Donegal secures top marks in a European Challenge !

Over the weekend key players in the European business world including Irish companies, BT Business Ireland, Accenture, Cisco Systems and Bravo and the Greenbox are in the Donegal Bay to compete at the Cisco Euro Challenge, Europe’s largest and most prestigious team development event. 

Chosen for its magnificent and diverse countryside and interesting terrain, Donegal Bay has been identified as the ideal location for an event of this size and calibre.  Over the past six months Challenger World has been working closely with Fáilte Ireland and Erne Enterprise in the organisation of the event to ensure that as far as possible local facilities, suppliers and services will be used and the local economy supported. Over four hundred and fifty of the top decision makers in European business have made the seaside resort of Bundoran their base for this mentally and physically grueling challenge.

A number of years ago, well known sports enthusiast Brian Britton attended the European Challenge in Belgium and immediately recognized the tremendous potential his own native area had for hosting such a competition. ‘We had the accommodation and services, unrivalled scenery and so many diverse challenges to offer-the mountains, sea, lakes, uncrowded roads and, of course the traditional Donegal welcome-what better place to have it.? It provides Donegal Bay the opportunity to showcase itself to a wide and sophisticated audience’ he commented. ‘When I look around today and see over 400 athletes from all parts of Europe competing against each other around the highways and byways of South Donegal, it gives me a great sense of pride in my own county’ he added. Of course Brian is no stranger in attracting top events to the Donegal Bay area. A former president of the Irish Surfing Association, he was instrumental in bringing various European Surfing Championships to Bundoran as well as the prestigious Quiksilver World Championships to the area. ’This could not have happened without the dedicated cooperation of Cisco Systems, Failte Irl and Erne Enterprise and indeed the local hoteliers and community’ he concluded

On Thursday afternoon  companies from all over Europe  arrived in the area ready to putthemselves through a 2 night and 2 day trial of leadership and team skills.  Based on the unique and growing concept of Intelligent Sport® the teams will be tested, not only on their physical prowess through the likes of kayaking, mountain biking and long hard foot slogs, but also forced to don their “thinking caps” as their mental ability is put to the test. ‘Having attended the event in Mayehoffen in Austria last year, I can assure you it’s not all about brawn-the brain is an equally important ingredient’ said Matt Britton, Tourism Officer for Erne Enterprise and Bundoran Town Council. With the Event Headquarters located in Ballyshannon and Bundoran, the teams will be faced with tasks throughout Donegal Bay and Leitrim, however all locations and task details are kept top secret until the last minute. In fact the teams are only given the final details of the challenge that lies ahead of them one hour in advance-it could be in Donegal’s case for example, surfing, building a currach and make sure it floats-no amount of pre-training can really prepare you for the task ahead.

Companies such as Lloyds TSB, Vodafone, Dimension Data and Hewlett Packard will all be vying to be crowned Cisco Euro Challenge 2007 Champion.  The heat is on, with last year’s winners, Hewlett Packard, Spain ready to defend their title while other teams such as 3i, Shell and Barclays Bank  were all eager to step up to the plate and take the crown. However let’s not forget the Irish contingent who finished a very credible third in Austria last year having being placed second throughout the competition until the very final stage. With a stronger participation this year and maybe a little bit more local knowledge, these ‘Boys in Green’ did manage to restore a little bit of our national sporting pride after a disappointing week on the Soccer and Rugby fronts. The overall winners of the event were the Barclay’s Team from the UK with the various Irish teams all finishing mid-table.

Eimear Keon, CEO of Erne Enterprise has been working closely on the ground with the organizers.’ To date, everybody is absolutely delighted. The organization has been superb, some of the challenges may have turned out a little tougher than anticipated but that’s what competition is all about. I proves that when we put our minds to it, we can compete with any destination worldwide in organizing a top class event’ she said.

Andrew Finan, Managing Director of Challenger World said: “We are have been delighted with every aspect of the event here in Donegal Bay and our partners Fáilte Ireland and Erne Enterprise have been very welcoming and helpful. The event has been a complete success without any hitches. There is no doubt in my mind that not only will we be back but I’m sure many of the competitors will also return individually.  The countryside is spectacular, full of beautiful land and seascapes and has allowed us provide some tough, diverse but exciting courses.  The Irish have certainly lived up to their reputation of combing business and craic-the social aspect of the competition  this year has been one of the best for years.’

Local hoteliers were delighted with the boost to tourism figures during the shoulder season with most full to capacity over the weekend. ‘It has been a tremendous opportunity for us to showcase Donegal on an international platform and hopefully will reap further benefits in years to come. With the Hills of Donegal and the Ocean festival coming up over the next two weekends, it augurs very well for tourism in the resort and in spite of the bad weather, a very good year overall.’ commented one source.

Matt Britton