little bit more trying than hard surfaces,” Preston said.
The early spring temperature fell to 8 degrees Celsius (46 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight. The daytime temperatures rose to mild maximums of 13 Celsius (55 Fahrenheit) Wednesday and 16 Celsius (61 Fahrenheit) Thursday.
In touch rugby, a player scores a point by placing the ball on or over what is called a try line. Preston said around 1,500 points were scored, but there was a more precise tally kept. Whether the Breakers in the blue shirts or the Sand Stormers in red shirts won the game will be announced at a dinner next week.
