A 15,000ft sky dive, swimming 22 miles – the equivalent of a cross Channel swim and shaking collection buckets outside major rugby grounds in the UK are just some of the activities which have helped four young professionals reach the finals of a business competition.

The efforts of Portishead’s Alice Sowden, Ellie McCarthy, Sam Jenkins and Tom Farrow, from Aspire Europe have earned them a place in the finals of a competition run by the Association of Project Management.

The four raised £3,000 for equipment to support a management training programme, as part of the contest they have devised for the Tag Rugby Trust (TRT).

Team Aspire beat off stiff competition to reach the final four in the contest, alongside the likes of Airbus, University Of The West Of England and General Dynamics.

The team gained support from major names in the rugby world, whose tweets and online comments spurred them on to support the charity they have now become involved in.

The TRT is a successful charity which initiates sports and community clubs in Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Romania and the UK, by training tag rugby coaches, club managers and community service officers. It also runs UK volunteer, school and club tours to support the fledgling clubs and inexperienced management.

Aspire Europe managing director, Rod Sowden, said: “Aspire Europe is a niche programme management company and I’m very proud to see our young team in the finals.”

Team Aspire will attend the finals of the APM Challenge competition at an awards ceremony tomorrow (Thursday).

Find the team’s blog at www.aspireeurope.com or to donate visit https://www.justgiving.com/Aspire-Europe