Following the announcement of new ownership for the Adventure Racing World Series, under the leadership of Heidi Muller, a new Non-Executive Board has been formed and held their first meetings and discussions.

The formation of the new board and its inaugural meeting on February 9th, took place just 17 days after the ownership announcement heralded a new era for the ARWS.

Fourteen of the new board members attended the first meeting, where they were introduced to ARWS Race Directors from around the world and thanked by Muller for offering their “enthusiasm, time, skills and expertise” in support of the Adventure Racing World Series.

She said, “We wanted a Non-Executive Board so the future decisions of ARWS can be taken after open discussion and after hearing different opinions and voices from within the adventure racing world. There are so many talented and passionate people in adventure racing and we were overwhelmed when so many came forward to help the ARWS. Some were invited (and almost all of them said yes), while others volunteered or were proposed.”

She added, “This is not a process which is closed and nominations are still open to bring in new board members.”

The new board includes athletes, race directors, referees, media and officials from AR organisations, with backgrounds in sport management, business, law and commerce. Many have a decade or more of experience in adventure racing. They come from 12 countries (so far) and have competed or worked in adventure racing all over the world.

The aim is for the board to meet at least once a month to discuss topical and strategic topics, chosen by the board themselves or at the request of the ARWS management if they need input on a particular issue. They will also help and advise on the day-to-day work of the ARWS when possible.

The new Non-Executive Board members who attended the first meeting were;

Nick Gracie (UK)

Camila Nicolau (Brazil)

Santiago Lopez (Ecuador)

Alen Pujol (Uruguay)

Chris Dixon (Australia)

Abby Perkiss (USA)

Paul McGreal (UK)

Igor Dorotic (CRO)

Sayeesha Kirani (IND)

Harry Hollo (FIN)

Mark Goulding (RSA)

Scott Alexander (UK)

Stephan Muller (RSA)

Brian Gatens (USA)

The following could not attend or joined the board after the first meeting;

Arnaldo Maciel (BRA)

Mari Chandler (USA)

Gary Davies (UK)

Adrian Vincent Saffy (RSA)

Nancy & Pascal Bahuaud (FRA)

Lars Bukkehave (Denmark)

Mike Kloser (USA)

Damon de Boor (RSA)

The first discussion was about the upcoming ‘founding meeting’ scheduled by World Obstacle on February 18th which plans to elect committee members to their international federation for adventure racing.

You can see some of the ARWS Non-Executive Board Members at https://arworldseries.com/non-executive-board/

The full listing is in the process of being added and more detail about the professional and racing experience of each board member will be included shortly.