Starbucks Adventure Challenge post-event report

It was with excitement that 41 teams of Starbucks Partners and Support Crew descended upon Glamorgan University in South Wales on Saturday 5th July to prepare for the third Starbucks Adventure Challenge, this year in the Brecon Beacons. They had signed up for a Challenge and that is what they received, overcoming many obstacles throughout their weekend in Wales!

Teams were greeted by the CARE Challenge Team to check in and receive the first of their briefings, splitting them in to their two groups, Dingete and Sirte (villages in the Haraghe region of Ethiopia where Starbucks are supporting CARE community projects). The Challenge would see teams hiking, biking and canoeing around the Brecon Beacon National Park. Teams in Dingete would start on the Mountain in the morning and Sirte would get on their bikes.

All Partners were settled in to the student halls, bringing back fond memories for many, and there was an early start for all as the coaches arrived to pick them up at 5.15am on the day of the Challenge – Sunday 6th July. Just as they were about to arrive at Challenge Base, deep in the National Park, Mother Nature threw her first challenge of the day at participants, in the shape of a large tree which had fallen to block the narrow road!!

Team briefing
Teams are briefed...
With no other route available, this is where we saw the first examples of team spirit and resilience from all the Starbucks teams who, without complaint, climbed through the tree and were shuttled up to Challenge Base in all available vehicles (including the back of a transit van!) or took on a little extra walking, and arrived in good spirits and raring to go. The Challenge Team were there to greet them and teams gathered in their respective ’villages’, as all were given an enthusiastic greeting from the local midge population – who were very loving! Once everyone (teams, CARE staff and marshals) were in place it was time to start the briefings and get the Dingete teams on the mountain and the Sirte teams on their bikes.

Teams took on part of the well known Brecon Horseshoe route in the mountains and as part of their Challenge they were given the task of carrying a bucket of water for 2km. In many communities in Ethiopia women often have to walk around 10km to collect water for their families – as the Starbucks Partners soon found this is not an easy task! The next part of the Challenge was to complete a 25km mountain bike course which included some demanding up hill sections – rewarded with an exhilarating cycle down hill to take them to Pontsticill Reservoir for their canoe relay. The weather forecast for the weekend was changeable and it lived up to that, swinging from torrential showers to attempts at sunshine – which were short lived...

Support crew
Bacon baps all round!
During the switch over of activities teams were treated to well deserved bacon rolls and a hot drink courtesy of the Starbucks support crew, which went down extremely well and a special thank you must go to those support crew members whose cheers (and refreshments) were much appreciated by all! Once the day was over, it was back on the coaches (the offending tree had now been cleared!) and back to the University for a well earned dinner, speeches, presentations and a party at the Student Union bar. Many found the energy to populate the dance floor and stretch out those weary muscles with an enthusiastic boogie!

So, it was an all round Challenge for all those who took part and everyone should be really proud of themselves for their achievements throughout the day. But the real achievement of the weekend has to be the £52,000 raised to support CARE projects in coffee growing communities in the Hararghe region of Ethiopia, an amount which will make a real difference! A special mention must go to Team CHARITY who pledged over £5,000 and were presented with a framed CARE project photograph.

Team congo
Team Congo finish in quick time!
On the physical side a mention must go the fastest teams (who were rewarded with Champagne and a gift for Ethiopian communities from the I CARE catalogue) James Garner lead the overall fastest Team (CONGO) who completed the whole Challenge in a speedy 6 hours 58 minutes. They were closely followed by Richard Wightman and Team LEGAL.

CARE Challenge Event Manager, Neil Munro, had this to say:
“This years Starbucks Adventure Challenge was a huge success! It was fantastic to see so many Starbucks Partners coming together from all over the UK to take part with such commitment and enthusiasm. There were great displays of team spirit throughout the day, and everyone overcame various obstacles with great humour to make the whole Challenge a rewarding experience for all those involved. The real achievement has to be the fundraising total of £52,000 for CARE’s work in Ethiopia, funds which will make a real difference!”

Team Results

 
Team Leader Callsign Mountain Route Bike-Canoe -Bike Recovery & Briefings Total Time
James Garner Congo 02:24 02:49 01:45 06:58
Richard Wightman Legal 02:57 02:34 01:45 07:16
Kenneth Tudhope Support 02:48 02:55 01:45 07:28
Steve Hubbard Sudan 03:00 02:50 01:45 07:35
Eddie O'Grady Georgia 02:56 02:57 01:45 07:38
Eelco Van der Zande Water 03:30 02:29 01:45 07:44
Guy Croot Conflict 03:24 02:40 01:45 07:49
Derek Graham Teacher 02:44 03:22 01:45 07:51
Adam Bishop Finance 03:21 02:55 01:45 08:01
Adrian Thurston Market 03:13 03:04 01:45 08:02
Steven Langley India 02:57 03:29 01:45 08:11
James Terry Health 03:20 03:10 01:45 08:15
Derek Breakenridge Student 03:28 03:06 01:45 08:19
Natasha Bunkevich Kenya 03:21 03:14 01:45 08:20
Steve Aitchison Dignity 03:09 03:26 01:45 08:20
Steve Falcon Egypt 03:42 02:59 01:45 08:26
Michael West Family 03:28 03:14 01:45 08:27
Alan Clubley Orphan 03:46 03:00 01:45 08:31
Emma Spencer Nepal 03:25 03:23 01:45 08:33
Rowan Isaacson Business 03:44 03:06 01:45 08:35
Julia Crowcroft Justice 03:35 03:16 01:45 08:36
Lucy Roller Education 03:38 03:15 01:45 08:38
Simon Roberts Darfur 03:30 03:31 01:45 08:46
Ray Smith Food 03:30 03:31 01:45 08:46
Susana Suarez - Dosil Campaign 03:23 03:39 01:45 08:47
Thomas Reid Project 03:51 03:11 01:45 08:47
Vikash Prasad Shelter 03:49 03:15 01:45 08:49
Jan Dalton Urban 03:17 03:54 01:45 08:56
Christopher Kite Charity 03:43 03:28 01:45 08:56
Lucy Jacobs Africa 03:17 03:55 01:45 08:57
Abel Azdad Thailand 03:23 03:56 01:45 09:04
Stephen Collins Trade 03:34 03:46 01:45 09:05
Paul Scott Climate 03:26 04:03 01:45 09:14
Andrew Kozlowski Cuba 03:31 03:59 01:45 09:15
Victoria Ross Programme 03:45 04:18 01:45 09:48
Cindy Ross Uganda 04:19 03:58 01:45 10:02
David Argent Zambia 04:00 04:17 01:45 10:02
Lynda Gibbs Jordan 03:48 04:30 01:45 10:03
James Preece Farming 04:16 04:25 01:45 10:26
Geraldine McMahon Ghana 04:51 03:55 01:45 10:31
Gisela Almeida Peru 04:27 00:00 01:45 06:12
 
 

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CARE challenge are an in-house charity fundraising team. We offer many exciting charity events that you can join. All our charity challenges offer amazing adventures outdoors and lots of our activities take place over adventure weekends. If charity runs are your thing, then we have lots to offer - 10K runs, half marathons and many other running events. Or, how about cycling events for charity? We certainly have lots to offer in the charity cycling department. There are charity rides where you can cycle London to Brighton or you can even do a charity bike ride from London to Paris, if London to Brighton isn't far enough! We also have some charity walks and hikes. Later this year we have a sponsored walk that is 25 miles long in order to celebrate the 25th anniversary of CARE International's UK office. If activities outdoors and adventure weekends get your adrenalin pumping, then why not sign up for one of our mountain challenges? We have numerous charity challenges on mountains over the year from three peaks challenges to 24 peaks challenges - if you think you're up to it! For many of our charity fundraising events you can register as a teamleader or part of a team. We believe our charity challenges offer great teambuilding activities and are really great for team events. So if you're interested in corporate team building through a great charity challenge then the CARE Challenge Series is for you. Click here to see all our charity challenges.