Challenge Wanaka chosen to feature at University of Otago

Challenge Wanaka has featured as a case study by one of New Zealand’s leading centres of learning, the University of Otago, for its tourism and marketing students. The international iron distance triathlon, which takes place each January, attracts over 1,200 athletes from 25 nations with over 30% of the field coming from overseas. The event will feature in a series of four lectures to illustrate the role events play in tourism.

Dr Richard Mitchell, Senior Lecturer in Tourism at the University of Otago, said, "Challenge Wanaka is the perfect example of a sporting event that covers all of the bases when it comes to giving students an insight into sport tourism. As part of a global series it gives students scope to explore global marketing and event management and, because Challenge Wanaka is alsorooted in the local community and has many benefits to the community, it isalso an excellent example of the positive impact that a sporting event can have.

"Challenge Wanaka exhibits many of the qualities of best practice in sport tourism: it has a strong grass roots following at the local level with competitors and volunteers; it is integrated with regional destination marketing and brand image; it returns benefits to the local community through charity fund raising and engages with the local business community,and; it provides an event for competitors that is recognised by independentobservers as being truly world class."

Dr Mitchell, himself a Challenge Wanaka finisher, has been a tourism lecturer for more than a decade, firstly in Australia and at the University of Otago since 2003. Alongside his primary research interests infood, wine, tourism and regional development, he has developed an interest in sport tourism. In recent years he has taught sport tourism at Otago and supervised several postgraduate research projects in this area.

Challenge Wanaka is part of the Challenge Family global series of iron distance triathlons which features 13 events over three continents and 30,000 athletes and shares theinternational stage with such iconic events as Challenge Barcelona, Challenge Copenhagen, Challenge Cape Town and the world’s largest iron distance event, Challenge Roth in Germany.

For further information, visit www.challenge-wanaka.com