CASTLE SETTING FOR INAUGURAL AWARDS

CASTLE SETTING FOR INAUGURAL AWARDS
The launch of the RBS Caledonian Challenge 2007

On 16th November, Edinburgh Castle was the setting for the inaugural RBS Caledonian Challenge launch event and awards ceremony.

The new title sponsor, The Royal Bank of Scotland, was formally welcomed and recognised by the organisers for the company's continuing support of the Challenge. Two of The RBS Caledonian Challenge support sponsors, Event Scotland and Hewlett Packard were also thanked for sponsoring the launch event.

Among the guests present were a number of the teams who took part in the Challenge earlier this year, who were thanked for the huge contributions they have made to the Scottish Community Foundation. Many were delighted to pick up trophies for their achievements which ranged from the 'Best Dressed Team' to the �Top Fundraisers�. The champagne flowed while guests swapped stories about how best to embark upon the 54 mile route!

Sally-Anne Hunter, Event Director of The RBS Caledonian Challenge said: �It was a fantastic opportunity to bring together some of the people who have been involved in the Challenge and thank them for their hard work and excellent fundraising efforts. It also gave us an opportunity to show how the money raised has made a difference. The night was a great success and we�ll definitely be making it an annual occasion in the RBS Caledonian Challenge calendar.�

"We are proud to have the support of RBS as title sponsor for the 2007 Caledonian Challenge. The event is entering a new decade and has grown from just 17 walkers to become Scotland's leading charity endurance event. We are confident that our new partnership will help us to continue to grow over the next few years."

Award winners included �Top Corporate Fundraisers� Intelli Corporate Finance Limited who raised a staggering £15,617. The �Best Dressed Team Award� went to the Royal Bank of Scotland, Group Property who managed to keep their Nessie hats intact for the whole 54 miles. Deloitte picked up a trophy for the �Fastest Accountancy Team�, although the team were quick to emphasise that they were not in fact Accountants themselves!

Michael Urquhart and Hannah Alphey picked up the trophy on behalf of DLA Piper who were congratulated for being the �Fastest Legal Services Team� title. Michie MacDonald, Sue Jardine Paterson, Janet Hunter and Carola Campbell were there to celebrate their success as the �Fastest Ladies Team�. The girls were also "Top Non Corporate Fundraisers" and raised a massive £7253 in sponsorship. Ben Thompson from Noble Group Limited received an armful of awards, taking away the prizes for "Fastest Financial Services Team", "Fastest Mixed Team" and, the coveted title of "Fastest Team with a Dog!"

The biggest cheer of the evening went to Charlie Greer who came all the way from RBS New York to pick up his team's trophy for "Top International Fundraising Team" who raised a fantastic £12218.60.

A full list of 2006 award winners can be found at http://www.caledonianchallenge.com/past/2006results.php

The organisers are now calling for teams to enter for the 2007 event. To register for The RBS Caledonian Challenge 2007, please visit http://www.caledonianchallenge.com or call 0131 524 0350 for more information.

Note to editors
* The 'Fastest Open Team' title was awarded to a team who were not drawn from the same company

Last night's awards were sponsored by Event Scotland and Hewlett Packard who are also support sponsors of The Caledonian Challenge.

The Caledonian Challenge was founded by two Scots, Angus MacDonald and Alex Blyth. Inspired by a walking event in Hong Kong, they wanted to bring a similar challenge to the West Highlands. The Challenge has grown from 17 walkers raising £16,000 to become Scotland's top charity endurance event, with more than 1,500 walkers braving the trail in 2006. Since it began, walkers have clocked up a staggering 513,000 miles - equivalent to walking to the moon and back.

Each year, walkers raise over £1million for charity and these funds support the work of the Scottish Community Foundation, which helps people to give back to Scotland. The Caledonian Challenge has raised over £9m since being set up in 1997, helping fund projects that range from youth theatres to elderly support groups, drugs advice services to healthy eating initiatives.

The Scottish Community Foundation (SCF) is the only organisation of its kind in Scotland and was founded in 1996. It has since grown to mirror other successful community foundations across the world. In 2005 alone £2.5 million of Scottish Community Foundation grants reached every sector of society in every corner of Scotland; from under fives and over seventies to arts groups and disadvantaged teenagers; from the rural Highlands and Islands to the Scottish Borders, isolated rural areas to crowded inner cities. The sums involved were just as far ranging; the smallest gift was £200, the largest a long term grant of £25,000 per year.

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group ("RBS group") is one of the world's leading financial services companies providing a range of retail and corporate banking, financial markets, consumer finance, insurance, wealth management and other finance-related activities. RBS Group operates in Europe, the US and Asia Pacific serving more than 35 million customers world-wide and employing more than 140,000 people. In addition to the provision of a full range of banking services under The Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest brands, RBS Group also includes Citizens Financial Group, Ulster Bank, Coutts Group, Direct Line and Churchill.

Media Contact: Annie Pugh or Stacey Bell at Golley Slater PR on (0131) 272 2733 [email protected] or [email protected]

November 22, 2006, 4:41 pm

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