Registration for New Zealand's icon adventure race, the Southern Traverse 2001 opens March 1st at 9am.

Email and postal registrations are expected to flood in from around the world as adventure racers vie for entry into the famous Southern Traverse race. Race spots will be allocated on a first-in/first-served basis and a full field of 60 four person teams is expected to sign up.

Set to be held from the November 9-17, the race will return to its home base of Queenstown, New Zealand, and will highlight the spectacular scenery and terrain of the Southern Lakes Region. Typically, competitors will need good degrees of endurance, stamina and tight teamwork to cope with the continuous 24-hour race format and challenging course navigation.

"The Southern Traverse has become well-known worldwide for its toughness and this year's course will provide the same level of demands on the teams," says Southern Traverse course designer Geoff Hunt. "While all the course checkouts have not been completed yet, our knowledge of the local area will ensue the course is both difficult but rewarding and with a few twists and surprises for the local teams entered."

As one of the seven adventure races in the new Adventure Racing World Series, the Southern Traverse will act as a qualifying event for the Discovery Channel World Championship of Adventure Race. The winners of the Southern Traverse will be awarded a paid entry to the race and $5000 towards their costs. Second place will gain a guaranteed spot in the Championship.

Last year, 31 international teams competed in Canterbury for Southern Traverse 2000. Competitors came from as far a field as Sweden, Finland, France, Canada, USA, Spain, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, Argentina and Columbia. Already there has been strong interest from both Kiwi and international teams and Southern Traverse director Pascale Lorre says it's exciting to be bringing so many competitors to Queenstown and New Zealand.

"We continue to be truly committed to bring the best adventure race to New Zealand. The Southern Traverse race is recognized as an icon event around the world and our management team works hard to ensure that we maintain the highest degree of quality in staging events,"says Lorre. "This has again been highlighted by our continued partnership with Discovery Communications, Inc. who have chosen our company to manage the Discovery Channel World Championship Adventure Race.

The inaugural Discovery Channel World Championship Adventure Race will be held in Europe in September and will host leading adventure racers from around the world to determine the true world champions. The country destination is expected to be announced by next week.

Teams wishing to enter the Southern Traverse can register on line at www.southerntraverse.com, or by email: traverse@queenstown.co.nz; or by phone or fax, Phone: 64-3-441 8215, Fax: 64-3-441-8216. Southern Traverse Ltd. is a premier international Sport Event Management company. Southern Traverse Ltd. operates and manages elite events around the world, including the Discovery Channel World Championship Adventure Race, the AR World Series and New Zealand's icon adventure race, the Southern Traverse. The AR World Series is an elite international circuit of premiere adventure races representing seven countries, creating a 12-month calendar of professional events around the world. The series events are: Beast of the East-USA, Adrenalin Rush-UK and Ireland, Raid the North Extreme-Canada, Hi-Tec Adventure Quest - South Africa, Expedicao Mata Atlantica-Brazil, Subaru/NOC Merciless Mountain Melee-USA, and Southern Traverse-New Zealand. AR World Series events are qualifiers for the annual Discovery Channel World Championship Adventure Race.

For more information email Southern Traverse at traverse@queenstown.co.nz.