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Teva Mtn Games Kick Off June 5-8 |
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Written by Eugene Buchanan / MtnPressWorld.com
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Tuesday, 03 June 2008 13:27 |
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Get Ready to Ruuummmble! That’s the theme of the 2008 Teva Mountain Games, which kick off in Vail, Colo., June 5-8. Drawing more than 2,500 professional and amateur outdoor athletes from all over the world, the event pits cyclists, climbers, kayakers, rafters, trail runners and more against one another in the country’s largest outdoor adventure sports festival that is celebrating seven years this go around.
These athletes will converge upon the mountains and rivers to compete in seven sports and 21 disciplines for over $100,000 in prize money, with disciplines including kayaking, rafting, mountain biking, road cycling, World Cup and amateur climbing, paragliding, fly-fishing, trail running, diving dogs and multi-sport racing. An estimated 1.4 million people will tune into the Teva Mountain Games on its national television and on-line broadcast. The event has also added an amateur category to iots popular GNC Ultimate Mountain Challenge, a grueling two-day test of athletic skill, power and endurance. This event is the ultimate in multisport competition; athletes both professional and amateur must complete the Lärabar 10K Spring Run-Off (trail run), SoBe Mountain Bike Cross Country (two loops for amateurs and three for pros), Road Bike Hill Climb (9.6 mile time trial) and Down River Sprint Race (3 mile Class II kayak race). Overall times are based on the accumulation of times from the aforementioned races. Teams consist of 2-4 members and overall times are calculated from the one designated team member in each specific race. Athletes can compete in either the team or individual category.  “With the addition of the amateur division, we’re able to offer more athletes the opportunity to stretch their limits,” says Joel Heath of Untraditional Marketing the owner and operator of the Teva Mountain Games. ”We’ve also created a $1,000 bonus for any coed team that finishes in top three of the professional category.”  On the entertainment side, Grammy Award-winning Latin hip-hop and rock group Ozomatli will rock the house at a free show at 6:00 PM at Check Point Charlie in Vail Village on Friday, June 6t. “The Teva Mountain Games is pleased to make this a free show, so we can get Vail Village thumping for everyone this summer,” says Heath.  As for water events, look for them to be a raucous as ever, with record snowpack guaranteeing thrills and spills on the Eagle River and Gore Creek. Vail Resorts will also donate water from its allotment upstream in the Homestake Reservoir to add to the flows in Homestake Creek for the DaggerÒ Steep Creek Championship. “We recognize the tremendous value the Teva Mountain Games brings to the Vail Valley and we’re happy to support the kayak race by making certain there’s enough water in Homestake Creek,” says Kara Heide, community relations manager for Vail Resorts.  Info: www.tevamountaingames.com     |
