THE CONCEPT

Green Games for Eco-sports(wo)men

The first edition of the World environment games will take place from October 23 to November 7, 2004. These multisport games, supported by the State government of Bahia, have been conceived and programmed to be staged there every year.

Before all, they are games - Not just a traditional sport event, with its share of stressful opposition, and dominance of time and rankings. They will bring to sports(wo)men from all horizons and to their relatives, a rare opportunity to share privileged moments in an absolutely unique environment, thanks to sport.

Then they are environment games - They will offer a fantastic occasion to discover a full-scale ecosystem, to immerse into it thanks to a wide variety of non-motorised, non-polluting, and environment-friendly sports disciplines.

13 sports are on the official programme of the first edition of these Games: aquathlon, beach soccer, beach volley-ball, canoeing, duathlon, enduro challenge, in-line skating, mountain biking, running, surfing, swimming, tennis and triathlon.

Opening these Games, the 1^st World conference on sport & environment, that will gather world renowned personalities and will contribute to underlining the role that sport may and should play in the education to the environment, in its protection, in its rehabilitation.

THE GAMES SITES

Brazil is the largest country in Latin America (being e.g. 16 times the size of France), and the only one where Portuguese is the official language. It was discovered in April 1500 by navigator Pedro Alvarez Cabral.

The State of Bahia is located in country's Nordeste; it is the region in South America that is closest to Europe and Africa. Its capital city Salvador, third largest city in the country, boasts close to 2,5 millions inhabitants.

All events on the programme of the World environment games will take place in natural environment, on two distinct sites North and South of Bahia's capital city:

- the North site goes from Praia do Forte, an ecological paradise situated along Linha Verde 55km away from Salvador, to Costa do Sauípe, a luxury eco-resort located 20km further;

- the South site goes from Ilhéus, a charming provincial town of 200,000 inhabitants 450km away from Salvador, to Itacaré, a magnificent and exotic village that one discovers along the cocoa coast, at the very end of the eco-highway Estrada Parque Ilhéus-Itacaré, that meanders by the Atlantic ocean through Mata Atlântica, a breathtaking coastal rainforest.

Air and ground transport to these sites is fast and comfortable:

- Salvador boasts an international airport that many airline companies, among the biggest, serve from most world's major capital cities

- it only takes an hour to reach the North site headquarters by bus

- transfer towards the South site combines air (domestic flight to Ilhéus - 35min) and terrestrial means (Itacaré is located 65km away from Ilhéus).

THE DISCIPLINES* ON THE GAMES PROGRAMME

(* Events introduced by alphabetical order)

AQUATHLON

Location - Lagoa da Vaca Tonta (Sauípe) and its surroundings

Format - Run - Swim - Run

Number of races - 2 (individual, team)

Number of race days - 1

Specificity - For the team event (teams of 2), team member A performs the two runs, and team member B the swim section of the race.

BEACH SOCCER

Location - Costa do Sauípe

Format - A tournament with a qualification phase first, direct elimination next, until the finals

Number of matches - 296 (for 80 teams registered)

Number of tournament days - 6

Specificity - 2x12min matches. Teams of 5 players (+5 substitutes, maximum).

BEACH VOLLEY BALL

Location - Costa do Sauípe

Format - A tournament with a qualification phase first, direct elimination next, until the finals

Number of matches - Depending on the number of teams registered

Number of tournament days - 6

Specificity - 1 set of 25 points for each match. Teams of 3 players (+1 substitute, maximum).

CANOE / KAYAK

Location - Pojuca, Imbassai, and Sauípe, rivers

Format - single, double and triples canoes

Number of races - 2

Number of race days - 2

Specificity - For the discovery race, there will be only one start for all competitors; this is a mixed course (ocean, river, lake). Teams registered in the Bahia Team Enduro Challenge 2004 (see after) use triple canoes. They start in the order and with the time differences of the overall rankings of the Enduro Challenge before this final event.

DUATHLON

Location - Costa do Sauípe

Format - Run - Bike - Run

Number of races - 2 (individual, team)

Number of race days - 1

Specificity - For the team event (teams of 2), team member A performs the two runs, and team member B the bike section of the race.

ENDURO CHALLENGE (Bahia Team Enduro Challenge 2004)

Location - Praia do Forte and Costa do Sauípe

Format - A multi-sport event for teams of three, racing in 5 disciplines on 5 consecutive days: mountain biking (individual), swimming (team relay), in-line skating (individual), running (individual) and canoeing (team).

Number of races - 5

Number of race days - 5

Specificity - The overall team-only classification is based on the addition of times of all individual team members (for the mountain biking, running and in-line skating events) or of the team (for the swimming and canoeing events) at each of the 5 races. For the ultimate event (canoe triple), a hunting-start system is implemented: the leading team of the overall Enduro Challenge ranking starts first, the others follow respecting the time difference in the ranking. Finish order at this last event is therefore also the finish order of the Bahia Team Enduro Challenge 2004.

IN-LINE SKATING

Location - North site: Costa do Sauípe; South site: Ilhéus to Itacaré (under investigation)

Format - A short (a) and a long (b) course events are scheduled in Costa do Sauípe. A discovery event (c) is also planned along Linha Verde, between Praia do Forte and Mangue Seco. The Itacaré event (d) is still under evaluation.

Number of races - 3 (or 4)

Number of race days - 3 (or 4)

Specificity - (Costa do Sauípe) (a) For the sprint event (5-8km), all series would take place during the day, the grand final after sunset; the course is quite challenging. (b) The roller marathon event (42km) will be performed on the same circuit, on excellent asphalt. (c) The discovery event (planned distance: 150km) will start before dawn and may be performed by the participants integrally or in parts. (d) (South site) the second discovery event would start in Ilhéus, cross Mata Atlântica and finish in Itacaré; the circuit under investigation is extremely technical and demanding.

MOUNTAIN BIKING

Location - Praia do Forte, Imbassai and Costa do Sauípe

Format - Nature biking, short and long distance, on mixed surfaces

Number of races - 2

Number of race days - 2

Specificity - Both events use a mixed-surface course: asphalt, cobblestones, dirt, trail and sand.

RUNNING

Location - Praia do Forte and Costa do Sauípe; Itacaré (under investigation)

Format - Nature run, on mixed surfaces

Number of races - 2 or 3

Number of race days - 2 or 3

Specificity - The events staged in Praia do Forte / Costa do Sauípe use a mixed-surface course: asphalt, cobblestones, dirt, trail and sand. The Itacaré running event (if confirmed) is exclusively performed on sand, along the ocean between Serra Grande and Ilhéus.

SWIMMING

Location - Lagoa da Vaca Tonta (Sauípe)

Format - The course crosses the entire lake; to be achieved one or several times, depending on the race

Number of races - 2 (individual, team)

Number of race days - 1

Specificity - For the team event (teams of 3), the number of laps and order of swimmers in the relay is left to the teams to decide.

SURFING

Location - Costa do Sauípe

Format - Mixed: learning sessions & competition

Number of events - 2

Number of days - 3

Specificity - Format1: learning sessions and exchanges between professionals, intermediates and beginners. Format2: head-to-head competition.

TENNIS

Location - Costa do Sauípe

Format - Tournament

Number of events - 1

Number of event days - 6

Specificity - 15 tennis courts available (one of the most prestigious tennis complex areas in Brazil).

TRIATHLON

Location - Costa do Sauípe; Itacaré (to be confirmed)

Format - Swim - Bike - Run

Number of races - 2

Number of race days - 2

Specificity - (Costa do Sauípe) The short course triathlon will be staged on a fast and technical course. (Itacaré) Long distance triathlon: a 3-km swim in the mouth of Rio de Contas, a 130-km tough bike course between Itacaré and Ilhéus (out and back), a 30-km run in Mata Atlântica (out and back). Should the Itacaré long course event not be validated by the organisers, a long course triathlon (same distance) would be considered in and around Sauípe.

WORLD CONFERENCE "SPORT & ENVIRONMENT"

At the opening of these World environment games, two conference days will be dedicated to the environment and to the links and role that sport could play in its promotion and protection.

The aim of this international gathering is to bring experts and world renowned personalities to talk on environment, on the dangers it has to face today, on the policies deployed to safeguard it, and on the role that sport may play in this alarming context.

A number of distinguished speakers are expected at this World conference:

• 　
• representatives of entities such as the United nations organisation, the European union, the European environment agency, or the European space agency;
• representatives from the International Olympic committee, National Olympic committees, and National and International sports federations;
• representatives from various Governments, such as Brazil, France, Germany, Great Britain or Portugal;
• decision makers of companies and industries having developed a policy on environment and sport;
• biologists, philosophers, sociologists and sport experts;
• pupils and students participating in Sport & Environment projects within the scope of these World environment games.

SOCIAL PROGRAMME / FESTIVE ACTIVITIES

A number of other events will complete the official programme of these World environment games:

• 　
• the opening ceremony (Costa do Sauípe)
• the closing ceremony (Costa do Sauípe)
• a series of meetings with biologists, and presentations on Bahia's fauna and flora (Praia do Forte, Sapiranga and Camurujipe reserves, TAMAR project, etc.)
• concerts of famous Brazilian bands, such as Olodum (Costa do Sauípe)

TIME SCHEDULE

Note/ The following information is provisional; it features all official activities of week-1.

CONTACTS

The 2004 World Environment Games™

Europe & North America

Didier Lehénaff

3, Rue Froidevaux 75014 Paris ? France

Tel/ + 33 (0)6 08 01 98 14

e-mail/ worldevents110@wanadoo.fr

The 2004 World Environment Games™

Brazil & South America

João Calazans Filho

Rua Numa Pompílio Bittencourt, 999

Pernambués

Salvador/Ba. ? Brazil

Tel/ +5571 480 6596 or +5571 9981 6040

e-mail/ worldevents110@ig.com.br

The 2004 World Environment Games™

Official world-wide Travel Agency

ALL MAP, Viagens e Turismo

José Mauricio Ferreira

Rua Osvaldo Cruz, 372 - Shopping Yemanjá Trade sala 202

Rio Vermelho CEP 41940-000 Salvador/Ba. ? Brazil

Tel/ +5571 248 7575 - Fax/ +5571 240 2666

e-mail/ turismo@allmap.com.br