STORM and ESAR join forces

Press Release / 07.11.2007

Once bitter rivals… Storm and ESAR have joined forces. Storm Events has been putting on races since 2001, and hosts two major Ontario races; Storm the Trent and Storm the 10. Aside from being voted Ontario's best adventure race by Get Out There Magazine, Storm’s two-day adventure race weekend featuring the Trek and Hike races, draw more racers than any other adventure races in Canada. "This is a partnership that can only benefit everyone involved. Our goal will be to meet the needs of both racers and sponsors through our co-operative efforts." says Sean Roper, Race Director behind the Storm series.

On the other side of the coin, ESAR (Emergency Services Adventure Race) has been around since 2002 with a race catering to 911 personnel. ESAR continues to see growth with over 100 teams in 2007. Mark Arnold, race director of ESAR says; "We are combining our collective experience, with a strong desire to put on high quality adventure races. ESAR and Storm both want to see the sport grow, and one way we feel we can attract and keep new racers is by putting on well organized, fun, and challenging race courses. This will sustain the sport and keep people coming back".

ESAR creators Mark and Heather Arnold are pushing quality race course design and organization. They are fresh off of organizing the very successful Swamp Donkey Adventure Race in Manitoba. The race, which was the first wilderness style adventure race ever to be held in Manitoba, saw 42 teams of which over 85% had never adventure raced before. "The race ran smoothly and there were a lot of very satisfied racers.” stated Heather, ESAR race manager. “It also showed that by working with other groups, one could successfully put on a great event.” Roper echoes these sentiments, “As the face of adventure racing in Canada continues to change, so too must the mentality of race organizers. We can’t continue to work independently of each other.”

For many years Storm Events and ESAR have put races on in the same month, but in 2008 this will change, (drum roll please…) ESAR is moving its date to June. "Working with Storm Events is a great opportunity for racers as we will compliment each others events. ESAR will move to the middle of June allowing us to help with Storm the Trent in May, and it will also allow racers who liked the Storm races to try ESAR about a month later.” Says Arnold.

The two companies combined will create the largest Adventure racing empire this side of the western front, and they are currently looking at a compound to house an underground training facility to host winter AR training clinics.

To learn more go to www.stormevents.ca or www.esar.ca