Grant Killiam writes about the European dominance of the Adventure Racing World Championships. They’re in Portugal this year and in 2010 the championships will go to Spain. Is this a trend? Will they be in France come 2011 and then to the mountains of Switzerland for 2012?
He goes on to say that Switzerland may be the best place in the world for the championships. And better yet, he says, may be the New Zealand with its peaks and access to the ocean.
This would be very cool; Switzerland has the best terrain of anywhere I’ve been for a race such as this (with the possble exception of New Zealand, where you can ocean kayak in the morning and be glacier trekking that afternoon)
I think Grant overlooks one place that has it all. That’s right here in Oregon, right on the 45th parallel. Like New Zealand, It is one of the few places in the world where you can snowboard in the morning, kayak in the afternoon and be out surfing on the Pacific Ocean as the sun sets in the western horizon.
Why does Europe have such a hold on the locstions for adventure racing world champonships? Grant attributes it in part to the national support that the championships receive.
I already know, however, that the 2009 World Championship is run in conjunction with Portugal’s national sports and tourism bodies. This gives the organization the leverage and support to function at a level far above an individual race organizer — the resources of an entire national system are available to assist with logistics, permits, planning, outreach, etc. I haven’t dug into it, but I suspect the same arrangement is in place in Spain, where governmental bodies are on board to assist in making the race a reality.
Grant makes the point that the United States is a bit different. We don’t have a national tourism board. But we do have the infrastructure to hold world championship events. It requires a different model.
Yes, it sure does. It’s a different ball game in the states. But we are primed for these kinds of events….especially in Oregon.
Sorry to find this post a month after the fact . . . but you’re right that Oregon has terrain appropriate for a great race.
One key issue with any race in the US is the permitting, and for a multiday race you’ll need thousands and thousands of acres of contiguous wilderness land to operate on — and for any *interesting* navigation you’ll need permission for off-trail travel which we’ve found to be such a deal-breaker in the United States.
The US has other hurdles that Oregon can’t control, such as a crazy legal framework and entrance visa requirements for athletes from foreign countries. Inside the US you don’t really recognize it, but when shopping around for international venues for big endurance sports events . . . the US in general is not as attractive as you might think.
You’re point about Oregon having amazing terrain is totally valid, however, and by all means don’t let me dissuade you from putting together a world championship caliber adventure race (I’ll gladly sign up!).