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AGM Update Dec 2022

Strategic Plan and the Chairperson’s report to View Click Here

ARI Members Update — July 2021

Dear Members,

We hope you are well and getting out enjoying some biking, hiking, trail/mountain running and water activities over the summer months.

The ARI committee is providing you with this update what we’ve been working on during the first half of the year along with what you can look forward to in the months ahead as we emerge from the pandemic and active adventure racing life begins again.

Winter/ Spring Online Member Events: All Online to View

As many of you may know, ARI successfully hosted a series of online member events over the winter and spring. We covered a variety of topics including:

These events were well received and a great success and are available to view online. A big thank you to everyone who helped us organise and who participated in these events.

If members have ideas for future online events please email details to info@adventureracing.ie.

Continental Tyres – National Adventure Racing Series 2021

Adventure Races are back!!! The second half of 2021 welcomes a new racing season with the 2021 National Series recently launched by Continental Tyres.

The 2021 NAR Series includes 6 races for both Expert and Sport classes with your best results from 3 races counting towards the overall series.  See NAR Series details here.

Seeking Adventure Racing Ambassadors and Regional Reps

ARI is looking for a number of enthusiastic adventure racers to become Adventure Racing Ambassadors and help promote the sport of adventure racing over the coming months.

Being an AR Ambassador involves:

  • Posting regular social media updates about your training activities
  • Posting social media updates about the events you are participating
  • Generally promoting the sport of adventure racing in Ireland
  • Actively engaged in this role for the next 12 months

Being a Regional Rep involves:

  • Being a point of contact for Adventure Racing Ireland in your region
  • Attending AR races and talking to people about ARI and the adventure racing sport
  • Helping members to connect for training meet-ups
  • Posting social media updates about AR events in your region

If you are interested in becoming an ARI Ambassador or a Regional Rep, please send email to info@adventureracing.ie.

TEAR: Team Adventure Race scheduled for Saturday 14 August in Wicklow

ARI is teaming up with long-time AR race organisers Total Experience Adventure Race (TEAR) to host a 5- and 8-hour Team Adventure Race on Saturday, August 14th in Blessington, Co. Wicklow.

TEAR is comprised of teams of 2 racers to take part in mountain biking, trekking/ trail running, orienteering and kayaking – all around Blessington Lake and West Wicklow from race HQ at The Avon, Blessington.

The 5-hour race is firmly aimed at newcomers to Team AR.

The 8- hour race is suited to those who are familiar with Team AR and have already participated in such events.

Both races are capped at 15 teams that will start slightly later than usual on the Saturday morning, to allow people time to travel to Blessington from around the country.  (10am start for the 8-hour race; noon start for the 5-hour race.)

Experienced AR racer Paul Mahon is working with TEAR organisers on the course design and logistics, so you can expect a good challenging course, and hopefully a few sociable drinks and a bite to eat afterwards. This event is initially open to ARI members for a limited offer price of only €120/pair for the 5 hour and €140/pair for the 8 hour until July 31st.

To register for the event, please phone Sarah on 087 625 1743. Further details on www.totalexperience.ie and on the ARI website.

New ARI Strategic Plan 2021 – 2022

During the early months of 2021, the ARI committee—who still continue to meet via Zoom—decided to embark on developing the initial Strategic Plan for Adventure Racing Ireland. This initial plan was recently completed.

The strategic plan is largely informed by the members’ survey undertaken in December/January and is developed around 5 key organisational areas:

  • Participation – Promoting the sport, developing race opportunities and increasing participation
  • Member Training & Development – Creating Opportunity for members
  • Quality & Standards – Developing and promoting quality standards for the sport
  • Communications – Developing a positive image for AR in Ireland and having good member communications
  • Developing the Organisation – Developing a strong and sustainable organisation

The plan is not perfect but it’s a good start and is necessary to help guide the organisation’s activities over the next year or two as we grow and develop as an organisation, and hopefully in time become a recognised national governing body (NGB) for the sport of adventure racing across Ireland and Northern Ireland.

All members are encouraged to review the plan (follow this link). We welcome the assistance and input of all ARI members to help progress actions and projects put forth in the plan over the next two years.

ARI Membership Update and Discounts

The current membership of ARI is 250.

All members have an electronic membership card with which they can use to obtain excellent discounts from a number of outdoor adventure businesses around Ireland.

Business Offer
Spun Cycles and Spun Run, Trim 20% discount on all parts and accessories
Adventure Store, Laragh 10% discount on all items except maps
O’Sullivan Cycles Killarney 10% off all accessories; bike deals upon discussion
BikeFit Physio, Cork 10% off all services including bike fitting, cardio/metabolic testing and physio/gait analysis
Radar Stores 10% discount
Raw Cycles 10% discount
Mid Ireland Adventures 10% with €100 purchase
Quest Events/Elite Events Management 10% discount for all ARI affiliated Quest events
Irish Biltong Company 15% discount for online purchases only
Basecamp Outdoor Store 10% off all non-sale items

If you know of any other businesses that might be interested in offering a discount to ARI members, please ask them and let us know. 

Kamoot Gifts ARI Members World Pack discount worth €29,99

The Kamoot outdoor adventure company has kindly offered ARI members a significant discount to their world pack.

This package includes:

  • Offline functionality: Save individual tours or entire regions offline for reliable navigation when you’ve not got a phone signal
  • Turn-by-turn voice navigation: Whether cycling, hiking or MTB, just listen to the instructions or follow them on-screen to keep your adventure on track
  • Kamoot is available on all of your devices including Garmin, Wahoo, Suunto or many other GPS devices and wearables

To redeem the Komoot voucher, members should:

  1. Obtain a code by contacting ARI Secretary on info@adventureacing.ie
  2. Go to www.komoot.com/g and enter the code in while making the purchase

ARI is grateful to Kamoot for this generous offer and we encourage members to avail of it.