BUDDING athletes from businesses across the Midlands are being invited to take part in the 2013 Birmingham Bolt, a charity challenge launched by the NIA earlier this year.

The event will see businesses compete in a series of sporting challenges to get fit and help raise money for a good cause.

Set to take place on February 20, the second Birmingham Bolt will see a range of events from jumps, sprints and long distance runs to throws, relays and novelty rounds.

Organisers say there is an event for everyone so even if they do not fancy themselves as the next Jessica Ennis or Mo Farah they can still get involved.

The event will take place on the professional athletics track at the venue just days after some of the world’s best athletes have competed as part of the British Athletics Grand Prix.

The 2012 Bolt saw the NEC Group, Birmingham Airport, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte take to the floor and raise almost £4,000 for the Birmingham Civic Society’s Next Generation Awards.

The 2013 event has chosen to support St Basils, which works with young people that are homeless or at risk of homelessness and 100 per cent of the £250 entry fee will go towards the charity.

In addition to the sporting events, Birmingham Bolt will also give local professionals the chance to boost their contacts across the region, with a post-event networking session.

As part of that, the winning teams - which either raises the most money for St Basils or performs best during the event - will be crowned and awarded the use of one of the NIA’s hospitality boxes for an event of their choice.

There will also be food and drinks laid on by Amplify, the NIA’s hospitality provider.

Applications are now open for the Birmingham Bolt and businesses are encouraged to sign their teams of 10 up to give them plenty of time to fund-raise. Applications close on Friday, November 30. To find out more about the event and how to enter visit birminghambolt.com