IARA was formed at the end of 2023 with the support of the national adventure racing organisations from all of the active adventure racing countries worldwide.
The new organisation was a response to World Obstacle categorising Adventure Racing (1) as an ‘Obstacle Sport’ (2) and declaring itself the governing body for the sport, without consulting adventure racers or race organisers.
The adventure racing community rejected World Obstacle after an independent consultation of adventure racing countries and decided to establish its own Association to govern this very unique sport.
Having created their Membership Statutes, IARA began its membership validation process in August and ARWS applied to be an associate member stating;
“As a global adventure racing organization, the ARWS supports the new Association in its aims to represent the adventure racing community, to give all participants and stakeholders a voice, to improve standards and safety, and to engage with sporting and funding bodies at a national and international level.”
Following an interview with ARWS CEO Heidi Muller as part of the validation process, IARA today announced ARWS as one of its first Associate Members.
Muller said, “It is a privilege to be amongst the first members of an organisation established for, and run by, adventure racers, and this is an exciting new chapter in our sport.
“Adventure racing is unlike any other sport, so it needs its own independent association and IARA has the full support of the ARWS, representing more than 80 races, taking place on every continent.
“Establishing a new association is a long journey, and needs a strong team, but that’s what adventure racers are good at! As an Associate Member we will contribute the knowledge and expertise, gained over the past 23 years of adventure race organisation and management around the world, to help IARA succeed.”
Full members of IARA announced today were the governing bodies of adventure racing in Brazil, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Paraguay, Spain and Uruguay, and further membership applications are in process and will be announced soon.
The full list of members can be seen on the IARA website - https://internationaladventureracing.com/category/newsmedia/
Sadly, World Obstacle continues to claim governance of adventure racing and has refused IARA’s request to cease its claims to represent the sport.
This is despite World Obstacle President Ian Adamson saying at public meetings in 2023 “... a community which doesn’t want to be governed is ungovernable. I’ve seen this in other sports.” Asked if he would respect the decision of the consultation process which led to the establishment of IARA, whatever the result, he replied, “Yes, of course. I’ve said that many times. Absolutely!”
A video clip from the meeting can be seen at; https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sUQrllov9axfnw3DqiZs6Q3plcz84gKe/view?usp=sharing
To make matters worse, World Obstacle is now in the process of merging with UIPM (World Pentathlon) to facilitate an obstacle course replacing horse riding in Modern Pentathlon (3) at future Olympic Games.
Bizarrely, this means adventure racing is now included as an ‘Obstacle Sport’, under Pentathlon, in a motion to be presented to the UIPM Congress, set for November 16/17th in Saudi Arabia.
Motion EB3 states, “UIPM Sports encompasses Modern Pentathlon and every combination of its disciplines outlined in article 2.2, as well as Obstacle Sport. This includes Tetrathlon, Triathle, Obstacle Laser Run, Biathle, Laser Run and standalone disciplines of Obstacle Sport not limited to ninja, obstacle course racing (OCR), and adventure racing.”
Those last 3 words are buried on page 194 of an incredibly complex 348 page document and the whole sport of adventure racing was unaware this was happening until the adventure racing website SleepMonsters.com revealed the news on Oct. 30th. (www.sleepmonsters.com/news.php?article_id=7279 )
Muller commented, “It’s defies belief that our beloved sport of adventure racing could be hijacked by two other sports, which have nothing in common with it. Yet it’s true, and adventure racing is being traded by World Obstacle as part of their deal with Pentathlon in pursuit of Olympic ambitions.
"The ARWS is the biggest and most established organisation in adventure racing, hosting World Championships since 2001. Our last World Championship in Africa hosted racers from 35 countries and we are now preparing to host our 20th World Championship in Ecuador, yet none of our Race Directors were consulted at any time by World Obstacle."
"The ARWS and all of our member races give their full backing to IARA and to their #ARsaysNO campaign against these actions by World Obstacle and World Pentathlon."
IARA has asked World Obstacle to cease claims to represent adventure racing, yet they continue to do so. They have also contacted the board members of UIPM and every national UIPM member asking that adventure racing be removed from the motion at their congress.
The national adventure racing associations have also contacted UIPM individually, as have races and racers. There is also a petition against the UIPM motion which has over 1100 signatories in less than a week (https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ar-says-no-to-uipm ) and IOC members are being advised of what is happening.
Muller continued; “There is an outcry against this move by World Obstacle to incorporate adventure racing into the statues of World Pentathlon against the will of the adventure racing community and the association which represents them.
“I ask World Pentathlon to remove adventure racing from the motion for their congress and World Obstacle to cease their claims to represent adventure racing. They do not, and have no authority or mandate to include adventure racing as an Obstacle Sport as part of their proposed merger with World Pentathlon.”
The letters to World Pentathlon and a statement by IARA on this situation can be seen at https://internationaladventureracing.com/category/newsmedia/
About the Adventure Racing World Series
The Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS) is a global platform uniting professional adventure races in iconic locations to serve a worldwide community of adventurers and endurance athletes. The series includes 80 events in 2024.
A different race hosts the AR World Championship each year and the series consists of Qualifier, Regional and Stage races in Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa and Oceania.
The ARWS CEO is South African Businesswoman Heidi Muller, the former Race Director of Expedition Africa. The Adventure World Series was established in 2001 and is a company registered in Bentonville, Arkansas, USA.
More information is on the ARWS website; www.arworldseries.com
Follow the ARWS on all major social media platforms @arworldseries
For press information contact media@arworldseries.com and for all other inquiries info@arworldseries.com
(1) Adventure Racing is a team sport involving kayaking, mountain biking and trekking, where teams navigate through wilderness terrain, choosing their own route to find checkpoints. Sprint adventure racers are a few hours long and expedition races from 3-10 days of non-stop racing with distances of 500km or more.
(2) Obstacle course racing (OCR) is a sport in which a competitor, traveling on foot, must overcome various physical challenges in the form of obstacles. Races vary in length from courses with obstacles close together to events of several kilometres which incorporate elements of track, road and/or cross country/trail running. Courses may include climbing over walls or up ropes, monkey bars, carrying heavy objects, traversing bodies of water or mud, crawling under barbed wire, and jumping through fire. - Wikipedia.
(3) The modern pentathlon is an Olympic multisport that currently consists of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, laser pistol shooting, and cross country running. Equestrian will be replaced by a form of obstacle course racing at the 2028 Summer Olympics. – Wikipedia.
