ADVENTURE RACING

GODZone Announces Team List 2016

By QT Magazine

70 teams from 11 nations will come together in Kaiteriteri, Tasman this April for the fifth chapter of New Zealand’s premier adventure race, GODZone. It will be the largest ever field at an expedition-length event in New Zealand. The official team list has been released today with a host of national and internationalcompetitors lining up for the seven day event running 2^nd April – 9^th April, 2016.
 
“The allure of a trip to New Zealand and taking on the most exciting event in adventureracing continues to be a winning combination for GODZone and competitors. Wehave some very worthy and notable international teams travelling out to compete against the Kiwi teams this year,” says GODZone Race Director Warren Bates.
 
The event will have it’s largest ever contingent of racers from the USA and the UK, including the third highest ranked team in the world, Adventure Medical Kits led by Kyle Peter.
 

Photo courtesy of QT Magazine

“It’s fantastic to see the North American teams wanting to travel to New Zealand and experience racing in the spiritual home of the sport. Team Bones and Team Yogaslackers have a huge amount of experience and will have high expectations. AdventureMedical Kits are highly motivated to triumph and have stated publicly that they want to be the first international team to win in New Zealand for over two decades.”
 
South Korea will be represented for the very first time with a team lead by adventurer Kyu Po Pyun and team Real Discovery, returning for a second consecutive year, will fly the Japanese flag. Australian teams lead the international contingent with 11 teams racing and will once again have a very strong presence at the event. Other countries represented at the race include South Africa, South America, Sweden, and Canada.
 

Photo courtesy of QT Magazine

New Zealand multisport and triathlon legend, Richard Ussher returns to the adventure-racing scene with his wife Elina Ussher and the Swordfox team. High profile rugby legend Richie McCaw will also draw attention racing in his inaugural event alongside NZRPA CEO Rob Nichol. Their team will be raising money for GODZone’s recipient charity, Cure Kids.
 
“By all accounts we hear Richie is training pretty hard and is showing a fair degree of natural aptitude for adventure racing. There is no doubt his presence has elevated the buzz around the event and the media are as excited as we are about his presence,” says Bates.
 

Photo courtesy of QT Magazine

GODZone is the largest and most technically challenging expedition race in the world that will see the teams navigating across some of the most spectacular scenery and wilderness in the Tasman/ Nelson region for 2016.
 
“The past four chapters of GODZone have been won by the Kiwi World Champions and number one ranked team, Seagate, led by Nathan Fa’avae. However, this year Nathan has taken a hands on role in course development which may provide another team with the chance to cement a place in the history of the sport and put their name on the trophy,” says Bates.
 
For more information on the GODZone team list http://godzoneadventure.com/team-resources/team-list/   or the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/godzoneadventure