On Tuesday morning we were very rudely awakened by our alarm clocks going off at 4am! We were off bright (well relatively anyway!) and early to set up our Mobile Climbing Wall in Covent Garden, London for the launch of the Diamond Challenge from the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme which is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2016!
To launch the new programme, the Duke of Edinburgh scheme had lined up a whole host of celebrities to come down and try our Rock Climbing Wall for themselves. It was great to see TV presenters Davina McCall, Julia Bradbury and Alice Beer taking part alongside Olympic medal winner Zac Purchase, Strictly judge Arlene Philips, Capital Radio DJ’s, Comedians and even impressionist Jon Culshaw. The media turnout was amazing with cameramen 3 or 4 people deep lining the barriers trying to get their best shots of the celebrity climbers in action. And with an eye catching activity such as the 24ft high Climbing Wall, its easy to see why it was chosen to help launch the challenge.
As well as the celebrities we had Duke of Edinburgh Awards sponsors teams come down from all over the UK, local businesses, Dof E volunteers and participants plus many members of the public gave it a try too. Everyone seemed keen to get involved and help the organisation reach their target of 182 climbs which is the height of Ben Nevis. The climbers easily managed to hit this total by early afternoon so maybe we should go for the 3 Peaks Challenge next time?! The event was great to be involved with – such a good buzz and for such a good cause. We hope that the Diamond Challenge proves successful in getting people involved in pushing their limits no matter what their age or ability.
Take a look here to see the Diamond Challenge launch event mentioned in the media and if you wanted to find out more information about the Duke of Edinburgh scheme yourself and how you can get involved have a look at www.dofe.org Our Mobile Rock Climbing Wall is regularly used on charity events for sponsored climbs so if that’s something that you are thinking about, please get in touch with us.
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