Steptember is already a brilliant reason to get people moving. But the best part does not have to be watching numbers climb on an app. It can be the day everyone gets outside, plays together, adds a serious boost to their step count and suddenly has much more to talk about than who walked around the block at lunchtime.
A Steptember team-building event turns a month-long individual challenge into a shared workplace experience. It brings separate four-person teams together, creates some friendly rivalry and gives the campaign a moment people will remember after September ends.
Whether you want to launch the month with energy, shake up the mid-Steptember slump or finish with a celebration, these five programs make movement much more fun.
Make Steptember More Than a Leaderboard
The official Steptember challenge invites Australians to move 10,000 steps a day throughout September while raising funds for Cerebral Palsy Alliance. Walking is only one way to participate, with more than 40 activities able to be converted into steps through the official platform.
That flexibility makes Steptember a great fit for workplaces. Some people will walk, run or cycle. Others might swim, dance, garden or roll their way through the month. The app keeps track of the movement, while a team-building experience gives everyone an opportunity to come together.
Instead of four-person teams only seeing one another’s totals, colleagues can meet on the field, around the city or at a local park for a few hours of shared play. The steps still matter, but so do the laughs, creative challenges, ridiculous team photos and moments of encouragement along the way.
Five Steptember Team Building Ideas
1. City Scramble
If there was ever a team-building program made for Steptember, City Scramble is it.
Teams take to the streets with a map, a time limit and a long list of challenges scattered across their city or local area. They choose their route, race between checkpoints and complete everything from creative photo missions to playful team tasks.
Every decision matters. Do you chase the high-value challenge on the other side of the CBD or collect several closer tasks? Do you take the shortest route or follow the team member who insists they know a shortcut?
While everyone is busy strategising, laughing and exploring, the steps add up naturally. Participants can track their own movement through the Steptember app and enjoy a completely different view of their city and teammates.
City Scramble also gives separate Steptember teams something bigger to compete in together. Bring the whole workplace, retain the official four-person team names and see which group can turn its steps into the highest score.
It is more than a race. It is extra movement, a team adventure and another boost for the fundraising effort.
2. AppVenture
Want to give every step a mission? AppVenture turns a city, suburb, park or venue into a GPS-powered scavenger hunt.
Teams use the AppVenture platform to locate checkpoints and unlock photo missions, trivia questions, puzzles and physical challenges. A live scoreboard keeps the friendly rivalry moving while the team decides where to go and which challenges to attempt next.
The format fits neatly into Steptember because people are not walking without purpose. Every stretch of the route takes them closer to another checkpoint, another challenge and another chance to climb the leaderboard.
Use the same team names from your workplace Steptember challenge, encourage participants to track their movement and add a few campaign-inspired touches to the day. You could award bonus recognition for the best team photo, the most supportive teammate or the group that brings the most enthusiasm to every checkpoint.
AppVenture is a strong choice for a mid-month event because it gives people a fresh reason to move just as daily step logging begins to feel routine.
3. Mini Olympics
Official Steptember teams may be small, but your workplace celebration does not have to be. Mini Olympics brings everyone into the same playful arena for a series of short, energetic team challenges.
Teams create their identities, warm up their chants and rotate through Olympic-inspired activities involving movement, balance, accuracy, strategy and plenty of cheering. Different challenges draw on different strengths, so the event is not simply won by the fastest or fittest people.
For Steptember, Mini Olympics can become the moment all your internal teams finally meet. Keep the friendly rivalry from the app, add an opening ceremony and recognise the people who have encouraged others, raised funds or found creative ways to keep moving.
Participants can track their steps throughout the event and use the official Steptember conversion options for eligible activities. Even the cheering section will have a hard time standing still.
4. Play Offs
When the middle of September arrives and the original burst of enthusiasm begins to fade, it might be time for the Play Offs.
This short, sharp program brings teams together for a customised selection of playful challenges. Depending on the group, that might include balancing, building, negotiating, reacting quickly or trying to complete a task while several people pull the same pen in different directions.
Some activities are energetic. Others depend on communication, creativity or coordination. That variety makes Play Offs a fun way to get people moving without making athletic ability the price of participation.
Run the event indoors or outdoors, keep the official Steptember teams together and turn the session into a mid-month play break. Teams can earn points through the challenges while participants continue recording their eligible movement through Steptember.
The real win is the lift in the room. People return to the campaign with new energy, a few new inside jokes and a much better reason to check the team leaderboard.
5. Survivor
For a Steptember finale with a little more adventure, Survivor brings physical, mental and creative challenges together in one team experience.
Participants form tribes, take on puzzles, test their strategy and work through active challenges as they compete for points and immunity. Success depends on much more than speed. Teams need planners, problem-solvers, communicators, creative thinkers and people who can keep the tribe moving when the pressure rises.
That makes Survivor a fitting way to close Steptember. The month may begin with individual targets, but the final challenge shows what can happen when different strengths come together.
Use the event to recognise the winning tribe alongside your workplace’s fundraising champions, most consistent movers and best team supporters. It becomes less about finding one person with the highest step count and more about celebrating everyone who helped the workplace move forward.
When Should You Hold Your Steptember Event?
The best time depends on the kind of energy you want to create.
| Timing | What it adds | Strong program choices |
|---|---|---|
| Start of September | Launches the campaign with visibility and excitement | Play Offs or Mini Olympics |
| Middle of September | Gives participation and motivation a fresh lift | AppVenture or City Scramble |
| End of September | Creates a shared celebration and recognises the team’s effort | Survivor or Mini Olympics |
You do not need to fill every week with another activity. One well-timed event can give the month a focal point and create the shared memory that daily step logging alone cannot.
Make Every Step More Fun
Steptember gives workplaces a meaningful reason to move and raise funds. Team building adds the part people can experience together.
It is the team racing towards the next City Scramble checkpoint. The Mini Olympics opening ceremony that becomes far more competitive than expected. The AppVenture photo everyone is still sharing weeks later. The Play Offs challenge that gets the whole room laughing. The Survivor tribe discovering that its quietest member has the winning idea.
These are the moments that turn a workplace challenge into a team experience.
Corporate Challenge Events can help you choose a program that fits your location, team and campaign timing, then add the facilitation, play and friendly competition that bring it to life.
If you want your Steptember campaign to involve more than checking the leaderboard, let’s get your people moving, playing and fundraising together.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Steptember?
Steptember is a fundraising and movement challenge run by Cerebral Palsy Alliance. Participants aim to move 10,000 steps a day from 1 to 30 September while raising funds to support early detection and therapy for babies with cerebral palsy.
Can activities other than walking count?
Yes. The official Steptember platform allows more than 40 activities to be converted into steps.
Which team-building activity is best for Steptember?
City Scramble is the strongest option for teams wanting to build movement directly into the event. AppVenture, Mini Olympics, Play Offs and Survivor offer different combinations of movement, competition, creativity and problem-solving.
Do participants need to be highly active?
No. Programs can include varied team roles and activities drawing on strategy, navigation, communication, creativity and encouragement. Organisers should discuss access and participation requirements with Corporate Challenge Events before confirming the program.
