'It was a very, very difficult puzzle.' How to build a self-supporting Da Vinci bridge

Canada's Ultimate Challenge players arrived at Reticle Canada, a special facility where elite special forces are trained on how to solve tactical problems, to face a very unusual challenge. 

"It was by design," says showrunner Jeff Thrasher. "We wanted a challenge that was something large in scale, that was a bit of a mental puzzle and would test their teamwork, communication and logic."

They had to build a self-supporting Da Vinci bridge out of 15 wooden posts. 

Designed by Leonardo Da Vinci (who else?) sometime around 1485, it was used as an emergency bridge for troops in times of war. It can be assembled in 15 minutes without using a single screw and has a unique design that is held together by its own weight. 

"It was a difficult, difficult puzzle to wrap your head around," says Jeff, "it put the emphasis on the skills that some of the weaker teams were really good at and it kind of levelled the playing field a bit."

"I believe that there's a time to lead and a time to follow," said coach Jen Kish who selected player Chris (Cuddly) Lewarne to oversee the challenge.

"I come from working physically in construction landscaping," reveals Cuddly, who is assigned project manager for this challenge, "I loved using my hands to build and to create, and I could rely on them to make enough money to put myself through both undergrad and then law school at the University of Toronto."

"I always felt like there had to be a team leader for each challenge," explains Kish, "so, I was, you go for it." 

"Measure three times. Cut once," remembers Cuddly, "I spent a lot of time looking at the structure we were meant to build. I worked it out in my mind for a while. Then I knew what to do. I guess you could say I thought about it three times. Then we only had to execute once."

Watch the action.

Under Cuddly's leadership, Team Teal's winning streak continues, after having won the solo swim challenge and the duo kayak challenge in Round 5 already.  "This one felt really good. It was more fulfilling for me than any of the strict physical challenges that we excelled in."

"To get 18 points and prove to all these teams that we may not have the biggest or the strongest players," says Kish, "it was a great feeling to know that we made a comeback!"

"They had really well-defined goals and they communicated and executed her plan to perfection," remembers Jeff, "we called the Thousand Islands episode, The Rise of Kish."