WOODBRIDGE HOME & AWAY CHALLENGE

Woodbridge School and Woodbridge Rugby Club are pleased to announce the winners of the ‘Woodbridge Home & Away Challenge’, which they ran jointly from 8 February to 7 March 2021, during the third ‘lockdown’ period. This exciting fitness and wellbeing Challenge – which was open to all students and staff, as well as the wider community – attracted over 30 entries, from a wide range of participants across Suffolk.

The idea of the ‘Woodbridge Home & Away Challenge’ was for participants to select a destination with significance to them and outline the reason why – perhaps a favourite holiday destination, or the university town that they hope to go to. They then had to calculate how far the destination was to their homes in miles and, either individually or as a household, record exercise activities to get them that distance to their chosen destination.

The winners are as follows:

Overall Winners: Sebastian (‘Bash’) and Barney

‘Overall Winners’ Sebastian (‘Bash’) and Barney undertake a snowy cycle ride ‘on their travels’ to John O’Groats! [Credit: WOODBRIDGE SCHOOL]

Distance travelled:      767 miles
Destination:                 John O’Groats
Reason:                      “We chose the destination because it had been a dream for Bash and I to ride there and every bike riders dream to cycle to the furthest point north in the UK.”
Exercise undertaken: Cycling

Furthest Distance: The Bull Family

Distance travelled:      796.2 miles
Destination:                 Moliets-et-Maa, France
Reason:                       “It is somewhere we have dreamed of going because we love cycling and would like to learn surfing. Anthony has been and has promised to take the rest of the family!”
Exercise undertaken: Running, cycling, walking

Most Creative Entry: Huw Beaumont & Family

Distance travelled:      204 miles (Distance) and 22,113 feet (Elevation)
Destination:                 Caerleon, Newport, Wales (Distance) and Khawa Karpo, Himalayas, Chine (Elevation)
Reason:                      “We have visited previously and very much enjoyed looking around the Roman Barracks, Amphitheatre & Baths. This being the furthest the Romans got into conquering Wales. Elevation: We did virtual ascents of two Scottish peaks, Mount Fuji in Japan and two attempts are underway to ascend Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.”
Exercise undertaken: ‘Hiking’ on indoor treadmill due to shielding

Most Interactive Entry: TEAM STENNETT

Distance travelled:      156 miles
Destination:                 Blakeney
Reason:                      “This is our favourite North Norfolk holiday destination”
Exercise undertaken: Cycling

Each entry into the Challenge has earned a certificate signed by both the School and Club and a goodie bag, and each of the four main winners has also been awarded a £50 voucher of their choice.

Shona Norman, Head of Woodbridge School, said:

“We are really proud to have run this successful Challenge with our friends and partners, Woodbridge Rugby Club, which we created together to help to improve the physical and mental wellbeing of our young people during lockdown. “It is so rewarding to see the amount of effort and creativity that has gone into the entries and well done to all those who took part – and special congratulations to the winners, Bash and Barney, from our School, for their amazing distance of over 750 miles, ‘cycling to John O’Groats’!” “We hope that you all enjoyed your exercise – whether individually or as a family, and even with your pets! – and that it gave you another area of focus during lockdown, which has been an especially difficult time for all of us.”

Tim Johnson, Chair of Woodbridge Rugby Club, said:

“This Challenge has served to highlight what an active and creative community we live in! From its inception, we have been delighted to work on this project alongside Woodbridge School who, like us, thrive on being part of a great community. “Short, cold Winter days, combined with the routine monotony of lockdown, provided us with an opportunity to challenge people to join a challenge, as well as promote physical and mental wellbeing. “We are thrilled how well it was supported and I would like to say a big well done to everyone who took part in the ‘Woodbridge Home & Away Challenge’.” Woodbridge School is a long-standing sponsor of Woodbridge Rugby Club’s Junior Section. Both the School and the Club are committed to developing further new health and wellbeing initiatives together, aimed at prioritising mindfulness and enabling young people to flourish, all within a safe, nurturing and mutually-respectful environment.

How did the Challenge Come About?

Paul Simpson

Paul Simpson, Commercial Director of Woodbridge Rugby Club, explains his inspiration for the Challenge:

“We had been working closely with our major partners, Woodbridge School, on ways to support the mental health and wellbeing of our students and junior members at that challenging time.

“I was impressed by the achievements of friends on Strava, a fitness tracking app. Despite self-isolating at home, Abi and her son, Arthur wanted to complete a three-mile run and they calculated that 52 laps of their house was bang on three miles and ran it.

“This gave me the idea of a distance-based physical challenge, to encourage all in the household away from screens and mundane tasks to the physical and mental health benefits of regular exercise.