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Expedition Ozark Racers! The race lineup is SET and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome 30 teams from 5 continents and all corners of the globe back to the Ozarks for the Expedition Ozark – produced by Ozark Foundation! All signs point to an early spring in the mountains as the rivers and streams have begun to flow and the trees are showing their first buds! We have a few updates, but most important is a REMINDER to please get your team and individual racer information filled out as soon as possible! INFORMATION NEEDED:
We need information from EVERY team and EVERY individual racer. Firstly, Captains should fill in this Team Information Form to tell us about your team and teammates:
TEAM INFORMATION FORM Secondly, please fill in this Racer Information Form to tell us about themselves.
RACER INFORMATION FORM Captains, it is your responsibility to forward this email to all your teammates and ask them to complete the Racer Information Form. Please don’t delay – do it today!
Opening Ceremony Updates:
You are NOT going to want to miss our opening ceremony this year. We have some exciting guests that will be joining us for what should be a special afternoon celebrating the sport of adventure racing! While we are still working out the final details, we are encouraging teams to arrive in Bentonville, Arkansas in time for a 3pm gathering on Saturday afternoon, April 6th. Early Arrivals:
For teams that elect to arrive before April 6th, we will be able to provide complimentary shuttle transportation from XNA National Airport to Bentonville beginning on April 4th – but not sooner. Teams arriving before April 4th will be responsible for securing their own shuttle transportation from the airport. Please make sure we have your up-to-date travel details as requested in the Racer Information Form so we can plan team pick-ups accordingly. For accommodations, we are not able to extend additional complimentary room nights before April 6th, and the host hotel/Race HQ is sold out before April 6th. That said, we have identified a secondary property that teams are welcome to book on their own and at their own cost, but have secured a very friendly rate of $129/night for April 4th and April 5th at: Hyatt Places Rogers/Bentonville
4610 West Walnut Street
Rogers, Arkansas 72756 US You can call their main phone number at +1 (479) 633-8555 and use group code OZFD to secure the room rate. On Saturday April 6th you will be able to move to the host hotel and Race HQ identified in pre-race communication and stay until 8 April (race day!) at no additional cost to the team.
Equipment Requirement Updates:
You can find our full Mandatory Gear Requirements HERE. Please note that we do have a few additions/changes from the ARWS requirements, so be sure to use the Expedition Ozark list!
Here are a few notable callouts: Camera - Please do take note of this requirement this year! Friendly hint to expect to use it! UTM Tool - We are ELIMINATING the mandatory requirement of the UTM tool! Harness - UIAA certified rock climbing harness in good working condition with a belay loop Drysuit/Splash Gear - top and pants (with sealable cuffs) UTM Tool - has to include 1:10,000, 1:24,000 and 1:50,000 Tent or Bothy Bag - this is just an adjustment to the currently listed requirement on ARWS. We will allow any combination of tent/bothy bag for your team size. For example, a team of 4 can carry 1 tent that is rated for 4 people or 4 individual tents. Sizing/weight will still be as posted on ARWS mandatory list. Paddle Bag(s) - Unlike last year, we will only require one (1) bag per team.
Packraft Rentals:
Many of you have asked about options to rent packrafts. We have a couple of companies that have rental fleets and are able to ship directly to the race location if desired!
1. Packrafting Adventures
2. Mt Waddingtons
Race FAQ:
Just as we did last year, we will start to populate questions we have been asked on the Expedition Ozark website. Questions answered will be uploaded on the website to make sure all teams have the same information provided.
Our next newsletter should be the big one and when we publish the race schematic! Happy Trails!
The Expedition Ozark Team
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