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New Zealand launches new games for the new millennium

9 February 1999

A major international sporting event focusing on new and experimental
sports is to be held in Christchurch, New Zealand, one week before the
Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Called the Fringe Games, it aims to move beyond traditional sport in an
exploration of human potential.

�There is a hunger for new and exciting events,� says Fringe Games creator
and international best selling author, Burton Silver. �People are going to
be able to watch formation running, the 100m slalom and mechanized running
for the first time, plus a host of other dynamic sports that have never
been staged on an athletic track before.�

Other events include the freestyle long jump, the freestyle high jump and
open design cycling events. �Many people don�t realize that athletes are
constrained by traditional rules of limitation and that there are ways of
jumping higher or further, or cycling faster. The Fringe Games will allow
us to celebrate our true potential by removing those constraints and we
confidently expect to see many new records set at these inaugural games,�
Silver says.

Experienced New Zealand event organizer, Arthur Klap, who has been
enlisted to help put the first games together, says that the Fringe Games
will stretch orthodox perceptions of how sports events can be run.

�This will be one of the most exciting games imaginable,� says Klap. �The
open approach will allow athletes to reach new levels of skill and
performance which have not been possible in international competition
until now.�

The Fringe Games are likely to be staged around the time of major
international sporting events in order to highlight other possibilities in
sport, just as fringe arts festivals highlight alternative movements in
the arts. Future Fringe Games will be held in countries which are �fringe�
to countries holding major sporting fixtures.

International and local interest in the games has been instant.

�The concept has already been run past international broadcast consultants
and potential sponsors and we have been delighted with the interest in
it,� says Silver.

�What is of particular interest is how people we have been speaking with
overseas have all said how appropriate it is for the Fringe Games concept
to be coming from New Zealand. We seem to be well known for innovation and
invention. Sir Edmund Hillary�s name inevitably comes up, as well as bungy
jumping, zorbing, and jet boat racing. Several have mentioned New
Zealand�s leading international yacht designers, and, of course, the All
Blacks.�

The first Fringe Games will be held at QEII Park in Christchurch between
the 8th and 11th of September 2000. This is a week before the Olympic
Games, although the organizers point out that there is no association
between the two events.

People interested in competing in the Fringe Games, or visiting
Christchurch during the event, can find full information on the
organisation�s website at http://www.fringegames.org

ENDS