Last ever Twin Town Challenge on track to hit £1m

On Friday 1st May 2020, 100 cars costing less than £500 will travel to Witney’s twin town of Le Touquet for a weekend of fun points based challenges to raise money for Charlbury based charity SpecialEffect. This is the 4th and final Twin Town Challenge organised by Brendon Cross, MD of Witney based STL Communications and Hexagon Business Centres and a SpecialEffect Vice President.

Once across the channel the teams will compete for points as they undertake challenges in and around Le Touquet in northern France before returning to Blenheim Palace on Monday 4th May.

Brendon said: “The Twin Town Challenge is an amazing sight with 100 cars, 400 people in fancy dress and over 50 volunteers. For the last ever Twin Town Challenge we have a fabulous programme of events planned including a day at Abbeville circuit as well as the now infamous street party with live bands in the middle of Le Touquet.”

The theme for Twin Town 2020 is ‘Battle of the Bands’ and teams are already starting to plan their car decoration and fancy dress. In past events, teams have driven London taxis and stretched limos as well as more ordinary vehicles disguised as Jurassic Park, Scooby Doo’s Mystery Machine, Power Rangers and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Teams that get the most out of entering are those that really embrace the fundraising by getting the whole firm joining in with cake bakes, quiz nights and sporting events in the run up to the departure for France. There are also a number of Twin Town events, official and unofficial, that are great for networking and making connections within the Twin Town community. Then of course there’s the team building, four people working together to take on mad challenges, driving around northern France and navigating themselves to Le Touquet and back!

All the costs of the event are covered by sponsorship, which means that every pound paid in entry fees as well as the fundraising by the teams, goes straight to the charity. Brendon adds:
“We are very lucky that so many businesses from local Oxfordshire businesses give so kindly to sponsor this event. Their generosity enables us to cover the costs of the Eurotunnel crossings, the hire of the venues and to feed all the participants during the weekend.”

Based in Charlbury, Oxfordshire, SpecialEffect put the fun and inclusion back into the lives of those with physical disabilities using technology ranging from modified joy-pads to eye-control. The charity has already benefitted from the £840,000 raised by the Twin Town Challenges in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

Teams entering the Twin Town Challenge can be a group of individuals but most are local Oxford businesses and the games industry.

Andrew Hammond, MD of Oxford Products said: “Each Twin Town Challenge we’ve done has been an utterly brilliant trip, great fun and we have come away with lots of happy memories and new friends. We’ve been blown away with the whole experience.”

Another Twin Towner, Nick Jones of Focus ORM, said: “Twin Town is a truly wonderful experience. I can’t think of a better way to spend a weekend raising money for a wonderful charity than with the Twin Town community!”

The Twin Town Challenge 2020 is taking place from 1 – 4 May 2020. With over 80% of the places for the 2020 event booked already, Brendon is confident of reaching the £1m target. Any businesses or individuals wanting to enter are encouraged to reserve their place on the starting grid soon and there are still some sponsorship opportunities available.