$50,000 Worth Of Prizes and Ian Edmond Joins The Team At New Zealand's Orion Health GODZONE Adventure Race
Following the huge success of the first event, which traversed some 500km from Milford Sound to Queenstown, and with entries for the second instalment running well ahead of last year, the organisers of Orion Health GODZone are pleased to announce a minimum $50,000 worth of prizes for the 2013 event.
Prizes will include $30,000 to be divided amongst the top 5 teams – payable in cash at the event – and over $20,000 of free entries and sponsor related prizes that will be distributed amongst the entire field.
Co Race Director Warren Bates says that a strong line up of entries has allowed them to begin paying prize money.
“Paying prize money to the leading teams has always been one of our objectives but had to be dependent on a strong foundation of entries and sponsorship.
We are determined to make this the pre-eminent adventure race on the international calendar and that will be a result of producing a well organised event, inspiring courses that make the most of New Zealand’s pristine wilderness and having the most competitive field of racers.
International teams shouldn’t need any excuse to come and race in the home of expedition racing but hopefully these developments will help to make this their number one choice when planning an overseas adventure.”
The event organisers are also delighted to announce that adventure racing and multisport legend Ian Edmond has joined the team in an advisory capacity. Ian has raced all over the world, having completed all the big events of the time, and brings a unique perspective having a career that has spanned 20 years and covered most continents.
Warren Bates says that they approached Ian as soon as they knew he was retiring from expedition events.
“We wanted him to get involved as he’s so experienced and has been such a great ambassador for the sporting community in NZ. We’ve specifically tasked him with the role of course advisor which means he is intimately involved with the route, the right balance of disciplines and making sure that we maximise the experience of the teams.”
Ian Edmond was keen to get involved straight away and planned a week on the course within a fortnight of joining the team.
“This represents a great opportunity for me to give something back to the sport which has given me so much for such a long time. Despite retiring from expedition racing I was keen to stay involved in some capacity. I’m going to help look at things from a racers point of view without the headaches of logistics, transitions and other factors that the organisers have to consider when planning a course. Hopefully I can help to keep the GODZone team focused on their goal to make this a race that is all about the racers experience”.
The early entry discount for registering teams closes on the 1st of October 2012. Go to www.godzoneadventure.com to register a team or to find out more information.