Te Anau township has been briefed to expect more than 1500 competitors and 5000 supporters for an all women's adventure race this time next year.

The 16th edition of the Spring Challenge will be held on 1 October, 2022.

Six-time adventure racing world champion, and multiple GODZone winner, Nathan Fa'avae, created and launched the event in 2007, to prove the sport has huge appeal to women.

Teams of three will navigate through a series of stages and disciplines, including rafting, kayaking, mountain biking and hiking, connecting checkpoints.

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Any outdoor adventure sport can be included in an adventure race, with navigation being a theme throughout the events. Teams navigate using only maps and compasses.

Entries opened on 7 October and is has already nearly sold out.

Spring Challenge moves to a new location each year, and Te Anau will follow the successful 2021 event held recently in Greymouth.

"A core part of adventure racing is visiting unique and interesting places," Fa'avae says.

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"Because navigation is a key factor in the events, no course can be used twice. It makes it fresh and exciting for the teams also, they get to travel around the country visiting places they probably would never have the opportunity to otherwise."

The event will be held on the first weekend of the school holidays, and many teams are planning to stay longer and explore the region, he says.

As well as 1500 participants and about 5000 supporters, Fa’avae has a staff team of 150.

The Spring Challenge course design team have stated that their challenge is to design a course that best showcases the region.

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"One reason we chose Te Anau is that we are aware of the benefits to a township by hosting the event.

"Not just economically, socially it's powerful as local people and businesses can have a strong sense of pride, the event meets many health objectives and promotes environmental preservation.

"We believe there is a social responsibility for us to be thoughtful and considerate where we take the event, to the communities we can reach.

In 2020, the team took the event to Christchurch in the wake of the Mosque shootings. In 2021, it went to Greymouth because that community had been hit hard by the Pyke River mining disaster.

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"We know Te Anau is hurting because of Covid, and if we can ease just a small bit of the pressure, we'll give it our best.

"We not driven by economics, as long as we can keep our event operating sustainably to provide the opportunity to women, and support communities, that's more than enough."

Fa'avae said Great South, the Southland Regional Development Agency, was really encouraging and supportive when we first raised the idea of a Te Anau Spring Challenge, back in 2020.

Te Anau will be the furthermost south the event has been staged, it was in Queenstown in 2013, Wanaka in 2015, and more recently, in Cromwell in 2019.

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"We're well aware that spring in the south can overlap with winter, and for that reason we’ve tended to stay in more northern regions, but as the event grows, so does the participants abilities, and we know they’re ready to tackle what the south can deliver.

"Adventure racing has been a huge part of my life, Te Anau and Fiordland is very significant for the sport, it is the official home of adventure racing as the first ever race finished there in 1989.

"The landscape, mountains, lakes, rivers and weather, have a power to them that is unprecedented. The people and communities of the south are really authentic and genuine, I feel very privileged to be taking the event to Te Anau, I have a strong sense it will be a very special event."

For now, all the participants will know is that Te Anau is the location. The exact course is not released until the eve of the race. Teams will be briefed on what equipment to bring, what time to be there and to have a healthy appetite for adventure.

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There are three main categories, these are known as the 3, 6 and 9-hour events, translating to beginner, intermediate and advanced.

The numbers are the winning times for each category, the course is open for 18-hours, from 6am to midnight on the event day. The majority of the teams complete their challenges in daylight, but some of the 9-hour teams can be racing into the night to reach the finish line.

Spring Challenge caters for all abilities, from first time adventure racers through to the world’s elite female athletes.

White it is a race, and Fa’avae says he protects the integrity of a sporting competition, for most of the women the event is about personal participation.

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"I know that the benefits the women receive are as much from the journey as the event itself.

"For most entrants, there are quantifiable benefits and proven outcomes, from being part of a team, to be working towards a goal, training for the event improves health, and learning new skills is in itself a journey of self-improvement. It is empowering and builds confidence.

"The Spring Challenge has done amazing things for thousands of women, and the credit goes to them for stepping up to the challenge."

Fa'avae says people who want to particpate need to get in quick.

"It’s important for anyone wishing to take part to get their entry in, some categories fill up very quickly."

Visit the Spring Challenge website for more details and entries.