Autumn 2022 event

7-9 October 2022
Bramham Park Estate
West Yorkshire

After two years where Covid prevented the Apex Challenge from taking place, it was better than ever to welcome teams back in 2022 to the Bramham Park estate in West Yorkshire.

It was also a very special event celebrating 20 years since the very first Apex Challenge in 2002.

100 teams joined us to spend three days tackling a range of activities for the honour of topping the Apex leaderboard.

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Results

League tables organised by Explorers and Network events

Results

League tables organised by each team's gender

Adventure Race

The fastest times for Sunday's
Apex Adventure Race

Facts and figures

How many teams visited each activity base or control point

Play Video

Watch all the action

Our video crew spent all weekend filming the best of the action from around the Bramham Park estate.

Relive all the highlights of this brilliant event here.

Event report

After two years without an Apex Challenge event, this one was always going to feel particularly special, and as teams arrived on the Friday night, the sense of excitement was clear.

Teams were pitching their tents, pouring over their maps, planning their strategies and getting ready for what was ahead. Old Apex friends were being reunited as the music played across the bustling campsite.

400 keen adventurers packed into the Apex Marquee for the first of the weekend’s briefings, and straight after that the action began…

Friday – Apex Intense

The event started with a challenging sprint version of the main event. With just 70 minutes to hunt down 15 well-hidden control points strewn over the Bramham Park estate in the pitch darkness, it took great navigation skills, determination and endurance to succeed.

And teams weren’t alone. There was an army of highly trained Apex Chasers out to hunt teams down and take their points away. As teams returned, soaked and exhausted, the marquee was plunged into red light whenever a team returned which had been chased and caught.

But it soon became clear some were in line for great things as the rest of the weekend got underway.

Saturday – The Main Event

With six hours to collect as many points as possible, teams needed a great strategy to succeed. Activities ranged from kayaking across an open lake, to mountain biking down sheer slopes and hurling axes – so teams needed to be adaptable to make the most of what was on offer.

And all the time, seconds were ticking away and it was those who used clever route planning with endurance and determination who came out on top.

The legendary giant Apex parrot was out throughout the event – as teams desperately tried to track him down to secure the substantial 75 point reward.

Saturday Night Live

As teams gathered at Event Centre, they got the latest scores at the results update. It was also becoming clear what was laying ahead on Sunday. But before all that it was Saturday Night Live. Competitors danced into the night to the sounds of “The Epics” playing twofantastic live sets on stage. Wild dancing and crowd surfing followed to make it an unforgettable night.

Sunday – Adventure Race

This year brought us the toughest ever Apex Adventure Race. The 5km course took in woodland tracks, steep slopes, boggy swamps and thick forest – but dotted along the route were more than a dozen new obstacles. From crawls under ‘barbed’ wire to wet river crossings, water sprays, spiders’ webs and intense muddy crawls this tested the endurance of event the fittest competitors.

All in all it was once again a fantastic weekend in a stunning location.

Here’s what could be found at each of the bases on Saturday. Be sure to also check out the full results, the facts and figures, team simulation, and more than a thousand photos from the event below.

A: Wet and Wild

A tough assault course made even trickier by teams having their own personal log to carry around. It needed teamwork and lateral thinking to make the best progress across the obstacles.

B: The Great Lake

All your team had to take to the water in a kayak to reach the box at the far side of the great lake. But not everyone made it out without an impromptu soaking!

C: On The Ropes

A wobbling, precarious ropes course where teams had to work together to make it across the whole course in this mysterious quarry.

D: Mud, Sweat and Gears

A tough mountain biking challenge where only the select few could make it up that initial hill unaided. But the reward was a fast downhill stretch through the woods – and the much sought-after 50 points.

E: Pizza the Action

It was the return of one the classic Apex bases as teams had to make it down the slope without losing too many of their pizza toppings. Mad, but great fun.

F: Bullseye

Teams had to channel their inner Robin Hood as they took on this archery challenge. Did your team hit the bullseye?

G: Supersledge

Another Apex classic which proved popular throughout the day. Did you have the balance and skill to pop those balloons while careering down the slope in your sledge?

H: Roundhouse

Another activity that took a steady hand and great aim as teams had to fire their weapons to win the points.

J: Enigma

A tough challenge where communicating and working together were critical to get your blindfolded teammates around the course to get the 50 points.

K: Mad Axe Men

Who doesn’t like throwing an axe?! A great test of agility and accuracy as your axes started embedding themselves in their targets in this medieval throwback event.

L: Delve of Doom

What was inside those mystery containers? Were you brave enough to take on the Delve of Doom?

M: Temple Of Doom

It took great communication skills to be able to describe the instructions so your teammates could get the ball to the end of the maze. Not as easy as it might seem!

Some 2022 facts

  • 392 young people took part in the event.
  • It was made possible because of the work of 74 dedicated volunteers.
  • The Apex Adventure race was actually 5.1 km long, with 66 metres of height gain.
  • The most visited activity base on Saturday was base M – “Temple of Doom” with 84 teams checking in.
  • The least visited activity base on Saturday was base A – “Wet and Wild” with just 49 teams making it around the course.
  • 36 of the 98 teams managed to track down Paddy the Parrot.
  • Most teams tend to travel clockwise rather than anti-clockwise through the area – as shown on our computer simulation.
  • Only 16 teams managed to find the “hidden” control point under the rocky outcrop at control point 4.
  • Incredibly, there were just 4 points separating the top two teams in the Explorers competition this year.
  • The highest placed female team was “Dora the Explorers” from North Yorkshire (who came 16th overall).
  • The 2022 Network Winners were “Dinner Ladies Assault Force Top Bun” from Cambridgeshire with 1854 points.
  • The 2022 Explorers Winners were “Shut up Reuben” from Anvil ESU in South Yorkshire with 2284 points.
 

Photo Album

Team simulation

Using real-time data from the electronic tags carried by each team, this video shows the ‘as the crow flies’ route taken by each team.

Each dot represents one team. The speed of movement is the average time taken by a team between each pair of locations.

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20 years of creating unforgettable weekends of Scouting adventures.

© 2024 Apex Challenge

Apex Challenge organised events for the Scout Association between 2002 and 2022, following its rules and guidelines and was a registered charity.

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