WHAT IS XTERRA:  The world’s premier off-road triathlon.  In Maui it combines a 1.5-kilometer (1-mile) swim that starts in front of the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua … a 30-kilometer (18.6-miles) mountain bike that climbs more than 3,000 feet up and down the lower slopes of the West Maui Mountains, and a 10.5-kilometer (6.5-miles) trail run that traverses forest trails and beach sand.  Top pros finish in roughly two-and-a-half hours.

WHO RACES IN MAUI:  A sold-out field of 850 racers including 70 professionals and more than 700 amateurs representing 43 countries & 43 U.S. states, ages 14 (Tate Haugan) to 78 (Ron Hill).  95% of the field is from out of state.

WHEN:  The XTERRA World Championship starts at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 1.  The XTERRA Kapalua 5km and 10km trail runs and costume contest are on Halloween day, Saturday, Oct. 31 at 9:00 a.m.

WHERE: At The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua on Maui’s northwest coast.

WHY:  The XTERRA World Championship race is the last in a series of more than 100 off-road triathlon races held in 30 countries and 37 U.S. States.  The concept is to provide a bona-fide world championship for amateur and pro off-road triathletes. For pros there is $100,000 in prize money at stake.

HOW THEY QUALIFIED:  Amateurs enter the World Championship through one of two means:
1. Earn a slot by qualifying as one of the top finishers in their age group at an XTERRA Championship race in South Africa, Philippines, New Zealand, Saipan, Costa Rica, Malta, Tahiti, Reunion Island, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Guam, Australia, Malaysia, Spain, Greece, Brazil, Switzerland, France, Canada, Italy, Mexico, Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Great Britain and Alabama, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and Virginia in the United States.  For those “lucky-you-live-Hawaii-guys” there was a local qualifyier, Freedom Fest! at Kualoa Ranch on Oahu.
2. Enter through the at large drawing – a limited number of slots were offered on a first-come first-serve basis in January.

XTERRA? BACKGROUND:  This is year 20 for the XTERRA World Championship on Maui – the birthplace of off-road triathlon.  The first XTERRA race was held here on November 3, 1996 with just 123 participants and was televised on Fox Sports Net.  The demand for the sport of XTERRA exploded thereafter and there are now more than 30,000 competitors from all 50 states and more than 50 countries worldwide.

TELEVISION:  This will be the 20th straight year a nationally broadcast one-hour show will be produced on the event, which showcases Maui’s natural beauty. The 2015 XTERRA World Championship will be seen by more than four million viewers via national syndication (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX) and Fox Sports Network.  We are also planning expanded European distribution. This year’s show will start its run in national syndication in mid-January 2016.

ECONOMIC IMPACT:  Direct visitor expenditures from the 2014 XTERRA?World Championship were $5.7 million.  The average length of stay on Maui is 7.1 nights (9.3 nights in Hawaii), the average party size is 3.1, and 58% of the field had a household income of more than $100,000 (expenditure source: DBEDT).

Online Resources: www.facebook.com/XTERRAplanet … Videos: www.xterra.tv … Event: www.xterramaui.com

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