Debuting in 2006 as the Student Gumball Rally, the purpose of the event was to bring together like-minded students from all over Europe for one week of mayhem and adventure that they would never forget. Still going strong in to 2009, the name may have changed but the ethos hasn't.
The premise is simple - starting in the south of England, everybody hops in their cars and drives to the first city on the schedule by any route they fancy. You party, you sleep, then it's back in the car and on to the next destination. The pace is a break-neck 5 cities in 5 nights followed by one final massive knees-up at the end - 1500 miles later - just to make sure everyone is completely partied out before heading back to uni/work/the parental attic.
Sound like fun?
Thousands of people have taken part in the event to date, raising over £100,000 for charity as they went.
2006 - The Student Gumball Rally
This was our first event. No one really knew what to expect, but no one cared either. 150 teams from vastly disparate backgrounds united by one common theme - they were all completely berserk. It nearly killed us, but once it was over all we could do was start planning the next one...
Route:
3 September 2006 Dover to Cologne
4 September 2006 Prague
5 September 2006 Budapest
6 September 2006 Zagreb
7 September 2006 Zadar
8 September 2006 Zadar
2006 Champions:
Best Gumball Moment - 3 Guys And A Ghanaian
Berserker Award - The Naked Cowboys
Hardcore Party Award - Team Admiralty and Pirates
Best Car - Team Dead Famous
Overall 2nd Place - Team FCUKed
Overall Winner - Maximum Craic
2007- The Student Brake Away
New name, same great party. Spain was meant to be a simple, light-hearted jaunt through the countryside but instead seemed to suggest that civilisation may have left that part of Europe with the Moors. Dirty, hot, cheating and crime-ridden - we loved every second of it!
Route:
24 August 2007 Brighton to Le Mans
25 August 2007 San Sebastian
26 August 2007 Salamanca
27 August 2007 Granada
28 August 2007 Valencia
29 August 2007 La Tomatina
2007 Champions:
Berserker Award - The Alcohooligans
Best Car - Tarzan's Van of Man and Woman
Overall 2nd Place - Team Numpty
Overall Winner - Spunky Monkeys
2008- The Student Brake Away II
Route:
31 August 2008 Antwerp, Belgium
01 September 2008 Interlaken, Switzerland
02 September 2008 Jesolo, Italy
03 September 2008 Ljubljana, Slovenia
04 September 2008 Medulin, Croatia
05 September 2008 Medulin, Croatia
2008 Champions:
Best Car - Boys Aloud (Ghostbusers)
Overall Winner - The Alcohooligans