Events in Africa and Asia push Series' international growth
JP Morgan Chase added events in two new continents in 2004, with inaugural races in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Singapore. These two cities have been spectacular successes and continue to be part of our six country, five continents Series in 2011.
Not coincidentally, both Johannesburg and Singapore are involved in another recent trend - hosting the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Championship. To reflect the glabal status of the Corporate Challenge, JP Morgan Chase, owner and operator of the Series, is committed to rotating the Championship to cities in different continents. Hosted in New York for its first 26 editions, the Series Championship was held in Johannesburg on March 4, 2010, and is scheduled to be run in Singapore on April 21, 2011.
As the Series celebrates its 35th year, it recalls a terrific year in 2010, when the final number of participants exceeded 235,000 - which represents a participation well over 1,000 times greater than the first year. The idea of Charles H. McCabe, Executive Vice President of Manufacturers Hanover in 1977, clearly lives on today.
Idyllic conditions and past success of this event helped draw a capacity crowd of 12,395 entrants from 348 companies to the 8th annual J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge in Johannesburg on March 3. After they all did something good for their physical fitness, they partied into the night in hundreds of hospitality marquees, catered to by, Delmont Caldow Caterers, throughout the two cricket ovals at the Wanderers Club. Catering was provided to 110 hospitality suites, encompassing three different types of menus ranging from picnic pack to typical South African Braai menus. 120 Food Service Assistants and 30 Chefs had their own race against time to ensure that each hospitality suite received quality food in good time to replenish tired bodies! Three refrigerated 8 ton trucks and one 4 ton truck housed the food for this spectacular event, prior to distribution to the suites (see attached pictures). The popular South African band Flash Republic provided an entertaining concert.
The capacity crowd was running for the LEAP Science and Maths School, a collection of four independent high schools in Cape Town and Johannesburg serving the specific communities of Langa, Gugulethu, Alexandra and, its more recent addition, Diepsloot.
