OAR Northwest



Media Kit

OAR Northwest Backgrounder

OAR Northwest was founded in 2005 by four University of Puget Sound Rowing alumni and teammates as a non-profit organization whose goal was to participate in the first rowing race across the North Atlantic Ocean. OAR Northwest connects with partners to reach our expedition fundraising goals, while propelling businesses and students to their own extraordinary achievement.

Throughout the 18 month project timeline, OAR Northwest promoted corporate sponsors in Seattle media and gained international exposure on national news networks CNN & ABC, and programs like ABC’s Good Morning America and 20/20. Through our efforts, we donated over $50,000 to American Lung Association of Washington.

The team (including Jordan Hanssen and Greg Spooner) exceeded all expectations, enduring 72-days crossing 3,100 nautical miles of the North Atlantic to win the first international ocean rowing race from New York to England. By making landfall, OAR northwest became the first boat to ever row from mainland USA to mainland UK without assistance – recognized by the Guinness World Record organization.

After gaining two new members in 2009, OAR Northwest is now an international organization with offices in Washington State and British Columbia, with board members from across North America.

The crew for the next Atlantic crossing include Guinness World Record Holders and North Atlantic Ocean Rowing Race veterans Jordan Hanssen and Greg Spooner, Beijing Olympic Gold Medalist Adam Kreek and National Level Lightweight Rower Richard Tarbill.

This Pacific Northwest‐based 501(c)3 organization is currently raising awareness and funds for their Africa to the Americas rowing expedition, benefiting Right To Play International. OAR Northwest proves that solid teams faced with extreme challenges can inspire excellence.

OAR Northwest Africa to the America’s Row Fact Sheet

• In December of 2011, OAR Northwest will row from Africa to South America under human power alone

o Depart Monrovia, Liberia

o Arrive Catia del Mar, Venezuela (10km north of Caracas)

• OAR Northwest Africa to America’s row will raise $500,000 for the Right To Play communities

• The crew for its next Atlantic crossing: Guinness World Record Holders and North Atlantic Ocean Rowing Race veterans Jordan Hanssen and Greg Spooner, Beijing Olympic Gold Medalist Adam Kreek and National Level Lightweight Rower Richard Tarbill

• To date, no four-man ocean rowboat has had a crew with such diverse accolades

o Olympic gold medal

o Guinness World Record

• OAR Northwest became the first boat to ever row from mainland USA to mainland UK without assistance – recognized by the Guinness World Record organization

• OAR Northwest was founded in 2005 by four University of Puget Sound Rowing alumni and teammates as a non-profit organization

• Throughout the 18 month project timeline, OAR Northwest promoted corporate sponsors in Seattle media and gained international exposure on national news networks CNN & ABC

• The team (including Jordan Hanssen and Greg Spooner) endured 72-days crossing 3,100 nautical miles of the North Atlantic to win the first international ocean rowing race from New York to England

Row Boat:

• One-of-a-kind in North America; less than 10 in the world

• 29’ carbon-fiber shell

• Self-Righting (if flipped in heavy seas), Built to row in more types of water with greater efficiency

• Ocean Vessel-Grade Instrumentation

• Sliding Seats & Steering System

o Innovative design rolls smooth, true and silent

o Positions hold secure in rough seas and over great distance

o Highest quality bearings

o Seat height allows rowing in all types of water

o 70% of ocean rowers have copied these designs

• Ash core, carbon-wrapped oars

• High aspect ratio blade balances efficiency and manoeuvrability, excelling in flat water or 25 ft waves

• Hand-loomed wood handles with multiple alternative grips provide comfort and ergonomics that speak for themselves: 3200 nautical miles with 7 blisters between 4 rowers

• Adjustable height rigging allows boat to be rowed efficiently in rough and calm water

Nutrition

• Coordinating with a certified nutritional specialist

• Each rower will burn 6k-10k calories/day – almost impossible to supplement that loss with even a seady, high-caloric diet

Sleep Management

• Working with Harvard Medical School’s Division of Sleep Medicine

• Develop strategies to promote performance and maintain health on a 29-foot rowboat

• Create sleep/work pattern that maximizes the rowing crew’s strengths

Training

• Training includes the development of mental and emotional fitness, primarily through on-water training rows

• 4 scheduled training cruises where we learn volumes about our bodies and our crew:

1) Inland Puget Sound - circumnavigate Vashon Island and familiarize new recruits (12 hours)

2) Pacific Coast - big seas, seasickness (72 hours)

3) Strait of Juan de Fuca - Man-Overboard (MOB) & emergency situation preparedness drills (15 hours)

4) Crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca - big ships, gale-force winds (30 hours)

Documentary

• The Africa-to-the-Americas documentary is intended as a six-part series for Canadian broadcast and international distribution

• In development through Hi Fidelity HD, an award-winning documentary film company whose programs are seen all over the world including the United States, Britain, Germany, China, Spain, Brazil, Iran, Turkey and India

• HFHD owns and operates four commercial-free high-definition action-adventure channels in Canada

• 300+ hours of HD footage professionally captured by Flying Spot Entertainment (Seattle, WA) & the OARNW crew, following the 2006 Guinness World Record North Atlantic row

Route

• Leaving From Right To Play community in or around Monrovia around the first week in December of 2011

• Row from the coast of Liberia to the Cape Verde islands

• Across to Barbados and then on to Venezuela

• Arrive at Yacht Club in Catia la Mar, 10km north of Caracas, Venezuela

• Arrive/ Celebrate/ Conclude with visit of new Right to Play community in Caracas

About the Crew

Adam Kreek

• Age: 30 (DOB 12/2/80)

• Lives in Victoria, British Columbia - Canada

• Hometown: London, Ontario - Canada

• Married 5 years with a newborn son

• Occupation: Professional speaker, corporate training leader

• University: Stanford 2006

• Height: 6’4” (190 cm)

• Weight: 215# (97 Kg)

Adam is a champion who teaches success and well-being.

A self-described “positive realist,” he is an accomplished and in-demand professional speaker on the topics of achievement, leadership and teambuilding and is currently authoring a book which explores key techniques to maximize personal potential, thrive in team settings and constructively deal with uncertainty.

Adam holds a degree in Geotechnical Engineering and Hydrology from Stanford University and has studied human performance, achievement, and wellbeing for over a dozen years. During his 13 year rowing career, Adam has won over 60 medals, with 43 of these being gold medal or first place performances and was named Athlete Leader of the year at the 2010 Canadian Sports Awards.

He is an elected member of the Canadian Olympic Committee Board of Directors and Athletes Commission. He is an Ambassador for Right to Play, an international non‐profit organization that uses play to rehabilitate youth in disadvantaged regions of the world.

Always eager to take on new challenges, Adam will row across the Atlantic Ocean in December 2011 to advocate for health and wellness and to raise funds for Right To Play.

Top Athletic performances include:

• Olympic Champion 2008

• World Champion 2001 (U23), 2002, 2003, 2007

• Olympian 2004

• 6 World Cup Gold Medals

• 3 Grand Challenge Cups

• Partners of the Year - Canadian Sports Awards 2003, 2007, 2008

Greg Spooner

• Age: 31 (DOB 8/28/79)

• Lives in Bellingham, WA

• Hometown: Bainbridge Island, WA

• Occupation: Physical Therapist

• University: University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA - BA 2001, DPT 2010

• Height: 6’3” (190 cm)

• Weight: 200# (90 Kg)

Physical Therapist by trade, communicator by nature.

Greg knows how the human body works.  He knows how to fix muscles, tendons and ligaments when they seize.  Greg is an asset to any endeavour and these qualities make him especially effective of ensuring the health and effectiveness of the team on and off the water.

Since his 2006 record-breaking row across the North Atlantic Ocean, Greg has kept adventure pumping in his veins.  In 2008, he and Jordan circumnavigated Washington State’s rugged Olympic Peninsula by rowboat for the first time in recorded history.  After overcoming the extreme weight loss and painful obstacles of the 2006 row, Greg swore off all future ocean rows and focused on his academic pursuits.  However, this newly compiled team filled with professionalism, fun, and incomparable athletic talent has brought Greg earnestly back into the mix.

Jordan Hanssen

• Age: 28 (DOB 8/4/83)

• Lives in Seattle, WA

• Hometown: Albuquerque, NM

• Occupation: Travel writer, landlord

• University: University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA 2004

• Height: 6’5” (196 cm)

• Weight: 215# (97 Kg)

Jordan is a writer who loves adventure.

Insatiable curiosity with a desire to bring the experience home drives Jordan to see as much of the world as he can. The writer in him is compelled to share the tales.

A published author, he’s written stories on a bicycle trip across Australia, and his circumnavigation of Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula.  He is finishing his amusing and exciting book about the North Atlantic trip, scheduled to hit bookstores in spring 2012.

After winning the first rowing race across the North Atlantic Ocean he was mentally strengthened by, “the hardest thing I could have ever imagined.”  His resulting confidence and incredible stories have inspired Jordan to document his adventures in an entertaining way.

A deep love of exploration and travel has fuelled Jordan’s desire to dream up some unbelievable journeys: hiking in Tasmania, riding bamboo rafts in northern Thailand, and cycling the French Alps were just the beginning. Most recently, he canoed (and portaged) over 200 miles of New Mexico’s Rio Grande.  In between living and recording these adventures, he struggles with the continuous project of renovating his 96 year-old house.  Jordan is proud to be part of such a strong and diverse team, supporting Right to Play.

Richard Tarbill

• Age: 29 (DOB 12/29/81)

• Lives in Seattle, WA

• Hometown: Bainbridge Island, WA

• Occupation: Flight Test Engineer – Boeing 787, 747-8

• University: University of Washington 2004

• Height: 6’0” (183 cm)

• Weight: 185# (84 Kg)

Richard is a man who seeks challenge.

Richard is fiercely independent yet team oriented.  He holds himself and others to impossibly high standards and questions everything until committing himself fully to action. 

A lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest, he was encouraged by his parents to become not just a participant, but a student of life; to embrace challenges and master them.  Richard grew up playing the classical violin at an early age, performing with the National Youth Symphony and accepted to the University of Washington on a violin scholarship.  With no experience he joined the prestigious Husky men’s heavyweight crew team and rowed four years as a lightweight, giving up his violin scholarship to row.  After college, he learned to scull and compete at an international level.

Earning a B.Sc. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, he became an Aerodynamic Flight Test Engineer at Boeing in Seattle.  Currently, he helps flight test the new 747-8 and 787-8 Dreamliner.

Richard is excited about the upcoming Africa to the Americas 2011 rowing expedition and the chance to work with Right to Play. He believes that this upcoming adventure continually will put the crew in uncomfortable situations. This will force them to focus and reflect on what is the most important in life, rather than settling for the familiar, and comfortable.

Right To Play Backgrounder

Right To Play (RTP) was founded in 2000 by Johann Olav Koss, four-time Olympic gold medalist and social entrepreneur. RTP’s headquarter is located in Toronto, Canada. Multiple national offices located in Canada, Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

RTP is committed to every child’s right to play. RTP gives children a chance to become constructive participants in society, regardless of gender, disability, ethnicity, social background or religion. Through games and sports, RTP helps create social change in communities affected by war, poverty and disease. RTP creates a safe place for children to learn and fosters the hope that is essential for children to envision and realize a better future. To achieve this, RTP stimulates and motivates local communities to engage in entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainable development practices.

RTP trains local community leaders as coaches to deliver programs in 20 countries affected by war, poverty and disease in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America. A team of top athletes from more than 40 countries support RTP. As role models, these athletes inspire children and raise awareness about RTP internationally. RTP aims to engage key decision-makers from the development, sport, business, media and government sectors and further ensure every child benefits from the positive power of sport and play.

Each week, more than 700,000 children take part in regular sport and play activities and a combined total of more than 1 million children attend regular programming and special sports events and festivals. This is made possible by more than 15,000 local coaches, teachers and leaders.

Right To Play Venezuela will be launched in partnership with CAF in 2011. The OAR Northwest’s landing at Catia la Mar, Venezuela, will celebrate RTP’s expansion to Venezuela.

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Right To Play Fact Sheet

• Founded in 2000 by Johann Olav Koss, four-time Olympic gold medalist and social entrepreneur

• RTP stimulates and motivates local communities to engage in entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainable development practices

• RTP trains local community leaders to deliver programs in 20 countries affected by war, poverty and disease in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America

• Headquarters: Toronto, Canada

• National offices in Canada, Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and the US

• Currently RTP programs are implemented in: Benin, Botswana, Burundi, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories (West Bank and Gaza), Peru, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, and Uganda

• Runs programs in 21 countries around the world with Athlete Ambassadors from over 40 countries

• Funded through government agency and UN grants, and through public and private sponsorship

• The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child guides RTP’s work

Reach:

• By the end of 2009, RTP reached more than 700,000 children in weekly regular sport and play activities, with a combined total of more than 1 million children in regular programming and special sports events and festivals

• These activities were facilitated by more than 13,000 local coaches, leaders and teachers and more than 4,000 junior leaders

• Almost 50 per cent of children participating were girls

• More than 50 percent of coaches, leaders and teachers were female

Right To Play in Liberia

• RTP began operation in Liberia in March 2006

• Worked with volunteer Liberian Leaders as early as 2001 in camps in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Cote D’Ivoire, Benin and Ghana

• RTP continued its support following the end of the Civil War by establishing programs in Montserrado, Margibi and Bong Counties

• These communities are home to a large number of children who are in need of supportive and structured environments and programs

• These programs will promote the holistic development of children affected by conflict and improve their mental, physical, emotional, and social well-being through sport and play

• In the first year of the project, significant strides have already been made, particularly in the promotion of building peaceful and inclusive communities, as well as partner organization capacity development

• In December 2008, the first 25 leaders were trained in Red Ball Child Play and are engaging over 750 children in regular sport and play activities

• RTP activities have been implemented in VOA and Caldwell communities of Monrovia

|KEY FIGURES |2008 |

|Leaders Trained |25 |

|Child Reach |750 |

|Female Participation |47% |

Liberia[pic]

• Population below poverty line: 80% (2000 est.) ()

o Definition: National estimates of the percentage of the population falling below the poverty line are based on surveys of sub-groups, with the results weighted by the number of people in each group.

o Rank: 4

• An estimate of all people (adults and children) alive at year-end with HIV infection, whether or not they have developed symptoms of AIDS - 35,000 (2007 est.) ()

• An estimate of the number of adults and children who died of AIDS during a given calendar year - 2,300 (2007 est.) ()

• School life expectancy ((primary_to_tertiary_education).html)

o Definition: School life expectancy (SLE) is the total number of years of schooling (primary to tertiary) that a child can expect to receive, assuming that the probability of his or her being enrolled in school at any particular future age is equal to the current enrolment ratio at that age.

o (Primary to tertiary education) total: 11 years 

Male: 13 years 

Female: 9 years (2000)

• Literacy rate ()

o Definition: age 15 and over can read and write 

Total population: 57.5% 

Male: 73.3% 

Female: 41.6% (2003 est.)

Rank: 187

Venezuela[pic]

• Population below poverty line: 37.9% (yearend 2005 est.) ()

o Definition: National estimates of the percentage of the population falling below the poverty line are based on surveys of sub-groups, with the results weighted by the number of people in each group.

o Rank: 46

• An estimate of all people (adults and children) alive at year end with HIV infection, whether or not they have developed symptoms of AIDS - 110,000 (1999 est.) ()

• An estimate of the number of adults and children who died of AIDS during a given calendar year - 4,100 (2003 est.) ()

• School life expectancy ((primary_to_tertiary_education).html)

o Definition: School life expectancy (SLE) is the total number of years of schooling (primary to tertiary) that a child can expect to receive, assuming that the probability of his or her being enrolled in school at any particular future age is equal to the current enrolment ratio at that age.

o (Primary to tertiary education) total: 14 years 

Male: 13 years 

Female: 15 years (2000)

• Literacy rate ()

o Definition: age 15 and over can read and write 

Total population: 93% 

Male: 93.3% 

Female: 92.7% (2001 census)

Rank: 100

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