2013 GoPro Mountain Games
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As many of you know and as some of you don’t know, the GoPro Mountain Games will be taking place this year June 6th-9th. The 2013 GoPro Mountain Games include activities for almost any city and mountain athlete that comes to mind. The Mountain Games take place in scenic Vail, Colorado where some of the top athletes like Lindsey are born and train, but don’t let that winter sport mentality fool you. The Mountain games include events such as trail running, road and mountain biking, fly fishing, stand up paddle (SUP) boarding, kayaking, mud runs, and even a few events for our furry friends.
Having been a participant and a spectator of the events in the past 5 years, I can attest to this weekend of events being kick-a$$. In the years past, Teva has been the title sponsor and did an amazing job at making the weekend fun for both athletes and spectators. This year in 2013, GoPro has taken over the thrown and while they have big shoes to fill, I am confident they will step up to the plate to make this years mountain games a memorable one.
To get the low down on this years Mountain Games, I had the opportunity to get an interview with Paul Abling, Senior Marketing and Public Relations Manager at the Vail Valley Foundation, who is in charge of putting this amazing weekend together.
Interview
(Kevin)
How do you see the event being different with GoPro being the new title sponsor?
(Paul)
We are very excited to have GoPro as the title sponsor of the Mountain Games starting in 2013. GoPro brings a passion for outdoor sports and expertise with executing and promoting very successful events. The brand’s enthusiastic following and impressive media platform will open opportunities to share media assets to a large audience of fans, both new and existing.
(Kevin)
What events do you get the most participation in?
(Paul)
Running and biking events are by far the most participatory. The X-Country Mountain Bike, 10K Spring Runoff and Mud Run events regularly each draw upwards of 400+ participants annually.
(Kevin)
How many people attend the Mountain Games each summer?
(Paul)
An estimated 45,000 spectators during the four days of the event and 3,500 professional and amateur athletes.
(Kevin)
Do you see snow being an issue for course conditions?
(Paul)
Snow is always a consideration. For land events on Vail Mountain, the courses are not set until the last minute to accommodate where the snow still resides on the mountain. This is why our mountain bike and trail running courses are always different each year. This year we are thankful for all the late season snowfall, particularly as it relates to our water events. We had a soft snowfall year in 2011-12 that resulted in low water at the Summer 2012 event. We are happy with where the snowpack currently sits for both land events and water events and, barring any unforeseen weather events, we feel that 2013 course conditions are in a great place for our entire slate of events.
(Kevin)
Are there still hotel accommodations available?
(Paul)
Vail provides lots of lodging options and several of our partner lodges offer special rates to athletes and media. Information can be found here: http://www.mountaingames.com/summer/mountains/stay-play/lodgingplaces-to-stay.aspx
(Kevin)
Are there any new sponsors that you are excited about this year?
(Paul)
We’ve got a lot of new sponsors this year that we are excited about. Obviously GoPro stepping into the title position is the biggest, followed by newcomers like Subaru, Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, LED Lenser, Vibram, Bear Naked and Gerber. It’s always a lot of fun to welcome new brands to the Mountain Games family of partners.
(Kevin)
Are the games only for hardcore or pro athletes or are the events beginner friendly?
(Paul)
The GoPro Mountain Games celebrates averages “joes” alongside of our “pros,” and is unique in providing opportunities for amateur athletes to compete on the same courses as some of the world’s best athletes. In many cases, amateurs can line up right next to their idols. Some of our events require a certain level of skill, like X-Country Mountain Biking and 2 Fly X-Stream fly fishing competition. However, there are events designed for true beginners to have fun, including the Mud Run. Most competitions have multiple divisions that allow for athletes of all ages to compete against their peers.
(Kevin)
Is the event family friendly?
(Paul)
Absolutely! The festival atmosphere provides many spectator and participatory opportunities for the entire family. In addition to Adventure Village and Gear Town, there are youth specific events such as Youth Bouldering as well as a SUP Demo Pool, free yoga sessions, the Eddie Bauer Zip Line and three nights of free live music as part of the Bud Light Mountains of Music. When family members are not out participating as athletes, there are also lots of competitions that make for amazing spectating, including the Slopestyle Bike Finals, Slackline World Championships and the Bouldering World Cup. We even let kids under 12 race an adjusted short course for free in the Mountain Bike race. We’ve even seen training wheels and strider bikes in that one.
(Kevin)
How pet friendly is the GoPro Mountain Games weekend?
(Paul)
There are five events for our four-legged friends, including three DockDogs competitions and a trail run. This year, we’re also debuting our first ever doggy mud run, which we’re calling the Mud Minster Dog Run. We love dogs at the Mountain Games! At last count we estimated that approximately one in seven people at the Mountain Games comes with their dog.
(Kevin)
Are there any social media aspects of the GoPro Mountain Games we should know about?
(Paul)
We have a rapidly growing social media fan base and try as much as possible to engage our fans. Look for a variety of social media giveaways on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with gear from our partners including GoPro HERO3s, a Wave Sport Kayak, Hala Gear SUP Paddle, Gerber Gear muti-tools, LED LENSER headlamps and much more. On-site at the event each day we’ll be running Instagram challenges, with GoPro HERO3s as prizes and much more. This year we will also be working with OutsideTV on a new platform for the Mountain Games, Tout. It will enable us to produce short :15 video dispatches from behind the scenes at the event. Think of it like Twitter for video. We’ve also already given away three VIP trips to Vail for the event via our partners GoPro, Gerber and Gibbon.
We’ve also partnered with a new mobile app company called FOMO Media to help us push daily deals, promotions and partner activations both at the event, and the week prior. They are a location based mobile app provider and have worked extensively with the SnowBall Music Festival most recently. On June 1-2 we are going to turn on the app for the first time. Nationwide the FOMO Sonar map will light up with locations indicated as “pings.” The first GoPro Mountain Games fans to reach the location of a ping will be instantly rewarded with some goodies from the GoPro Mountain Games and our partners. We are going to put some pings in crazy cool locations (like for example the top of Boulder’s Flatirons, which FOMO did for SnowBall). Prizes to be awarded via the app on June 1-2 include GoPro HERO3s, a Wave Sport kayak, VIP passes to the Mountain Games, comp entries to events and boat loads more.
(Kevin)
Are there any good deals to take advantage of before, during, or after the Mountain Games we should know about?
(Paul)
We encourage all of our brand partners to implement “festival pricing” if they are going to retail in Gear Town/Vail Village. There are some amazing deals to be had from more than 90 outdoor and lifestyle brands. We typically recommend that spectators looking to do some shopping get it done on Friday or Saturday as many partners will completely sell out of product by late Sunday afternoon.
2013 GoPro Mountain Games Wrap Up
The 2013 GoPro Mountain Games are sure to be a blast this year. Whether you’re an athlete, spectator, or just want to get up to Vail for a weekend, I highly suggest checking the weekend of events out.
