KATHMANDU, Nepal-Twenty-one teams, including foreigner are going to take part in the 1st TAAN International Eco-Challenge 2013 to held in Kathmandu tomorrow.
During a press meet to inform about the event in Kathmandu on Thursday, Mohan Lamsal, general secretary of Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) said they aimed to develop the event as an international standard sporting event in the country.
“As a part of our ‘Nepal for All Seasons’ campaign, we also plan to promote the event as a tourism product for the off season”, Lamsal said.
The Eco-Challenge is a team event comprising three sporting events – running cycling and rafting.
Each team has five participants including a team manager who will not participate in the sporting events.
All four participants will first run on the 6.5-kilometer track from Tokha to Pani Muhan and cycle on the 14.5-kilometer track in the Shivapuri-Nagarjun National Park.
After completing cycling at Sundarijal, the participants will raft on 7.5-kilometer segment of Bagmati River until Gokarna – the finishing point of the event.
However, teams can start rafting only after all members of the group complete cycling.
The winning team will receive a shield, gold medals, certificates and a purse of Rs 100,000.
Similarly, the first runner-up will receive silver medals, certificates and cash prize of Rs 75,000, while the second runner-up will receive bronze medals, certificates and a purse of Rs 50,000.
A Fishtail Air helicopter will do aerial photography of the event.
Australian Ambassador to Nepal His Excellency Glenn White and Member Secretary of National Sports Council (NSC) Yubaraj Lama are scheduled to inaugurate the event.
Similarly, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Ram Kumar Shrestha will grace the closing ceremony as the Chief Guest.
Saroj Neupane, coordinator of the event, said he was encouraged by the response for the event. “Initially, we had expected 10 groups. Now we have 21 groups, including a foreign team. We hope the number of teams will increase further next year,” he added.
