4vita in Nevis

18 May 2011

The new Star Event season kicked off a couple of weeks ago with the first three races on the sunny Caribbean island of Nevis and 4vita was there to assure that the unique sport experience will be accompanied by relevant efforts in the area of sustainability.

Despite its high importance, the environmental impact of the race itself was not the only concern of 4vita. Other objectives included raising the awareness of environmental and health issues among local community and making them participate in various actions promoting sustainable development.

What was done with our local partners

Island clean up in Nevis The week leading to TriStar races started with two days of cleanup. The idea of keeping the island tidy through collective action is not really new. Each year, Miriam Knorr of the Environmental Action Committee, a subcommittee of the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society, organizes a Clean Island Sweep. Joining forces with 4vita and shifting its date to make it coincide with the TriStar Nevis Event enabled to execute this action on a larger scale and get more people involved. Numerous neighbors, local companies and hotels joined the TriStar team and several athletes including Reggie Douglas and James Weekes to clean the island. Focusing mainly on the areas surrounding the race, volunteers cleaned their way through the Charlestown waterfront, Ouailie Beach and Gallows Bay. Great enthusiasm of the NYTC (Nevis Youth Tourism Council) combined with the material support of a local horse farm, the help of Solid Waste Management Nevis and Health Department… these were just few of the many elements of the whole mosaic that made both cleanups a great success. A big THANK YOU goes to all groups and volunteers involved in this conjoint initiative.

Still, the cleanups were not the only initiative organized by 4vita. The end of the week has been dedicated to health and its connection to, no surprises here, sports. The question of doing sports the right way became the main topic of seminars that were held free for a wide public. Seminars delivered by professional athletes participating in the TriStar Nevis race gave amateurs insight on how to approach sports from the right angle. Three sessions were focused on nutrition and strength training and information on how to enhance performance and prevent injuries. The audience has been pleased by the amount of interesting and useful information provided by their favorite athletes. During the rich round-table discussion that followed, Wolf Guembel and Emma-Kate Lidbury tried to answer all the questions raised by the inquisitive audience. The seminars were accompanied by a possibility to get a massage, or a free body-fat and muscle-balance analysis.

Seeing a great response from all the participants, 4vita will be pleased to visit Nevis again, promising an extended program for everyone to enjoy. Nevis can look forward to a week full of healthy lifestyle and sports advice also in 2012.

15 October 2010

How to organize an event sustainable

4vita was involved for the third time in the triathlon of Monaco to offer and present to the public solutions for environmental and health sustainability.

In 2008, the project was born and Monaco race was the first step of a long list of events that adopted 4vita ® solutions to act in the fields of environment, health and sports. Since then the initiative was joined by other races organized in Nice, Austria, Spain, Germany and Estonia. By providing simple and practical actions, the 4vita ® team made the public and athletes to future ambassadors for the environment.

The TriStar111 Monaco 2010, was highly performing on waste recycling: 1.2 tonnes of waste of which 30% were recyclable packaging (PET bottles, cans, cans and cartons) were recovered and sent to the sorting center Cannes to be transformed into new products.

This action was carried out in partnership with SMA (Société Monégasque d'Assainissement). The ambassadors of 4vita and the municipal team have supported the organization by setting up more than 100 yellow, grey, blue and green containers to that the waste could be sorted on all the course and race venues. Eco zones have been set up for athletes at the Energy Stations along the race course to dispose more than 3,000 cans and cups. The organizers have been very strict: disposing waste outside the Eco Zones was a red card! On the RUN Energy Stations tab water replaced the water bottle. A pipe was put in place so that we could waive more than 2000 PET bottles.

At the end of the event, we have arranged all recovered recyclable material to a large pile of yellow bags at the entrance of the Chapiteau de Fontvieille. The purpose of this operation is to inform athletes and volunteers about the impact of an event like this. And to show, that if a responsible management of waste was not put in place, all this would have been burned instead of giving it a new life and by this working to reduce consumption of natural resources and energy.

The development of a carbon footprint study is also underway, with the support of the Foundation Prince Albert II, and we hope to advance this approach in the future. We recognize the need to reduce the impact wherever we can and acknowledge the importance of this issue like the movement of athletes.

Concerning aspects of health and sport, 4vita has partnered with sports coaches WTS. The objective of this partnership is to reflect with professionals on the most appropriate solutions to the development of nutritional services on site and advice on physical training of amateur athletes who are new to triathlon.

Depending on the effort and difficulty of the course and distance remaining, we are steadily reconsidering the products we provide in the Energy Stations. A true reflection of state of science is our approach in order to support the athletes to better manage their resources on race day and throughout the year.

At the 4vita booth on the Star & Co Village the 4vita team offered information and actions to the athletes during the three days of the event: they were able to better know the simple solutions to reduce their impact on the environment, how to manage their race and test their fitness with the help of a WTS coach.

A conference on the theme: "Be Powerful, Durable: how to progress in managing its health capital?" was also proposed to inform and advise athletes on the benefits of choosing a healthy diet and physical training most suitable for better results. Among the speakers, we were able to welcome Jean-Baptiste Wiroth the trainer and partner of 4vita ® on the health component, Patrick Wiaux, sports nutrition consultant, PRO athletes Chris McCormack and Marcel Zamora, and the amateur athlete Laurent Castillo, Professor of Surgery, CHU Nice - 5 participations at Ironman France.

Reflections for the 2011 Monaco TriStar111 begin immediately and throughout the year on the website www.4vita.org . This site gives all the information about the actions to be taken and advice from professionals in the fields of health, sport and environment.

25 October 2010

Experience the paradise- and preserve it

It must appear as a paradise: beautiful white and black sand beaches, a profuse and colorful vegetation and the fog-shrouded volcanoes. All this is characteristic of Nevis and we want to invite everyone to experience this paradise.

So that it remains the paradise that it is now we as the organizers of the StarMile2.5 Nevis and the TriStar Nevis co-operate with the 4vita Association. Its goal is to promote sustainability in sports and events and is already working with other TriStar races.

Together we will develop and implement activities that minimize the impact of the event on the environment, and even set positive accents. We do not want to restrict our athletes, but rather involve them actively as ambassadors for the cause "better sport, better earth".

In addition the 4vita program has a second field of sustainability set into the limelight: health protection. Therefore, we will give you in the months before the event via the newsletter and website as well as on spot information and tips for a sustainable preparation for the event so that you can experience a unique event in all respects. And for the local community we will offer in collaboration regional institutions a variety of actions set up to promote healthy sports.

So that we not only preserve the paradise, but also the health.

TriStar races join the “Go Green” Program

16 August 2010

Our sustainable partner TriStar is always looking for solutions that help to achieve a goal of sustainability in sports events. Now the races of the series have joined the Go Green Program of longterm partner active.com:

Next to the striving for high quality service to our athletes we (TriStar and active.com) share the conjoint goal of sustainability in events.

While Star Events is working in close partnership with the 4vita Association in order to establish sustainable solutions in fields of health and environment in all its events active.com has launched a program to drive eco-friendly practices within endurance race community: The Go Green program. This initiative was set up in cooperation with Athletes for a Fit Planet and ideally matches with an important element of the TriStar philosophy: sustainability and environmental responsibility.

Designed to encourage and enable the endurance sports community to embrace green practices, Active’s “Go Green” program recognizes and rewards race organizations that commit to adopting environmentally responsible practices, and gives consumers access to an extensive directory of green races around the country.

By signing up for the program and taking the Pledge of Sustainability, race organizations make a public commitment to initiate a minimum of 10 specific practices to reduce the environmental impact of their events. Active’s list of “Go Green” criteria range from the elimination of paper registration forms and providing onsite recycling bins to supporting local environment causes.

Working on sustainability from the first day on and in close cooperation with the 4vita Association we are happy to fulfill the criteria of the Go Green Program and by joining the initiative we want to underline the importance and state on our shared vision of sustainable events.

Be powerful and durable

27 August 2010

How to progess in managing your health capital

To be successful in a race like the TriStar you should prepare carefully in order to be develop your physical and mental best. So it’s also about managing your health capital.

4vita has set ist goal to promote healthy and sustainable approach in sports. As the partner for sustainability in TriStar111 Monaco in environmental and health protection 4vita is offering a special service.

On Saturday 4th of September (11h30) all athletes and visitors of the event are invited to attend a free seminar under the motto “BE POWERFUL AND DURABLE: doing sports while maintaining your health” at the media center at the Star&Co Expo Village at Larvotto beach.

Experts of WTS will give you information and advices on physical preparation and nutrition for sports while you also have the opportunity to seek further information and discussion with athletes and specialists. We will support you to find a sustainable approach for your sports in order to ensure the best health and performance.

Therefore we have invited experts to give their expertise and share their experience with you. Jean-Baptiste Wiroth from coaching company WTS will give you an insight view on the key points to make your health capital grow through the preparation for an ambitious sports challenge like TriStar111 Monaco. And we will have experienced athletes talking about their sustainable sports approach. You will have the chance to enter the discussion and get answers on all your questions regarding the management of your health capital.