The 11th edition of the Pentathlon des neiges presented by MEC will be held on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City, Canada, from 31 January to 1 March 2015. Last year, the event attracted a record 5,338 participants, from 2 years old to 81 years young, including several Olympians.
The International Triathlon Union (ITU) has qualified the 2015 Pentathlon des neiges as ‘the world’s biggest winter multisport event.’
The Pentathlon des neiges includes four weekends of activities where families, children, leisure sportsmen and sportswomen, and high performance athletes are invited to discover and delight in the joys of winter.
The program includes several challenges where participants can compete solo or in teams of two to five participants in five disciplines: biking, running, cross-country skiing, skating and snowshoeing.
Aside from the pentathlon activities, a few triathlon competitions – snowshoeing, skating and cross-country skiing – are scheduled as well as the presentation of the World Snowshoe Championships.
“We invite Quebecers to embrace their ‘nordicity’ and reconnect with winter by taking up one or more of the challenges proposed at the Pentathlon des neiges,” said François Calletta, General Manager of the event.
“The popularity of winter sports is fast growing, and our program was designed to allow everyone to have fun and enjoy the winter season. This year, we’re expecting more than 5,700 participants… including you! This is an event you won’t want to miss!” he added.
“I’m really looking forward to taking part in the Pentathlon this year with my spouse and my two children, ” said new event spokesperson, actor Patrick Hivon. “I think it’s important to find original ways to enjoy winter, instead of complaining about the snow and cold. My family likes to move, and we feel that physical activity is very important.
“The variety of the challenges offered at the Pentathlon allows each and every one of us to push our limits and have fun. Whether you’re a hard-core sports enthusiast or a couch potato, I invite you to rise to the challenge with us!,” added the Pentathlon des neiges spokesman.
To help the athletes signed up to the Pentathlon des neiges, MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op), as presenting sponsor of the event, has put together an eight-week training program that will start in January 2015 at the MEC stores in Quebec City, Montreal and Longueuil.
To live the experience to the fullest, MEC will offer training in one of the four disciplines: biking, running, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
In addition to promoting health through physical activity for thousands of participants, the Pentathlon des neiges contributes to collective health by helping thousands of underprivileged children to access extra-curricular sports through the À l’école moi j’bouge program of the Réseau du Sport Étudiant du Québec, in the Quebec and Chaudière-Appalaches regions.
Since 2010, more than C$70,000 has been donated to the program, helping more than 2,000 elementary school children.
Originally founded in Lac-Beauport in 2005, the Pentathlon des neiges has been held on the Plains of Abraham since 2008. Sanctioned by Triathlon Québec and by the Fédération de patinage de vitesse du Québec, the Pentathlon des neiges is positioned as the only event of its kind in the world, and is ‘the world’s biggest winter multisport event’.
To complete the Pentathlon des neiges, athletes are required to perform various disciplines consecutively ? biking, running, cross-country skiing, skating and snowshoeing ? either solo, in tandem or in teams.
The Pentathlon des neiges is organized by Groupe Pentathlon, a non-profit organization whose mission is to develop innovative sporting events that that have a major impact and that bring people together so they can enjoy life-enhancing emotions and experiences.
