Adventure race to life skills
The 14th Annual GO-4-12 will be raced in the Tutira District.
The race is coordinated on behalf of the New Zealand Secondary Schools Sports Council and Multisport NZ by David Tait, who created the event in 2006.
It allows a wide range of youth to participate with the three-hour designed to be completed by any youth of any fitness from Year 7 to Year 10. The six-hour is open to youth from Year 9 and more of a challenge, and the 12-hour is structured so top teams are pushed to their limit, while novice teams can complete the course within the limitations of their experience.
The activities that competitors will face include mountain biking, kayaking, river crossing, running, abseiling, orienteering and other mystery activities. These activities in the past have included archery, plate decorating, sheep drafting, high ropes, egg carrying, cairn building, candle lantern construction and many more. In the sixhour and 12-hour sections teams of four compete in boys, girls or mixed categories. In the 3-Explorer event teams will be made up of two youth aged from Year 7 to Year 10 as a taster event.
GO-4-12 is more than just a race. Nine-time Coast to Coast champion Steve Gurney has been involved during the event and as a guest speaker at prize giving. Another speaker was Cory Hutchings, former world surf lifesaving Ironman who held the New Zealand Ironman title for more than a decade.
This year’s speaker will be Brando Yelavich, who who will tell tales of his wild adventures and challenging expeditions.
The 2019 12-hour event will be streamed live via the TrackMe tracking software, enabling New Zealand and the World to follow teams as they make their way through the course. The event’s slogan is “Explore, Grow, Challenge” and there are many stories over the years about the positive effect of the race. Nicole Symons competed in the first race and each subsequent event through to 2009 when she left school. She says the race “positively impacted me in ways that I am only now starting to realise as an adult and a secondary school teacher.
“GO-4-12 taught me about my strengths and weakness and helped develop my communication, leadership, teamwork and decision-making skills. I highly recommend that any adventurous kids give this event a go. It has provided me with lifelong friends and perseverance, the knowledge that things that are hard and not only ok, but they are usually worth doing.”
The 2019 race will be held on the weekend of April 12, in Hawke’s Bay from Guthrie Smith Education Centre. The 12-hour competitors will stay overnight on Friday night and start racing at 6am on Saturday morning.
The three-hour and sixhour events will start at 9am on Saturday.
With 40 teams expected in the 12-hour event and similar numbers in the two other events, it is expected to be the largest event of its kind in New Zealand. There is already unprecedented interest in the 14th edition of the event from teams from around New Zealand and from Australia. For details visit go412.co.nz