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“The Basic Polaris format”

A series of control points are scattered over a large area of a custom made 1:50000-topograpical map. Each control point has a score and the aim is for teams of 2 of solo’s to accumulate as many points as possible within a given time limit. There is no set route and the distance traveled is up to you. You can head for the CP's in any order you choose. Distant and hard to access checkpoints carry higher scores and there are tough penalties for exceeding the time limits. . The team with the most combined points at the end of the event wins.

To be self-sufficient in the event of an emergency, teams must carry emergency gear according to a minimum kit list. This is not to panic you but to prepare you, anything can happen when you are out playing. Each type of Polaris event will require different emergency gear so make sure you have the correct info. If you are not sure please contact us.

There is always going to be heated competition amongst the top athletes, who will try to out wit and out ride, paddle or run each other. So you can take on the pro’s and go for maximum points or you treat it as a good excuse for a fun weekend away jam-packed with adventure. Polaris is a great event for the average athlete to get out there and race at there own level, enjoy them self and not be left in somebody else’s dust. Hey, here anyone stands a chance at a top placing if you think it through properly.

Our Events History in South Africa:

Since we started running Polaris events in South Africa in Jan 2002 we have hosted four MTBO events and a world first Paddle Polaris Challenge called the ‘Blade’. We also host regular Mini Polaris MTBO events as promotions for the bigger two-day “Challenge”.

Another great combination of all our events was Polaris Weekend of Orienteering. Held at the Theewaterskloof dam in Villiersdorp, this event included a Polaris Blade on Saturday morning, a Polaris Foot ‘O’ event in the afternoon and on Sunday we hold a Mini MTB ‘O’ event.

We have also tested a new concept we called the Polaris Navitac. An 8 hour MTB orienteering enduro. The format was slightly different, with a smaller race area and regular scheduled ‘pit stops’ where teams had to clock in and receive a new set of race instructions. This allowed the ‘pit crew teams’ and the spectators to get more involved and made the event allot more tactical for the competitors. At a future Navitac we want to attempt to live track the teams and show everything on a big screen for spectators and give the event a ‘reality mountain biking’ feel.

The reaction from all the Polaris events has been very positive and growth in numbers at the events has shot up from 15 teams in April to 58 in May 2003 (and we closed entries due to logistics).

World of endurance has filmed our April and November events with great success and made two very exiting shows and The Adventure zone team covered our May event for the Drifter Adventure zone TV show. We were also nominated into the top 100 extreme adventures for FHM Magazine in 2002 and have a number of great articles in Ride Magazine.