Employees from 160 Companies Compete in Edmonton and Area Corporate Challenge
corporate challenge, recreation, sports,
C’mon, employees. We can beat Telus. We can beat the University of Alberta. Win, win, win.
The Edmonton and Area Corporate Challenge is a two-week sports and recreation extravaganza that involves companies competing against each other in 22 different events. The focus is on participation, sportsmanship and team building, and the event always occurs during the last week of May and the first week of June.
“The games began in 1992 with a handful of local businesses competing, and today there are 160 companies and more than 18,000 athletes involved each year,” says Liane Cournoyer, manager of the Edmonton and Area Corporate Challenge. “It’s an Olympics-style competition that has evolved into one of the largest annual amateur sporting events in Canada.”
The 160 participating companies are broken up into six competitive divisions, based on the number of employees. Participating companies range in size from those with 100 employees up to those with 3,000, such as Telus and the University of Alberta.
The 22 sports competitions include badminton, basketball, bocce, darts, golf, softball, swimming, table tennis, triathlon, volleyball and a 10km road race.
“In order to get the most enjoyment out of the games, we recommend that participating companies have a minimum of 50 employees on their team,” Cournoyer says. “All events take place in the evenings and weekends, and there are more than 40 different competition venues throughout Edmonton.”
The top three finishing companies in all six divisions – and in all 22 sports – receive gold, silver and bronze medals. Therefore, a total of 396 team medals are distributed at the conclusion of the games.
“The slogan of the Corporate Challenge is, ‘Where work comes to play,’ with the main goal being to promote health and wellness,” Cournoyer says. “Our hope is that employees will continue with a wellness and fitness lifestyle once the games are over. Indeed, many actually do sign up at clubs and gyms to continue their healthy living.”
The entry fee for the Corporate Challenge varies from $700-$1,400, depending on company size. All sports are co-ed, and each company can play as many sports as they like.
“The only stipulation is that participating businesses must be based in the city of Edmonton or the four surrounding counties of Leduc, Parkland, Strathcona or Sturgeon,” Cournoyer says.
The Edmonton and Area Corporate Challenge is actually a nonprofit entity overseen by a volunteer board of directors. It contracts each year with TNT Events of Edmonton, which organizes and stages the overall event. TNT puts together the competition scheduling, collects entry fees, books venues, solicits sponsors and communicates with the corporate teams.
“The Challenge is an excellent two-week celebration that promotes the lifestyle that Edmonton is all about,” Cournoyer says. “Specifically, that lifestyle includes health and wellness, a progressive attitude and camaraderie.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
