Jailbreak teams raise €46,929 during first 12 hours of race

Travelling as far as Poland, the teams are now scattered across ten countries and still on the hunt for “Destination X”

Team 94 complete #FáilteChuig challenge in Hamburg

Following an eventful 12 hours, Jailbreak HQ has released the third clue of the race, bringing the 166 teams one step closer to “Destination X”.

The clue read: “Most of you have left the Emerald Isle, Whilst many are outside Dublin, but only just by a mile. More coordinates released, to cities and countries it is not, Location X is níos giorra, now off you trot.” The following locations have now been dismissed as potential “Location X”’s: Helsinki, Finland; Dublin, Ireland; Vecrīga, Latvia; Oslo, Norway; Vilnius, Lithuania; Prishtina, Kosovo; Podgorica, Montenegro and Berlin, Germany.

Teams all over Europe will have to work to solve the riddle in hopes of finding “Destination X”, the terminus that will welcome the competition’s winning team, once they find a means to travel there.

The first two clues were released as the competition got underway today.

Beginning at 9am, the teams had to hustle to make the journey from Collins Barracks to their first destination, the Iveagh Gardens, revealed in clue number one: “Coláiste in the USA or a child that is blue, figure it out and you’ve got your first clue.. with lawns that are green and lots of flowers too, in a garden somewhat secret, lies your next breakthrough.”

Some teams guessed this clue incorrectly and went to Merrion Square only to be greeted by the arrival of other misled teams, Team 32 (the current fundraising leaders) in their midst.

Team 16 (Tess agus Ailsa, NUIG) were the first to have a celebrity run-in, meeting a member of  Hudson Taylor in Dublin city centre at around 10am.

At 11am the second clue was released as a set of coordinates. Through a process of elimination, teams had to work out what countries were ruled out as “Destination X”. Athens, Greece; Sofia, Bulgaria; Warsaw, Poland; Ankara, Turkey; Belgrade, Serbia; Skopje, Macedonia; Tirana, Albania and Paris, France were listed.

How have the teams raised money?

Dublin Airport was the next obvious target destination, but teams had to hustle to make their way there. Some teams, such as Team 9 (Tash and Becks, Mary I., Limerick) raised funds by busking in the city centre. Team 45 (Eoin and Killian, TCD) are raising their funds through juggling. Team 38 (Neil agus Luca, TCD), meanwhile, got a stroke of luck and received a donation of a free taxi-ride to Dublin Airport earlier this afternoon.

Current leaders of the fundraising poll, Team 32 (Liam agus Mark, TCD), are currently on €2,720 raised. While raising funds in Dublin Airport, the duo were reprimanded by Gardaí who notified them that collecting money in the airport is not allowed; luckily only their names were taken.

Team 30 (Emma agus Orla, TCD) are in second place for fundraising at €1,866. The team had secured €1,791 before the race had begun and have a main sponsorship from Lynn Lodge Stud, a stud farm in Westmeath.

Team 9 (Tash and Becks, Mary Immaculate, Limerick) are in third with €1,865 raised. The two women received a sum of €1,00 from JCMS Marketing yesterday as well as securing sponsorship from local business Teresa and Visage hair.

How far have the teams travelled?

Team 39 (Ben agus Caroline, TCD) topped the race poll early on, securing a flight to Geneva from Aer Lingus at around midday, arriving into Switzerland in time to avoid the two-hour penalty. It wasn’t until Team 35 (Niamh agus Nicola, TCD) checked into Berlin at around 2pm that the duo were knocked off the first place slot.

Both teams, however, are now challenged by Team 90 (Laura and Shauna, UCC) and Team 58 (Ellie agus Sorcha, TCD).

Team 90 are first place, checking into Prague at sometime around 5pm, while Team 58 are second having landed in Szczecin, Poland.

However, Ellie and Sorcha now face a penalisation due to their flight exceeding the two-hour limit. Having failed to raise €100, they have been ‘grounded’ for six hours in Poland.

Amsterdam is currently the most Jailbreak-populated European city, currently hosting 9 teams.

Overall, teams are currently scattered across the following countries: England, Wales,The Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, France, Switzerland, Belgium and of course, Ireland.

Teams still have a lot of work to do before finding out their desired destination. For now, however, most will be looking to secure accommodation to catch a rest before the rush starts anew in the morning.

Reporting by Aisling Grace and Niamh Moriarty. Addtional reporting by Sarah Meehan and Seana Davis.