Switzerland's 10th Annual Meeting Trophy Competition Between Meeting Planners Shows Off the Country's Riches

There we were, at the gala dinner at the Quai16 restaurant by the sparkling Lake Zurich, waiting tensely for the results of the 10th Annual Meeting Trophy -- a conglomoration of physical and cerebral contests that pitted eight teams from around Europe and North America against one another. North America (my team) had never won the trophy -- despite coming close. This time we pledged it would be different. Our team was a combination of fit, sophisticated, and wily meeting and incentive travel specialists aged 27 to ... nevermind, and thanks to the inbound horizontal accommodation in Swiss Air Lines' business class, rested and resolute.

So which country triumphed? Before answering, first a few of the thrills and frustrations that led to the winning announcement on that last evening.

Opening Rounds
The first morning, we were shipped from German-speaking Zurich, where we had flown in, to Italian-speaking Lugano. To sharpen our appetites and test our teamwork capacities, we were invited to a wine tasting and then to cook our own Ticino province-style lunch at the Fattoria Moncucchetto winery, founded in feudal days, now offered as an events location. Sunset cocktails were enjoyed on the lakeside terrace of the neighboring Grand Hotel Eden and we were early to bed to brace for the next morning.

"For Queen and Country," proclaimed the British team's t-shirts. "When You Wish Upon a Star," countered the Nordic t-shirts. Ours were emblazoned with a star-centered constellation, set off with star-spangled sunglasses and optional red, white, and blue flip-flops.

A welcome from Urs Eberhard, executive vice president of markets and MICE for Switzerland Tourism, included the advice that "it's not the winning that counts, it's the taking part." This sage message was politely ignored as we clambered onto buses heading for the first round.

The location was lakeside Lugano, "the Swiss Monte Carlo," and the first event was amaretti-cookie tasting. In what was once the dining hall of a medieval convent within the 200-year-old Ristorante Grand Café Al Porto, we had to identify the ingredients of the Swiss/Italian macaroon. Only two teams didn't get them all right: Belgium and us.

Threaded between all the main events were questions that highlighted the country's diversity and MICE attractions, along with offbeat questions like "What are Switzerland's four official languages?" (Italian, German, and French are the easy three; the fourth is the Latin-based Romansch spoken by less than 1 percent of the country's 8 million people).

On to the beautiful Parco Ciani for a game of bocce. The game requires teams to land large balls close to a small one. You'd expect an easy win for the French, being their national sport, but the Netherlands topped us all. Then we headed to the boat pier at Lake Lugano and the Pedallo race. Our paddling duo, hailing from Vancouver and Kansas City, weren't the brawniest of contestants, but they had the maritime skills that left the Nordics (despite their viking DNA) trailing in their wake, and won a first place for team North America.

We went up by PostBus from the palm trees of Lugano into the Alps of glitzy St. Moritz, 5,900 feet above sea level. Panoramic, lake-strewn, mountain vistas don't come any more breathtaking. Understandably, St. Moritz and the nearby glacier village of Pontresina have been fashionable year-round conference and incentive attractions.

That evening there was a briefing by Herr Eberhard, who refused to give away who was winning. "Whatever happens," he reminded us, "you are all winners!" We rested up at the Hotel Walther in Pontresina, sharing spectacular views with the nearby uber-modern Convention and Event Center.

Day Two
We traveled by cable car to the majestic Muottas Muragl for four quick-fire contests. First was throwing snowballs (or rubber equivalents) at wooden reindeer targets. Our pitchers downed three reindeers, but three other teams hit four and tied for first place.

Next it was tent assembly…and the first sound to echo through the surrounding mountains was a cry of pain. A British competitor had caught his thumb in a metal strut and before you could say "ouch," was whisked away to the hospital where he was quickly repaired. We had our own problems: Someone had tied the tent pack with a double-granny knot and we couldn't get it open. No points for anyone.

We were then asked to use binoculars to match objects on a mountainside to the equivalent Swiss tourism or MICE asset. We weren't in the top four. The battery of events wrapped up with cheese tasting. This event held good news for our team: We shared first place, tied not with the French ("cheese should not be eaten standing up," one of their team members said in defense), but the Russians.

The next stage was courtesy of Europcar, as teams drove a fleet of pristine cars -- the Dutch team's headlights emblazoned with long orange paper eyelashes -- across the Albula Pass for a picnic before winding our way down to Landquart, threading past the area's most majestic, elegant, and photographed Landwasser viaduct, not forgetting to count the number of bridges we passed beneath for more points.

We'd been handed a four-day Swiss Pass (currently celebrating its 25th birthday) when we arrived, with entreaties not to lose them as they were worth 435 Swiss Francs (about $500), entitling us to travel, first class when available, on train, bus, tram, and ferry, and free entry to 470 museums.  
Eighty-odd delegates and escorts flashed them at officials and boarded the plush train back to Zurich for one more event before the results ceremony. While scribbling last-minute answers into the Rally Book and designing a Rubik Cube representation of our experience, we also discovered that such trains were regularly configured for presentations, workshops, seminars, and business lunches.

Zurich trams can also be adapted into buffet vehicles such as Suchi-trams, Apéro-trams, or Fondue trams, according to taste. The whole group of us walked through the lively shopping streets to the old town and St. Peter Church that boasted Europe's biggest clock face. It was time for the last event, inspired by the ancient Swiss tradition of flag throwing, which invovles twisting the national flag a few times then hurling it into the air. Points were deducted if the flag touched the ground. Ours didn't, but we managed only fifth place. Undaunted and with spirits unflagging, we proceeded to Quai16, where the overall winner would be announced.

Remember what Eberhard said about us all being winners?  Well, okay, maybe he had a point. Team NA didn't actually win, we came third -- a solid performance. Runner up was France. And the winner of the grand prize and all the glory was, oh no, not them again: Belgium.

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This article appears in the November 2014 issue of Successful Meetings.