'Goa Beyond Beaches': India ready to kick off 2nd National Adventure Racing Championship

India is back with the 2023 Adventure Racing Championship India (ARCI), a National Championship event which is also the qualifier for the Asia Regional Championship, ARCI is hosted by NthAdventure, India’s only licensed organization to host Adventure Races in India for ARWS.

Adventure Racing is a fast-growing sport in India and shaping up as a great platform for young to elite Teams. An opportunity where brands are sending their teams to compete and prepare for bigger races ahead. Currently on the ARWS Asia Regional Ranking its India who ranks at the top, credit to NthAdventure Team for being able to provide Adventure Racing platforms for the Asian Teams.

NthAdventure is India’s only licensed organization from ARWS making continuous efforts to grow the sport in the country. Round the year they conduct Navigation workshops, mini version of Orienteering runs on trails, bikes, kayaks and Urban, Adventure Racing Workshops which are open to public and universities, conducting sprint races of 30KM to 60km which is a part of National AR Series to hosting 3 ARWS Asia Regional Races. They are creating platforms where everyone can experience this sport.

AR Championship India has two category Full-course and short course. Full course teams race under ARWS Asia Regional Ranking, and the winner of this category takes home the title of AR National Champions 2023, a rolling trophy along with an entry to ARWS Asia Regional Championship scheduled to take place in Philippines in November 2023.

The full-course is set for 120KM consisting of MTB, Hiking / Trail Running, Kayaking, Orienteering and some added local traditional elements.

Ajita Madan, Race Director says, “We are super excited to host our 2nd Championship event. Our Championship races are bigger than other sprint and qualifier races as this gives our athletes an opportunity to understand the magnitude of this sport. From endurance training to planning logistics, everything is huge and massive. We always want our athletes to feel challenged, test team strategy and more. The host location of this race is “Goa” which is known as beach destination of the country, however there is also another side of Goa which is yet to explored much. The state has an amazing history. While our Adventure Racers look for checkpoints, the mountains and ocean will always be watching over them.”

Talking about the categories and difficulty level, Sayeesha Kirani, Race Director said, “Every course is unique. We have 2 categories, 120K, for the challenger, 60k who wants to push their game who are just starting their AR journey. We will have 20 teams racing for this championship, every category will have the element of surprise and how they are going to cross over. We do mix and match Google Maps as well as Topo maps for Navigation. The course will take our teams traversing through villages, rivers, mountains and valleys and yes a bit of Goan beaches. So yes, it is going to be interesting to see how teams plan to do everything in the least amount of time. It takes a massive effort to organize a sport like this where multiple disciplines and multiple departments are involved. We worked with the authorities to curate a theme “Goa Beyond Beaches”. We thank all the departments for their support and Department of Goa Tourism for welcoming Adventure Racing.”

The headquarter of this race is National Institute of Water Sports. It was established in 1990, it has been actively engaged in professionalization of leisure watersports in the country through training and capacity building of the manpower, assisting the Government and industry in framing and setting safety standards, feasibility reports, development plans, etc. To assure the safety protocol and monitoring of watersports activities, the Institute also assists the Central & State Governments and Private firms in framing and setting safety standards, feasibility reports and development plans, beach management plan.

The race opens on Friday. There will be Kayaking Safety and Rescue Mock Drill by NIWS, followed by Race Admin, Captains meet, Opening ceremony and briefing. The race will be flagged off on Saturday 9th September in the morning where Teams will be transport to an undisclosed start location at 4 AM. There will be lots of action and updates on their social media pages. Support and follow the journey on Instagram page @nthadventure and @arwsasia

About NthAdventure:

NthAdventure is a Bangalore based Adventure and Outdoor sports company and is the only licensed organization in India to host Adventure Racing from Adventure Racing World Series - USA. NthAdventure’s prime focus is to grow and build Adventure Racing and Orienteering community in India. Both the Race Directors have been part of multiple Expedition Races and have been conducting workshops, training sessions, webinars, and multiple sprint races since 2016 to help Indian teams race ready at global stages.

For more information about NthAdventure and upcoming races do visit https://www.nthadventure.com/

Our Partners:

• Adventure Racing World Series

• Department of Tourism – Goa

• National Institute of water Sports - Goa

• Department of Forest – Goa

• Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management

• Adventure Worx

• The Bridge

• Goa Brewing Company