ESB Power Challenge 2007

Amid glorious sunshine the 2007 ESB Power Challenge took place on March 30th and 31st. 34 teams took part in the event which saw a team from ESB International in Dublin emerge overall winners with the team from ESBI in Amorebieta in the Basque region of Spain in second place.

The communication barriers proved not to be an issue for either the Basque or the Pakistan team from Uch Power Station, both of which received a warm welcome by their Irish colleagues. The Pakistan team was particularly colourful during one of the tasks, namely the song contest, where they emerged winners.

This year again the teams (consisting in most cases of three ESB Power Challenge 2007 men and three women) were mixed for the night time events

Guests at the 2007 event included Pat O'Doherty, Executive Director ESB Power Generation, Tom Greene, EirGrid, Vincent Flynn, ESBI&FM, Jim McLoughlin, Plant Manager Uch and Valerie Little, HR Manager, ESB Networks who also assisted as a Marshal at the event.

Three of the ESB Worker Directors attended, namely Tony Merriman, John Coleman and Bob Yeates as well as Pauline Holland and Denis Blanch representing ElectricAid who were joined by Tralee EAP Officer, Michael McNamara.

This year's closing event and presentation of prizes took place at the Malton Hotel and it proved a great choice with excellent facilities.

Once again the help of Jim O'Mahony and his team from the Civil Defence ensured everyone's safety while Jen and Lorcan and the team from Cappanalea Activity Centre made the event an enjoyable occasion for everyone involved.

Without the cooperation of the Park Ranger from Killarney National Park, the staff at Muckross House Restaurant, who provided lunch on the Saturday and of course John Claffey of An Oige Hostel, the event could never take place.

John surpassed himself as always together with the local ESB staff who do so much of the preparation on the ground prior to the event. This year a safety audit during the event was carried out by Kieran Cogan of the ESB Networks Safety Team.

Speaking on the night, Pat O'Doherty identified one of the best outcomes of the Power Challenge, now in its 14th year, as being the diversity of the various teams and its being so worthwhile from a social perspective. "It is because of events like this that people feel part of the wider ESB Group, get to meet people from different parts of the business and make new friends," he said. "Now with lifework balance and health and well being coming increasingly onto the agenda, the relevance and value of the Power Challenge is underscored further and you can be assured of our continuing support for this event over the coming years."

Pat paid tribute to the organising committee, who work throughout the year to ensure that the event runs smoothly and that everyone is well looked after. "I know that preparation for next year's Power Challenge will begin as soon as we leave Killarney. I particularly want to thank Mick O'Connor for his unstinting work and Gerry Whelan for acting as the local lynch pin. Bernie Healy and photographer Alan Murphy are central to ensuring that the Power Challenge maintains its high profile across ESB."

Pat also expressed his admiration of the work of the volunteer stewards. "Participant safety is of paramount importance and their work in ensuring a well organised and well marshalled event is critical in this regard," he said.

Many thanks to Liam Deasy and Dan Lucey who do such Trojan work on the ground locally with the Organising Committee of Gerry Whelan, Mick O'Connor, Tony Fleming, Paul Newe, Sean Brophy, Joyce Farrell, Dave Walshe, Margeurite Sayers, Catherine O'Connor and Brendan O'Connor who are already planning for 2008! EM