Raid the North Extreme 2006 Postponed
Chris Koch / 31.07.2006
\"It is with great disappointment that I must announce that Raid the North Extreme, scheduled to be held in Prince Rupert, September 3-9, is being postponed for 2006 and will be rescheduled in early 2007.
FAR is committed to producing world class adventure races that are challenging, fun and safe. This year, we also made a commitment to create a race that would be attractive to sponsors, partners, and racers through North American television exposure. We have a partnership with an outdoor adventure and sports production company to produce a High Definition series, to have aired with broadcasters in Canada and the US. The production company has been tremendously patient as we waited for a critical funding package to be released. Nonetheless they could no longer hold up their schedule without those funds in place, and as such we have had to cancel the production for 2006. We have many partners involved in making this event happen, and without the value to them of television exposure, we cannot expect them to fulfill their commitments to the event, making it financially and logistically impossible to proceed.
As adventure racing is an expensive sport (for both racers and organizers), television coverage of races is essential for host cities, suppliers, our sponsors and individual teams. We recognize that television coverage can act as an impetus for sponsorship for teams that would otherwise be unable to afford to race: we want to be a race organization that can offer that support to teams. While interest has been strong for this event in Prince Rupert, many teams have not been ready to commit without the final confirmation of television to secure sponsorship.
FAR is still committed to producing an exceptional Raid the North Extreme that will have all of the components we feel a great race should: a host city that offers incredible geographical diversity, a challenging course designed by top racers, a competitive field of teams, television coverage and a support team that ensures racers are welcomed, well informed, and safe.
That being said, we are working on a new date in 2007 for Raid the North Extreme. We will continue to work with Prince Rupert as we feel that the area has provided an incredible canvas for race course design, and the community offered a tremendous amount of support during our months of planning. Details will be announced in the coming months. \"
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