Business brains 10th in world challenge

From the The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald, first published Thursday 5th Jan 2006.

CHIPPENHAM business Quicksilva faced a David and Goliath challenge when it took on some corporate giants in the World Team Challenge in Florida before Christmas.

Quicksilva, an e-business consultancy, based at Langley Gate in Kington Langley took on rivals including Airbus, Scania, Vodafone and Hewlett Packard and their heroic endeavours will soon be screened on Channel 4 television.

The World Challenger Event sees competitors battling it out in a series of mental and physical adventure challenges, set to test endurance, dynamism, intelligence and core team communication skills.

The five-strong team made up of Dave Hagelthorn, Gareth Butt, Alphonso Archer, Chris King and Paul Stitt did not know what each of the five stages would involve until the last minute so the team had to be fully prepared for any eventuality, combining orienteering, mountain biking and canoeing as well as construction and mental puzzles.

On the first day Quicksilva started well, finishing 13th after the first event. However set-backs on the second and third challenges cost vital time and places, ending the day a disappointing 19th overall.

The second day involved two endurance events (cycling and canoeing) while solving logic puzzles and making strategic decisions.

Finally Quicksilva finished strongly coming eighth and fourth in the final two stages respectively, climbing the ladder to a final position of 10th.

"To finish in the top 10 teams in a world event is a fantastic achievement, especially in such a prestigious event and against such strong competition.

"The team has worked extremely hard and we hope to be back and improve next year," said team captain David Hagelthorn.

Quicksilva has taken part in the UK Team Challenge four times, but this was the first time they qualified for the World Challenge.

The team trained hard, with a group of employees going running at lunchtimes, practising logic games and using the company gym at the office to make sure they were in peak condition for the contest.

Quicksilva's progress and all the action from the World Challenger Event can be seen early on Channel 4 on Sunday at 6.30am and repeated on February 11 at 7.30am.

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