FAQs

You do not need to create a new account, log in using the same details as last year, input the challenge address when prompted and join a team! If you are not sure which email address you previously used, please contact Abby (a.sanderson@imperial.ac.uk) and we can confirm which email address is connected to your account.

We recommend using wearable tech or another step counter app to keep track of your daily step total. If you don’t have a pedometer then you can still participate fully, manually entering your steps on the website or app. This video tutorial will show you all the options for adding your activity.

Your options for tracking your steps are:

Option 1: Manually

Use any app, pedometer or wearable tech and manually enter the distance.

At the end of each day, just login to Big Team Challenge and type in your tracked activity in steps, miles, kilometres on the Dashboard page. You can also manually enter these distances on the Big Team Challenge app.

Option 2: Apple HealthKit (iOS only)

Download the Big Team Challenge iOS app and sync with Apple Health

Watch this video tutorial on how to connect Apple Health.

Option 3: Google Fit (Android only)

Download the Big Team Challenge Android app and sync with Google Fit

Watch this video tutorial on how to connect Google Fit.

Option 4: Fitbit

Connect your Fitbit account to Big Team Challenge to sync your steps in real-time

If you have a Fitbit device, you can connect your Big Team Challenge account to your Fitbit account. Watch this tutorial on how to connect your Fitbit.

Option 5: Garmin Connect

Connect your Garmin Connect account to Big Team Challenge to sync your steps in real-time

If you have a Garmin device, you can connect your Big Team Challenge account to your Garmin account. Watch this video on how to connect your Garmin.

Option 6: GPS (Outdoor only)

Download the Big Team Challenge iOS or Android device and use our GPS tracker to accurately track your outdoor walk or run

The mobile apps have a built-in GPS tracker to track your walk or run. This works best outdoors, so it's great for tracking those walks through the park or to and from campus.

Yes, you can. 

Please install the Big Team Challenge iPhone app first, then install the Apple Watch app. The Apple Watch app shows your step count for today along with your team’s total step counts. Please note: The watch app will not automatically sync your steps to the challenge. If you wish to sync your steps automatically, you'll need to connect Apple Health.

If the Apple Watch app isn't showing your challenge information, open the Big Team Challenge iPhone app, go to Settings, then tap Activate Widget & Watch App. This will ask for permission to Big Team Challenge to read your Apple Health step data.

Yes.

You can now connect various Android devices to Big Team Challenge via Health Connect.

Yes.

You can connect Samsung Health devices via Health Connect.

Yes, you can chose to track non-step activity. This year there will be one challenge but two separate leaderboards:

• Leaderboard 1 – Teams only completing steps
• Leaderboard 2 – Teams completing steps & converting other activities

This change will allow everyone to join the challenge and do an activity that works best for them! Don’t forget to decide as a team if you are only going to step or if you are going to convert other activities.

Don’t worry, if you deleted the converted activity in your app or on the website then your team will automatically be moved back into the ‘Steps only’ leaderboard.

If you are the team creator, you can invite others to join you by sending an invite on the website or within the app. Go to the 'My Team' section and use the 'invite member' link to send a new invite. You’ll need to know the email address of the person you’re wishing to invite. 

If you already know who is going to be in your team, don’t forget to select ‘invite-only’ so others don’t join your team. 

Yes, as long as you are not the team creator and the challenge is still in the registration period (before the challenge is live and users are able to add any distance). 

If you wish to leave the team but are unable to for either of these reasons, please get in touch. 

This year there will be one challenge but two separate leaderboards:

• Leaderboard 1 (Steps only) – Teams only completing steps
• Leaderboard 2 (Steps and Conversions) – Teams completing steps and converting other activities.

If you want to be in the steps only challenge (leaderboard 1, Steps only) you can either sync your steps automatically using wearable tech, or manually add steps via the ‘Walk’ or ‘Run’ option within the Big Team Challenge app or website.

If you want to convert other activities into steps (leaderboard 2, Steps and Conversions) this will happen automatically when you manually input activity via the ‘Cycle’, ‘Swim’ or ‘Other Activity’ button. To convert activities e.g. Yoga, please use the Big Team Challenge step conversion chart.

The leaderboard will automatically update based on what participants are inputting or syncing via the app.

Logged in users can create a new team or search and join open teams. Teams are created as ‘open’, allowing anyone to join or be invited, or ‘invite-only’ where the team admin must invite colleagues to join. Our built-in invite system requires only an email address, sending a unique link to the recipient which can be used to register and choose to accept or ignore the invite.

The following video tutorials show how to:

• Create a team
• Join a team

Sign-up to the challenge and complete this form and the Move Imperial team will put you in a team with others from across College who want to take part in the challenge.

Keep stepping! Your steps will still count and be added to the challenge leaderboard. 

You can complete the challenge as a team of 4 but if you would like an additional member please email us using ‘Imperial’s Big Step Challenge’ as the subject line and let us know.

If you've added the wrong distance and you'd like this amended or removed, please contact the Big Team Challenge support team who will assist you with this.

You can chat with them using the help widget on the website or via the app, or you can email them.

We've got a Yammer group for everyone taking part in Imperial's Big Step Challenge so you can share how you're getting on and get updates on how the challenge is going! We'll also be sharing plenty of hints and tips about how to get more steps in on our Instagram.

Email us with your question using ‘Imperial’s Big Step Challenge’ as the subject line and we will get back to you.

Use the chat function on the Big Team Challenge website or send them an e-mail.

No, this challenge is for Imperial staff and students only. 

Yes! The challenge is hosted on an online platform so your steps will count no matter where you are - at home, on campus or on holiday!

Fitbit and Apple Health on iOS give Big Team Challenge a user's step count and actual distance walked/run so both are used in the calculations (this makes things very accurate). Garmin and Health Connect on Android (which includes Google Fit, Samsung Health and others) only provide Big Team Challenge with the step count, which is converted into metres at our standard ratio (1 step = 0.69 m).

Big Team Challenge’s standard ratio converts 1 step into 69 cm. However, if someone is syncing, the sync service may send us not just their distance as well as steps, meaning that they may travel further with fewer steps than the standard ratio, or less distance with more steps (depending on their individual stride length).

The in-app leaderboard is everyone together, if you click the menu button the app, at the top it has a link to ‘Leaderboards’, that will take you to the two separate leaderboards.

Alternatively, click here to view the two leaderboards.

If you are converting activities to steps please use the Big Team Challenge Step Conversion chart. Then you will need to manually enter the steps as ‘Other Activity’ via the app or webpage.

No, Big Team Challenge can only pull a step count from Garmin, FitBit etc. If you want to include another activity e.g. yoga, you will need to use the Step Conversion chart. Then you will need to manually enter the steps as ‘Other Activity’ via the app or webpage.

All teams are currently listed in the "Steps and Conversions" leaderboard but that will filter out as soon as teams start adding distance. A team will only appear in the "Steps Only" list if they have added a manual walk, run or synced their steps. If a team adds any other sort of activity, they'll stay in the "Steps and Conversions" list.

Big Team Challenge work with Ecologi. To read more about Big Team Challenge’s climate impact please visit their website. To get a flavour of what projects our trees could support please visit the Ecologi website. Unfortunately, we are unable to report exactly where the trees were planted from our challenge. If you have any further feedback please contact Big Team Challenge directly.