Another “boon” for Wollongong as the world’s love for adventure brings another international event to the city.
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Europe’s biggest team-based fitness competition Tribal Clash has chosen the Illawarra for it’s Asia Pacific event, expected to attract hundreds of competitors and inject over a million into the local economy next February.
North Wollongong beach will host two days of competition between teams of six (three males and three females) testing all aspects of fitness, though the actual events won’t be announced until a day before.
“Carrying stuff, lifting stuff, pulling, dragging, climbing over obstacles, it’s basically just hard work. There’s nothing particularly skill based or technical which requires experience … but events reward team work more than anything else,” said spokesperson Heidi Clover.
Amateur athlete Andrew Barker created the Clash six years ago in the UK because he couldn’t find an event that really suited his tastes – functional fitness and adventure.
“Most of CrossFit or functional fitness-style events take place indoors in a very stale environment. And previous to that being involved in triathlon and adventure racing I wanted an event that fused both together,” he told the Mercury.
Destination Wollongong major events manager Jeremy Wilshire said they were always looking for events in the “adventure space” and this was perfect.
“We really feel that fits with the natural DNA of the region in regards to the natural assets, the proximity to Sydney, diverse accommodation,” Mr Wilshire said.
“With all the pre and post touring that comes with that it’d be a million-dollar-plus exercise in economic impact … it really is a boon for the region.”
He said healthy lifestyle events were growing in Wollongong because the region has the facilities while there is also a demand for them.
“We’re known as a pretty outdoor based culture,” Mr Wilshire said. “The other thing is the event industry is driving that as well. Instead of quite formal traditional events indoors, people are thinking outside of the box in terms of what they can do and how they can engage with the active leisure market.”