The Bronto Challenge Tour 2022 officially ended in October as the 2022 Bauma show hosted the stage for the final destination of the contest. The Bronto Challenge gave operators and everyone brave enough to take on the challenge an opportunity to compete on a timed aerial race course in virtual reality, as it visited exhibitions in 10 different countries on three continents during its six-month worldwide tour.
Nearly 200 individuals took on the challenge. Only one operator, Gregory Smith rose above everyone else to win the competition. Smith is an aerial platform operator from Brisbane, Australia, working for Summit Tower Hire. He took on the challenge at AFAC22 in Adelaide, Australia, and set the bar so high with a score of 280 points out of 300 that no one could beat him for the remainder of the tour. Smith showed great dedication as he flew to Adelaide on his holiday just to compete in the challenge and his efforts paid off.
In addition to fame and glory, Smith was awarded a $5,300 donation to the charity of his choice. As a father of a young autistic boy, he chose Autism Queensland, which delivers a comprehensive range of education, therapy and support services to assist autistic people of all ages, their families and the professionals who work with them.
The donation was presented to Phillip McCaw and Darren Doyle of Autism Queensland by Peter Wellspring from Bronto Skylift AU/NZ on behalf of Bronto Skylift Oy Ab. In addition, Summit Tower Hire has also agreed to match the donation and in doing so, will double the contribution to Autism Queensland.
The runner-up in the challenge was Matthew Hudyma from Clerkin Elevation in the UK, who scored 260 points at the first Bronto Challenge location in Vertikal Days. Hudyma set the bar very high with his performance and was able to hold the top spot for many weeks. Third place went to Dennis Hall, a firefighter from the Östra Götaland fire brigade in Norrköping, Sweden.
Hall got extremely close to second place with a score of 257 points but was unable to secure the place. He completed the challenge at Skadeplats in Uppsala, Sweden and is the only firefighter operator in the top three.
Learn more about the 2022 Bronto Challenge here.
Lift & Access is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.
