Q&A with GODZone Race Director Warren Bates
Press Release / 27.06.2015
Two of the biggest names in the world of adventure racing announced a partnership to establish an innovative sporting platform for adventure racing worldwide this week….we sat down with GODZone CEO Warren Bates and to find out more...
Where did the idea for a new adventure-racing platform come from?
This isn’t something that has come out of the blue. For some time we have believed that expedition adventure racing has needed some international leadership, an injection of creative thinking and new options to consider. Anyone who follows the sport will know that, globally, it’s a mixed picture out there and it is difficult for some events to attract teams, sponsors and generate any meaningful media interest. GODZone has probably had more success than any other expedition race on these fronts over the past four years. Therefore, it seemed logical to move a few steps further, expand on that success, share our resources with other like-minded races and really push adventure racing back into the public consciousness.
Where did the motivation come from to form this partnership between the two events?
First and foremost the motivation is to make a positive impact on the sport I have been part of for 15 years. Creating an event like GODZone and seeing the beneficial flow through to adventure racing in New Zealand has been really good. But why stop there? If we can take that successful formula and help others apply it in other regions then we will all benefit. We’ve always believed that GODZone really succeeds when global adventure racing succeeds – we can’t thrive in glorious isolation.
From the beginning we have been thinking long and hard about what really inspires people to take part in an expedition adventure race. From that, what can a sponsor gain from being part of that event and why would the media want to be involved and help showcase it? For us, that all comes down to the quality of the product on offer. When we looked around to see what other events were doing we realised that Primal Quest had the legendary status and ability to put on an event that really did inspire teams, media and corporate sponsors. From that point it was about connecting the events and establishing whether there was the mutual desire, focus and belief that we could, as partners, transform the sport for the better.
We could both go about our business separately but the reality is that we can do more faster if we collaborate, share our ideas and resources. Having had discussions with Maria at PQ, we quickly realised that our visions for the sport were aligned and that the ethos underpinning our events were almost identical. This is all about creating big events that inspire and creating new pathways for racers everywhere, whilst bringing much needed third-party resources back into the sport.
What do you hope to achieve through this collaborative new platform with Primal Quest in North America?
We are two of the most recognised events on the adventure racing calendar and we believe by combining forces, sharing our intellectual property and resources, we will build a healthy infrastructure that supports adventure racing events to be the best they can be. The collaboration will immediately bring additional benefits such as cross marketing, greater media reach and exposure. American teams are coming to race in New Zealand and Kiwi teams will be racing in the USA – that’s a fantastic start. However, it is the longer-term benefits where we believe that we can make the biggest positive impact on the sport. For this, we really have four key target areas.
Firstly, it’s about developing two truly world class and iconic events that can compete with all sporting spectacles, not just other adventure races. Most sports have their ‘majors’. Golf, tennis, cycling, etc, they all have 3-5 events that elevate their sports and winners to legendary status. There is more kudos and marketing power (with all the implied benefits) in winning events that have ‘major’ status than with any other format. We have to create a platform that emulates that sporting ’major’ concept as it is the strongest way to encourage new entrants to the sport and to re-engage financial sponsors.
Secondly we really want to increase youth participation. Traditionally, middle-aged athletes have dominated expedition adventure races. Whilst every competitor has value and should be treated the same, there is particular benefits in encouraging youth participation. They are more likely to compete for longer; they are very good at using modern media and encouraging their peer group to get involved; they have often not cemented brand loyalties (so sponsors see value in throwing marketing dollar at them); and they are, generally good at making events look…well, more exciting. The more youngsters, the better in our view and it is something that GODZone has encouraged from the start and PQ have the same belief. The benefits of this strategy are now really being felt at our event and I suspect some of the young teams from New Zealand will go on to achieve some amazing things.
The other two areas of focus are intrinsically linked – media and sponsorship. They go hand in hand. Without sponsorship, it’s really hard in the competitive media space to afford or encourage good coverage. Without good coverage, what’s in it for the sponsor? We have to break into this cycle and show the true value of what expedition racing can offer. It is utterly unique and has many great attributes that make it attractive to partners. We are really excited about developing this area so that we can fully resource our ambitious plans for these major events.
How will the collaboration work between GODZone and Primal Quest?
Firstly we have now put in place a reciprocal top prize for winning teams. For teams racing at the front of the field this collaboration will mean the chance to race overseas at the major partner event. The winner of Primal Quest, hosted by Lake Tahoe this year, will receive a free entry into GODZone Tasman early next year. The winner of the GODZone Tasman event will receive a free entry to race at Primal Quest in 2016.
However, it’s not just about winning that prize because we know from previous experience that our second placed teams at GODZone have won places at the AR World Championships. None has ever taken up the opportunity to race. The reasons are varied but ultimately it comes down to the fact that these events or locations have not really inspired them to travel. This clearly tells us it’s got to be more about the experience they are going to have and where the race is being held. This collaboration will hopefully encourage Kiwi and American teams to get travelling once again and to embrace one of the most exciting aspects of expedition racing.
Ultimately, we don’t want to simply send winning teams backwards and forwards – we also want to encourage youth teams to get travelling and experience what its like to race internationally. To that end we are putting together a GODZone team to go and race PQ this August in Lake Tahoe as a way of developing our relationship further and encouraging others to do the same. Perhaps we will cherry pick the very best youngsters from New Zealand to go over and represent their country? There are lots of ways to encourage participation through collaboration.
What is important is that this is a real partnership not just an exchange of logos or free entries. PQ and GODZone really want to support each other in tangible ways and encourage the growth of adventure racing worldwide. We are really excited about what we can do together on many levels.
Primal Quest is coming back from a 6-year hiatus – does the race share similar values to GODZone?
The discussions we have had reveal that we share similar values and remind us that we have shared a similar experience in some ways. GODZone brought back expedition-style racing to New Zealand after a seven-year break (following the cessation of the Southern Traverse). Now, after 6 years, Primal Quest is back to return genuine expedition style racing back to North America.
Primal Quest is the single largest expedition race in North America since Eco Challenge. Back in the 2000’s PQ was the race everyone was talking about and they did everything to the highest quality you could imagine. When I went over to race at the event in Utah, back in 2006, the scale and resources of the event blew me away. Clearly it would be beneficial to tap into that scale and those resources, however, it’s the culture and vision that we are most keen to work with. They want to see major events inspiring new and old participants. They want to see more youngsters getting involved. They want to re-engage sponsors and bring the sport back into the media’s field of vision. Things we all believe passionately in.
Bottom line, it’s their core values that are similar to ours. There is an element of altruism about them – a desire to do something brilliant for the right reasons – they are experienced and there past events were massive. Importantly, they don't want to dumb racing down and will remain true to the sprit of adventure, letting teams work out for themselves what their limits are.
Will you invite other adventure events to be part of the collaboration?
We are working to create long term sustainability of adventure racing and certainly see that there is an opportunity to get other events involved. But we are not in a rush to do this, as it is important that we join with other events that share our vision and desire to really produce something special.
New Zealand as the home of adventure racing will always have a certain allure for racers and Primal Quest brings the all-important North American market to fore. So if another event were to join us then it would need to make sense regarding different geographical locations and markets. More importantly, perhaps, it would need to have the potential to be an adventure racing ‘major’ so that we maintain the quality of experience we are aiming for.
We are not interested in going to places just because a local tourism board or central government office is coughing up money to go there. Eventually that falls short on providing adventure racers with great experiences. The first rule of hosting a successful event has to be to race in a location that really makes people want to go and visit. Once you’ve ticked off the great location, it’s all about developing a course that offers real adventure. If we can help those events with our technology and resources, then it has to be good for the sport if we collaborate.
