Inaugural Cure Kids Great Adventure Race

Countdown For Inaugural Cure Kids Great Adventure Race

March 30 2004: New Zealand multi-sport guru Steve Gurney will help launch a corporate multi-sport adventure race, which will take place on Auckland’s West Coast and Waitakere Ranges on April 2, raising funds for the Cure Kids charity for on going child health research.

The inaugural event has attracted 22 teams of four who will compete in a number of disciplines. They will have to pass through several checkpoints during the race by mountain biking, running/trekking, coasteering, kayaking and swimming.

The course is still secret and will be released to competitors and their support crews prior to the start of the race.

A pre-event function for everyone involved will be held in Auckland on April 1 at which Steve Gurney will be the guest speaker. The MC is television personality Tony Veitch.

To coincide with the event, Professor Stephen Robertson, Chair of Child Health Research at Otago University, will announce a breakthrough in paediatric genetic research, which will have worldwide significance.

Cure Kids Great Adventure Race Director Alan Nelson says the course has taken six months to develop.

“It traverses the diverse and spectacular terrain, waterways and coastline of the Waitakere Ranges. At times when you are buried in the bush or perched on a remote bluff above the rolling Tasman Sea, it is hard to credit that these wild places are less than an hour from Auckland city.”

There is a major volunteer involvement in the race. Thirty volunteers from Auckland Search and Rescue have, over the last two months, set up an extensive radio and communications network and safety plan to support the race.

“Search and Rescue are treating the race as a training exercise for their team and are happy to be supporting Cure Kids at the same time,” says Mr Nelson. “Their skills, local knowledge and resources will really enhance the management of the race.”

Another 25 volunteers, mainly drawn from the companies competing in the event, will also assist during the race.

“It’s great to have the corporates involved at so many levels – as competitors, fundraisers and volunteers.”

The teams competing are entered from –

BMW Group New Zealand, Cadbury Confectionery Ltd, Colliers International, Colenso BBDO, Hewlett Packard New Zealand, Mainfreight Ltd, Masterfoods, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Microsoft New Zealand Ltd, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, Philips New Zealand Ltd,Tech Pacific (NZ) Ltd.

Mr Nelson says all the teams have entered into the spirit of adventure racing and have expanded their skills and experiences by training in the special race environment.

All the participating companies have been separately fundraising for Cure Kids as a lead-up to the race, and along with entry fees, more than $250,000 is expected to be raised. Their support has been strongly acknowledged by the charity and its leading researchers.

Professor Robertson says the commitment from the companies and their staff, to the Cure Kids Great Adventure Race, has been quite overwhelming.

“Researchers are so often hampered by funds and spend many hours which could be spent researching, seeking financial support for vital projects. The support from Cure Kids, with funds provided through events such as the adventure race, means we can get on with the job of improving the health of young New Zealanders.”

ENDS

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