Created in 1991 by Frédéric Dubois, the Grenoble-based agency Sport Aventure, which has just moved offices to Échirolles, is one of the leading event organisers in the Rhône-Alpes. In partnership with its client companies, the agency is as happy organising a small team-building activity for between 10 and 30 people as it is creating a challenge event for 400 participants, like the one it has organised for the last 17 years for Otis, with the latest version planned for September 2007 in the Ubaye valley.

Such an operation requires a great deal of logistical competence and there will be about 100 of us on the ground to ensure the smooth running of the event, explains Frédéric Dubois. There are only nine of us in theSport Aventure team, so we have to call on a network of independent workers including mountain guides and ski instructors who help us. We organise lots of other events throughout the year, in particular for Brink’s, Geodis, Becton Dickinson, HP, Schneider, pharmaceutical companies and Lyon-based event organisers who require our assistance .

In 2006, Sport Aventure handled over 170 files, and the busiest months were January (25 events), March, June, September and December. We also own a travel agency, so we can look further afield for destinations and we’ve taken groups to Marrakech and to Lapland, confirms Frédéric Dubois. However, 80% of our business is organised against the backdrop of the South-Eastern quarter of France, stretching from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean via the Massif Central. Within these boundaries, we often operate in the Isère and the Savoie, either at Lans-en-Vercors, where we have a yurt for evening functions; at Alpe d’Huez where the hotel owners often call upon our services; on the Bastille site in Grenoble, where we organise medieval evenings, or in the Tarentaise .

The average size of groups handled by Sport Aventure is about 60 participants, with each event lasting for two days. Two thirds of our files are handled directly by us, whilst the remaining third comes to us via other event organisers or via hoteliers, explains Frédéric Dubois. It’s all made-to-measure. Usually we provide the accommodation, meeting rooms, technical support and entertainment and our particular expertise is in outdoor activities for clients looking at creating team-building and motivational events for their staff .

During the winter, Sport Aventure offers activities based around winter sports – for example, the agency organises the Ariane slalom which is open to anyone involved in building the rocket – with half days involving four or five different activities. For example, there is snake gliss , a caterpillar of sledges which can carry up to 20 passengers, or tribal party , a game invented by the agency in which 100-150 participants can take part….

 Not including accommodation, a day’s entertainment will be billed between 50 and 200 euros but even at 70-80 euros you can have something very good, concludes Frédéric Dubois. If you include accommodation costs, plus a day and a half of meeting and a half day’s activity, it will come to between 200 and 300 euros. And an evening in the yurt with entertainment works out at about 80 euros .

Sport Aventure is planning to erect a second yurt at Alpe d’Huez soon and, amongst his other plans, Frédéric Dubois is looking to develop more seriously the Lyon and Paris markets.