Arctic Team Challenge
ARCTIC TEAM CHALLENGE 2005 COUNTDOWN: 1 DAY TO GO!
Jesper Kunuk Egede / 15.07.2005
Although the weather may not be as beautiful today as it was yesterday, it still is quite sunny and warm. Today, between 12 AM and 3 PM the teams had their first chance to get to know the dreaded canoes a little bit better. For some reason, the canoe part of the ATC has never quite been a favourite among the contestants. Quite the opposite, actually.All teams got to go out in the canoes. ‘See you…..maybe’, shouted one of the guys from Bird’s Eye, stepping into the canoe. The canoes are followed by safety boats, however, so that there is always a boat close by should an accident occur.
If you catch us, you can have us!
Almost every year, there is a girl’s team at Arctic Team Challenge. At Arctic Team Challenge, girl’s teams are famous for their high spirits and sense of humour. This year is no exception. During the first two races, in 2001 and 2002, we were blessed with Greenland Icegirls, last year we had the Danish all-girls team ‘Guddi Adventure’, and this year we have the Arctic Ladies.
‘Our main aim is to finish the race’, says Amma Kleist of Qaqortoq in South Greenland. ‘Yes, and we want to have fun and make sure that nobody is hurt. Nothing else matters,’ continues Pia Nielsen, who is entering the race for the third time. Amma, Pia and Susanne Bak have all raced in the Arctic Circle Race and Amma and Pia have teamed up twice for the Greenland Adventure Race, a race teams of two people. ‘It’s going to be exciting to run in teams of four instead of two,’ says Susanne. Gitte Thilsted is racing for the first time.
This morning, after checking out the male competition, one of the girls suggested that their team changed name to ‘If you catch us, you can have us’, but the girls have decided to stick with the name of ‘Arctic Ladies’. And use the other phrase as their motto instead.
Gear check
Tonight, the first gear check took place and the racers are getting ready for tomorrow morning. We have changed the starting time of the race as we expect some bad weather coming in. We start at 9 AM instead of 11 AM. The teams are still not aware of what they are going to do tomorrow. Breakfast is at 6:30 and, after breakfast, the first race briefing will take place and the teams have a little more than an hour to get their gear ready for the first race day.
There’s a feeling of excitement in the air and we’re all – racers and officials alike – really looking forward to race start.See All Event Posts
