Now that I have recovered my sleep bank a smidgen, it is time to wrap up my thoughts on the F1 Web Challenge that took place over the weekend.

As blogged below, Team IB and Families Moving Forward were the overall winners, but I don’t know a non-profit that was participating that didn’t think they had the best website or the best development team. The level of pride emanating from both the developer teams and the non-profits was palpable. Pride not only in creating some magnificent websites, but also in overcoming major obstacles, and completing it all in 24 hours. The creativity and innovation juices were flowing freely, as was the caffeine.

Speaking of caffeine, one of the facts that impressed me the most about the night revolved around caffeine. While Mike, of VISI, was getting ready to announce the winners, he asked if anyone had survived through the entire event without caffeine. Four or five people raised their hands, so kudos to them. Other means of invigorating participants included yoga, the Guitar Hero tournament and chair racing. Naps were had by a few people, as it was hard to resist a bean bag, sleeping bag or stairwell at 3:00 a.m.

Another aspect that impressed me was the news coverage. Starting after midnight and continuing on until the announcement of winners, TV crews from four local stations were in and out.

KSTP has two great videos from the event. The first clip interviews Kris Szafranski, a web developer, and the second interviews Barbara Hensley, from Hope Chest for Breast Cancer.

Check out the pictures posted by multiple people in attendance at the F1 Web Challenge Flickr group. We have a few more videos to post here on the blog, so keep checking back.

Lastly, big web applause for anyone who came out, stayed up all night or participated at all. Sierra Bravo, the web teams, the non-profits all did such a great job, and I had a blast filming it all.

Eleven non-profits were announced yesterday as being the recipients of brand new websites - at the cost of losing one night of sleep. As mentioned in a previous post, VISI is a presenting sponsor of Sierra Bravo’s F1 Overnight Website Challenge, so we are thrilled for these non-profits getting the websites and tools needed for their organizations.

Check out more about the non-profits chosen here.

Imagine being locked in a room with 80 web developers for 24 hours with only one challenge in front of you - design a dynamic new website for a deserving non-profit before the time runs out. That’s the premise of the first-ever “F1 Overnight Website Challenge,” which will be sponsored by VISI.

At the F1 Challenge website, Sierra Bravo issued a call to any geek who wanted to participate in a good cause. VISI answered the challenge by agreeing to provide free hosting to the non-profits’ new websites for a year. Web technologies can help non-profits maximize their organizations and fund raising efforts.

So be on the lookout for further updates on the F1 Overnight Challenge, including liveblogging at the event! We’ll gear up with the web developers, non-profits and plenty of energy drinks to keep you updated throughout the 24 hour challenge.