Description

The 2011 Great Prairie Pentathlon-Wisconsin - presented by Pizza Hut - will take place on Saturday, May 14 in River Falls, Wisconsin. The event is hosted by Great Prairie Sports of Minneapolis and will promote a world's first athletic competition.

The Olympic sport of Modern Pentathlon consists of five disciplines (Fencing, Swimming, Equestrian Jumping, Shooting and Running) competed in one day. Since the 2008 Beijing Games, the Run and Shoot are now combined into one event. We train and compete each sport very well individually; however, it is time we prepare athletes to perform each sport collectively. The Great Prairie Pentathlon-Wisconsin will feature competition for men and women in a variety of age groups and competition categories, including:

1. Championship - the Championship category is for athletes wanting to compete in each of the five Pentathlon disciplines in a variety of age/gender divisions. For this year, each Rider will need to submit a signed document from a Jumping instructor certifying your ability to safely Jump on a horse.

2. Horseless - this category is for individuals who want to compete but either not yet ready to Ride or don't have an interest to Ride at this time. While gender divisions will apply, age categories will depend on the number of athletes participating.

3. Team Relay - this category is for individuals who would like to participate in the Pentathlon and combine their efforts with friends and family. Teams of up to 5 individuals will have one person compete in one of the disciplines to obtain the best team score as possible. Team members can be any combination of any age and either gender. Riders will be permitted to jump on their own horse. If your team needs to lease a horse for the Riding discipline, an additional charge will apply. The Team Relay Riders will be jumping to a height of 3 feet.

4. Para-Pentathlon - this category was born from a conversation with the athletic staff of the Courage Center in Golden Valley, Minnesota - a designated International Paralympic Training Facility. Since Para-Athletes Fence, Swim, Ride Dressage, Wheel and Shoot, I posed the following question to them, "Why can't we create a Para-Pentathlon division for the Great Prairie Pentathlon? This would not only promote Pentathlon to more people, this could be the grassroots initiative that establishes Para-Pentathlon on the Program for the 2020 Paralympic Games." Since this conversation in early January, both USA Pentathlon and the USOC were intrigued with the concept. Communications have also been conducted with Pentathlon's Federation, UIPM. Folks, you will be the first in the world to participate in a Para-Pentathlon event. Not only that, since we most likely will have enough people Fence in a one touch round-robin format, each able bodied person will Fence against a Para-Fencer while sitting in a wheelchair and compete within the rules of Para-Fencing. This will level the playing field as well as provide each able bodied person a better understanding what life is like in a wheelchair and, especially, what Sport is like in a wheelchair. Our experience and feedback will be forward to USA Pentathlon, USOC and UIPM for assessment, evaluation and future implementation of the concept throughout the world. With nine years until the 2020 Paralympic Games are staged, there is plenty of time for the Para-Athletes of the world to train for the 2020 Para-Pentathlon discipline. Since this is a first year competition, various rules will be adapted to best accommodate the Para-Athletes. Since Para-Dressage is a fairly new event and unfamiliar to many, a Dressage Demonstration will be conducted for all to observe at the conclusion of the Jumping element. The Para-Shooting element will be the traditional precision shooting, not speed shooting. Also, the Wheeling element will most likely take place on the River Falls High School track after the conclusion of the Para-Swimming heat. We will consider an off-road Wheeling element in 2012 as the athletes test the off-road course this year.

The Fencing and Swimming competition will be held at the River Falls High School while the Equestrian Jumping and Combined (Shooting/Running) events will take place at the University of Wisconsin Campus Farm.

Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the Modern Olympics, ?modernized? (to the late 1800s) the classic Pentathlon performed by the ancient Greeks, hence the name. He chose the five disciplines because he believed those were the skills that best represented Napoleon?s officers. Since he also created the Olympic emblem - with its five interconnected rings - he believed the winner of Modern Pentathlon represented the best athlete of the Olympic Games.

Great Prairie Sports has been working with USA Pentathlon to build the base of Modern Pentathlon and prepare athletes for national and international competition. When comparing the best high school 3200m Runners and 200m Swimmers in the State of Minnesota and Wisconsin, their times beat or are competitive with the best times established at the 2009 UIMP Junior World Championships. For far too long, Europeans have dominated Pentathlon. Recently, other nations have developed a strong base for their future elite teams. It's time for Team USA to claim gold. If Minnesota can produce the Women's Gold Medalist in Downhill Skiing during Vancouver 2010, we can produce a Gold Medalist in Modern Pentathlon for 2016, 2020, 2024 ...

In addition to Pizza Hut, we would like to thank all of our sponsors for partnering with this year's event, which are: WingStreet, Coca Cola, Dick's Sporting Goods, USA Pentathlon, Minnesota Sword Club, Maddog Delivers, University of Wisconsin River Falls, Great Prairie Foods and Investment Property Services.

More information is available on our website at www.greatprairiesports.com. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.