What is the Tuktuk Tournament?
The Tuktuk Tournament aims to fully integrate you and your companions into Sri Lankan culture. Consequently, you will explore the island’s heart and soul through the eyes of locals. We designed this entire adventure with “sustainable tourism” at its core.
You will immerse yourself completely in Sri Lankan life through its food, art, sports, fashion, and people. During the tournament, a magical story envelops you as you journey across the sacred island of Ceylon. You will complete quests, face challenges, and collect treasure along the way. In addition, you will dive into the lives of locals, hunt for delicious food, and uncover breathtaking mountains. You can also discover unknown roads, pray at unreachable temples, and swim in divine waterfalls. You might explore ancient ruins, harvest tea with locals, and maybe even get chased by a stray elephant!
We provide quests and challenges that will spread your team of comrades all over the island. This gets you off the beaten track and gives you experiences far beyond mainstream tourism. As a result, you will interact and integrate with Sri Lankan culture and its people in true and meaningful ways. You’ll do all this while pioneering the island in your self-driven tuktuk, choosing your own adventure to uncover its magic.
A Word from the Creator
Tom, the creator of the Tuktuk Tournament, shares his vision:
“I don’t like being told to go from A → B → C on my holiday. I don’t want to just visit the main tourist attractions and “bucket list” items. When I travel, I want the power to choose my own adventure. I want to go on a journey of discovery and explore the true local culture in a sustainable way.
That’s what the tournament is about: choosing your own adventure. You follow the opportunities the road presents while being part of something bigger. Ultimately, you are seeking lost treasure across the island of Sri Lanka. The Tournament is a framework for your adventure. It will help lead you down the right path to find hidden gems and experiences. It also provides opportunities to find the island’s “magic” through its culture and people. The quests, challenges, and locations are designed with this primarily in mind. You will experience something you’ve never experienced before as you journey to uncover the Tri-Wheel Trophy.”
2017 Tuktuk Tournament Summary
The 13th of December 2017 marked the closing of the first-ever Tuktuk Tournament. Over 45 participants and 18 Tuktuks competed in an epic bounty hunt. They explored the true, raw, and beautiful island of Sri Lanka, making it an experience not to be missed.
Under the sponsorship of Red Bull, teams from all over the globe competed in an action-packed 10 days of pioneering Sri Lanka. We had teams representing Belgium, Italy, South Africa, the United States, Norway, UAE, Switzerland, Australia, Austria, The Netherlands, Colombia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany.
We are pleased to announce the event exceeded all expectations. Participants hailed it as a blinding success! The top three teams of the 2017 Tournament were:
Freaky White Rabbits (Ellen and Marco, The Netherlands) – 724 Gems Collected & claiming the Tri-Wheel Trophy!
The Legionnaires (Sam and Jane, Australia & Italy) – 655 Gems Collected
aKriKadabra (Christoph and Karen, Belgium) – 630 Gems Collected
How the Tournament Works
The first day of the Tournament covered all competition logistics. After a buffet breakfast, teams gathered at the Mt Lavinia hotel to learn what they signed up for. This was followed by a buffet lunch, a swim, and tuktuk driving lessons. That night was the costume party. The Tournament Team introduced four core concepts on the morning of the first day.
The Four Core Concepts:
The Quest Book
The Team Idol (or Totem)
The Digital Tournament Map
The Theme and Story
(1) The Quest Book
The Quest Book is a primary tool for heroes on their journey through Ceylon. This book contains information about the Tournament, the story, and the quest to reclaim the ancient Tri-Wheel trophy. It also holds instructions on how to collect more treasure and find various side-quest opportunities.
These side quests will help you gather gems (points) as you travel around Sri Lanka. The quests are designed to be “play as you go.” They allow you to explore the unexpected and go down paths you might not otherwise take. We don’t want to lock you into a specific route. For instance, we won’t penalize you for joining a random Bailia (dance party). Instead, we want you to embrace the magical opportunities you find and fully integrate with local culture.
Key Rule: 1000KM Limit
This limit means that teams need to play hard and smart to collect the most bounty in 10 days. It also ensures you aren’t driving all night and day. You have time to stop and enjoy the scenery or a cup of tea. While you can drive more than 1000km, you will start to lose a percentage of your points the further you go over this limit.
(2) The Team Totem
Each team in the Tournament has its own totem. The totem is the living, breathing incarnate of that team and carries all their energy. It is a precious treasure that you must protect. For the 2017 Tournament, stealing a totem resulted in a 3-point penalty for the affected team. However, after 5 days on the road, we converted stealing into a “team building” exercise. Through team building, heroes could gain points by joining together and completing challenges. This led to much more positive interactions.
(3) The Digital Tournament Map
Along with your quest book, the Tournament map is a very important part of your journey. This is a digital map made on Google Maps. It contains the GPS coordinates of all the challenges and locations present throughout the Tournament. You will need to study this map to figure out how to collect the most treasure in the fewest kilometers.
(4) The Theme & Story
The tournament is not just a race; it is a magical journey across Sri Lanka. The theme for the 2017 edition was “Magic Quest,” and we molded the story around this theme. Our goal is to make sure you are pioneering the countryside like a real hero, slaying dragons, and uncovering ancient treasure. We also get you into the vibe of the journey through three key speeches. This allows you, the heroes, to delve further into the story of ‘Raffia Ketch Pour’ and uncover the lost treasures of Ceylon.
4.1) Daily Recaps
To help take people on this journey, the Tournament team also makes video diaries. These videos look into very important matters and keep people updated about all aspects of the tournament. Please see some examples below.
A Team’s Story: The Guardians of the Nebulosa
The Guardians of the Nebulosa were 3 companions who had never met before the Tournament. We are awaiting their full story. For now, enjoy some pictures and experiences from their journey. A traveler they met on the road, Heather, summed up part of their story well. This is the post she made after meeting them:
“I will never forget the moment when the Guardians of the Nebulosa walked into my life. I’m leisurely sitting at the table eating my dinner at the guesthouse when I look up to see the new guests arrive. My first thought, “What the hell is this?” A religious group? No, they didn’t belong to any religious group on this island. Besides, the fruit on their shirts and little red hats gave them more of a carny feel, like a traveling circus. But most of all, they looked as if they had their asses handed to them.
I was instantly absorbed into their adventure and wanted to help them in any way that I could. I offered water, food, and tips on where to find gems. Most importantly, I helped them celebrate their first night on the island. Edgar pulled out a leather pouch that concealed a bottle of rum that made the voyage with him. At the end of the evening, the bottle held only enough rum to be left behind for me to savor.
The next few days
we would look for #guardiansofthenebulosa, #tuktuktournament, and #tuktukrental on our feed to see what “the boys” had been up to. We loved following them around the island and comparing their efforts to other teams. I almost pulled the trigger twice to sign up for next year.
Soon the tournament ended and to our shock, the Guardians of the Nebulosa didn’t win. However, I still had the bottle of rum to enjoy. The leather pouch replaced a worn-out bag and now travels around the world with us. I felt that the bottle journeyed so far, and its story shouldn’t end. So, I rolled a note, tucked it inside, and left it on the beach for someone to find. The note? A love story of course.”
Feedback
“This has changed the way that I travel forever,” said Marco and Ellen, the tournament winners. This wasn’t because they were driving a tuktuk. Instead, it was a reference to the unbelievable number of true and genuine interactions they had with locals.
Tuktuk Tournament 2018
The 2018 tournament will take place from October 20th to November 3rd. You can find more information on www.tuktuktournament.com. To keep receiving updates, please mark yourself as ‘attending’ in the Facebook Event.