The past few weeks I've been working with some new close friends to launch an organization called "Ninja Warrior Games" (soon to be changed to "Urban Ninja Challenge"). We worked a ridiculous number of hours throughout these weeks: on our computers creating logos, graphics and the website, driving around putting up flyers and posters and talking to local businesses, planning and designing courses and obstacles and, of course, putting in the plethora of physical labor required to build the nearly 20 different obstacles we came up with for our first event!!
Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep and things have been incredibly crazy. But, we all felt rewarded as the event came to fruition and we realized what all of our work was bringing to our participants. The smiles on all the faces reminded us why we wanted to do this in the first place - to give people a new way to have fun while staying healthy and fit. We wanted to get kids and adults excited about moving, excited to learn new ways to exercise and use their bodies, and excited to be part of a new community that revolves around those concepts.
Our first event brought together several types of disciplines and activities in 32 unique workshops in just 2 days! We had some incredible trainers and coaches in attendance:
- Kurt Gowan & Jeff Strening (Parkour Ways)
- Darek Hendrych, Remy Olson, Dominik Pieklo (Dog House Crossfit)
- Chad Zwadlo (Fight or Flight Academy)
- Don Hyun Kiolbassa (Martial Artist, author - www.donhyunkungfu.com/)
- Dan Houlihan (MovNat Certified Trainer, Emergence Wellness)
- Kendra Charts (www.YogaSlackers.com)
- Maddie (Rock Climbing Workshops)
- Lillia (Judo Throws/Takedowns)
The turnout for participants was great, totaling approximately 110 people over the weekend! We had a lot of help from some great volunteers while we ran the courses and workshops and for setup and take down of the obstacles - thanks to everyone who gave us a hand!
We can't wait to get our next event rolling! We've already been scoping out locations and having meetings about your feedback and how we can improve or streamline future events! Follow us on Facebook or check our website for updates about our next events!
