We hope that you are training for the 2017 GO-4-12 Youth Adventure Race and the New Zealand Secondary Schools Adventure Racing Champs that we are holding from the on 7th April - 9th April 2017 in Hawke's Bay. 

What is the GO-4-12
The GO-4-12 is The Official New Zealand Secondary School Adventure Racing Championships and the New Zealand Youth Adventure Challenge. Competitors will complete a course involving up to 10 different adventure activities for 12 hours nonstop.

What Can Competitors Expect
The race is coordinated on behalf of the New Zealand Secondary Schools Sports Council and Multisport NZ by the kiwi Adventure Trust. The event is an authentic adventure race with the core disciplines consisting of mountain biking, walking/running, kayaking, rope skills and navigation. There will be up to 10 other challenges to complete during the race which will be adventure, farming or environmental themed. If you have not guessed yet we want competitors to have lots of fun.

Safety Management
Our three goals for the GO-4-12 as with all our programmes is that the event will be Safe, Fun and Educational. As health and safety is on everyone’s mind we want to make sure that all those involved in the event are fully informed on how we are managing risk. We have for 2017 redesigned the event so there is a Rogaine (up to 9 Hours), about 3 Hours of activities (including High Ropes and flat water kayaking which are Outdoors Mark Audited activities) and a 32km Mountain Bike ride to finish. We know that there is less mystery to the event, but we assure you that there is no less adventure. See the 2017 NZSSARC Event Management Plan for all safety details under the Event Info tab.  Feel free to give us a call if you have any questions about the event.

Team Tracking
We will be tracking teams using SPOT trackers and teams will check in and out of manned checkpoints.  Timing will be done using the Navlight system and there is one road crossing and the riding will be on low level roads with the Road Management being done by HEET. Our first Aid team is Peak Safety who are very mobile and are experts in covering safety at events such as this.

An Amazing Event for Inspirational Youth
Again, our Prize Giving Brunch will be at the Havelock North Community Centre and we will have an interview style talk with an amazing adventure athlete.  Some of you who have been to our events know that we try to get great speakers like 5 Time world Adventure Racing Champion Nathan Faavae who spoke last year. I think it is great that Sam Manson who spoke in 2015 at the event and said “one day I will win the Coast to Coast” showed that he is well on that path with a third in this year’s one day Coast to Coast event (the Longest Day). We have also noticed that many of you go on to achieve incredible things and we have currently as I write several ex-GO-4-12 competitors competing in the GODZone (including 18-Year-old Abby McCredie). One of our past participants have hiked the length on New Zealand and done some of the toughest and longest trails around the world. We are inspired by you all, as events like this are tough and you are rewarded in completing it in knowing that it was tough, but you are tougher. But we know that this is often just the start of the amazing adventures that you will have, as most of you are born adventurers and great ‘achievers’, and we are honored to create an event like this for you.  

Two Events In One
Remember you have two ways to race in the event, either as a Secondary school team in the NZSSARC Event or as a team made up of youth from different schools (though you can enter if you are not at school, but in the age bracket).

Check out the Event website to get all the information that you need to race www.go412.co.nz

David Tait
Race Director
Ph: 0273 6000 86