Northern teams dominate at provincial Adventure Challenge for second year

Posted: 2009-05-05

(SAULT STE. MARIE, ON - MAY 5, 2008): North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, and Wawa teams ranked in five of the top nine spots at the 3rd annual High School Adventure Challenge, Sunday May 3, 2009. High school competitors from across Ontario, canoed, mountain biked, and trekked in teams of three, through the wilderness around Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, hosted by Algoma University. Seventeen teams participated from north of Huntsville representing 32 percent of the teams, yet they managed to claim 56 of the top rankings.

Banana Splits from Widdifield Secondary School of North Bay crossed the finish line just after 11am after 2 hours 59 minutes on the course. Both of Sault Ste. Marie, Algoma Bicycle Company of Sir James Dunn came second in the male category with a time of 3:00, and JASZ - PUC of Korah Collegiate, finished third with a time of 3:01.

Full race results are available online here. (.xls file)

Competitors took off from the start line at 8am, already wearing their lifejackets and carrying paddles to start the first leg of the course. Lactic Acid 2.0, a male team from Powassan paddled the lake in front of Deerhurst resort expertly, with the race's fastest time of 35 minutes.

Teams then transitioned to the muddy mountain bike section, which was dominated by 3 Kingz, a male team from Eastern Commerce in Toronto, in 1 hour and 3 minutes.

The final leg of the race was orienteering, where teams navigated checkpoints with a map and a compass. The fastest time through the trek was the Warriors, a male team of St Michael CSS, of St Mary's, at 59 minutes.

The Co-ed category was conquered by Men with Baggage - Lock City Dairies, of Korah Collegiate, also Sault Ste. Marie, with a time of 3:20. The A Team Warriors also of St Michael's, placed second at 3:25, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of West Hill Secondary in Owen Sound, came in third at 3:44.

The female category was won by team Mighty Fine - Ray Zahab, of Aurora High School, with a time of 4:01 minutes. Second place went to Captain Jack's Bush Babies of Michipicoten High School in Wawa at 4:20. The Radicals - Simard's New Foot Soldiers, also of Michipicoten High School in Wawa, placed third with a time of 4:46.

The last team crossed the finish line, smiling, with a time of 5:42.

To prepare for the race, teams attended free workshops given by elite adventure racers and athletes on Saturday, and raced the 25km course on Sunday.

A total of 53 high schools, including students from 39 communities and cities across Ontario raced including teams from: Aurora, Baltimore, Big Cedar, Blind River, Caledon, Cheltenham, Cobourg, Dorchester, Goderich, Goulais River, Guelph, Huntsville, Inglewood, Kemble, Keswick, Kingston, Lakefield, Lakeside, London, Mississauga, North Bay, Ottawa, Owen Sound, Pefferlaw, Porcupine, Renfrew, Sault Ste. Marie, Schumacher, St Catharines, St. Marys, Stratford, Timmins, Toronto, Warsaw, Watford, Wawa, White River, Woodbridge, and Woodview.

"I am so proud of the competitors for their performance on the course, but more importantly for their spirit and sportsmanship," commented Nadine Robinson, the event coordinator. "Students take a lot away from an event like this - lasting friendships, memories, and learning what they are capable of overcoming - not to mention some great prizes."

This year's winning team Banana Splits, made up of Nate Swain, Greg Bourdon, and Adam Bullock shared a prize package of over $2,000, including Blackberry Pearls for each competitor, donated by Research In Motion, a free adventure race entry to any Frontier Adventure Sports and Training event, custom technical shirts from Axis Gear, award plaques and ultimate bragging rights across the province.

The High School Adventure Challenge was designed as a safe, first-step into adventure racing, by internationally acclaimed course designer and two-time Eco Challenge winner Lawrence Foster, who is also the Mantracker TV series chase supervisor. Acknowledging that the race is not about winning, Foster said: "Adventure racing is about teamwork, perseverance, and leadership. You finish a race like this and you'll never be the same - you learn a lot about yourself and your teammates that you can take forward in life."

Team Shake and Bake, of Lakefield District Secondary School won the CTV Spirit Award.

One third of this year's entries were sponsored by individuals and businesses, allowing teams in need to attend the Adventure Challenge. Supporters include: Simard Foot & Ankle Clinic, Pat Chan, Les Stroud, Dennis Chin, Dr. Carmen Sicoly & Dr. Eric Piscopo, Purvis Marine Limited, Dr. P. Hergott, PUC Services Inc., Celliant, Ray Zahab, Lock City Dairies, Christie Simon, Algoma Bicycle Company, and two anonymous donors.

The 2009 Provincial High School Adventure Challenge was again hosted by Algoma University. Sponsors who provided financial or in-kind support including: CTV, Research in Motion, Sault Star, PaddleFoot, 99.5 YES FM, Deerhurst Resort, Survivorman, Axis Gear, Pictographics, Canadian Adventure Racing Association, Home Hardware, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, and Frontier Adventure Sports & Training.

The overall, six of the top ten seven teams were from the North, as follows:
 



For more information, and the full race results please visit www.adventureracers.ca or click here to join the group on Facebook.

To view photos from the race visit: http://highschooladventurechallenge2009.shutterfly.com/

About Algoma University
Algoma University offers a wide variety of liberal arts and sciences degree options including programs in Psychology, Computer Science, Business Administration, Fine Arts, Community Economic & Social Development, and Biology; Algoma U is committed to offering a personal education experience unlike any university in Ontario. As the Canadian home of the internationally recognised MSc CGT from the University of Abertay Dundee, Algoma University is at the forefront of computer games technology education. Algoma University also offers accelerated second degree programs in Business Administration and Computer Science on its Brampton campus. To learn more about Algoma University, visit www.algomau.ca.