Posted by: Tom Boyd
The concept of a leader’s jersey has roots that go back to the origin of competitive sports, but in all that time, there’s never been a leader’s jersey quite like the ones that will adorn a few fortunate athletes at the 2017 GoPro Mountain Games in Vail.
It’s all part of a new partnership between L.L.Bean and the Vail Valley Foundation’s GoPro Mountain Games. The organizations today announced that L.L.Bean is the exclusive apparel sponsor of the GoPro Mountain Games, which enters its 16th year of bringing the best all-around mountain experience available anywhere in the world to Vail, Colorado, June 8-11, 2017.
“We’re extremely excited to be the official and exclusive apparel sponsor of the GoPro Mountain Games and for our partnership with the Vail Valley Foundation,” said Christina Semanyshyn, partnership marketing manager for L.L.Bean. “For more than 104 years, we’ve been celebrating the outdoors by offering a variety of rugged outdoor gear and apparel. Combined with our solid expertise and know-how, this event represents our love of the outdoor lifestyle and all that it encompasses. We were also attracted to the family friendly nature that the Mountain Games embody. We believe there’s terrific synergy among us, the VVF and the GoPro Mountain Games and we look forward to infusing the L.L.Bean outdoor brand into this dynamic and exhilarating event.”
The new partnership will be welcome news to the more than 3,300 athletes of all ages expected to participate in the Mountain Games in 2017. Registrants in the event’s mountain sports and lifestyle offerings like kayaking, mountain biking, trail running, yoga, music, art, and culture activities will receive an L.L.Bean high-performance active top inside the always-coveted athlete bag.
As part of the partnership, L.L. Bean is also the title sponsor of Gear Town, the vibrant and engaging exposition element of the Mountain Games that winds through the heart of the event throughout all of Vail Village’s pedestrian streets.
In addition, L.L.Bean is providing an L.L.Bean NeoShell Jacket each day to the men’s and women’s leaders in the TriggerPoint Ultimate Mountain Challenge. An event unlike any competition anywhere else in the world, the new Ultimate Mountain Challenge is a grueling, multi-day competition where competitors can earn points toward victory by finishing, placing, or winning in almost any of the 30-plus events at the GoPro Mountain Games (learn more about the Ultimate Mountain Challenge rules at www.mountaingames.com).
“Every year we see the best kayakers, runners, mountain bikers and mountain athletes compete in front of tens of thousands of spectators at the GoPro Mountain Games,” said the Vail Valley Foundation’s Dave Dressman. “This year, for the first time ever, the world will get to see a real-time competition between kayakers and mountain bikers, runners and road cyclists, all of them competing against one another for a piece of the $8,000 Ultimate Mountain Challenge prize purse. Also for the first time ever, L.L.Bean is the official apparel provider and we couldn’t be happier to be partnering with such a well-known and beloved brand.”
Each day, the leading male and female athletes in the Ultimate Mountain Challenge will be provided with specially-branded L.L.Bean high-performance active tops and an L.L.Bean NeoShell Jacket to wear and signify their place atop hundreds of other competitors.
“We expect our Ultimate Mountain Challenge leaders are going to be of all ages and various sport disciplines – you may have a teenage mountain biker alongside a 40-something kayaker on the podium – but what they will all have in common is a love for the mountains and the outdoors. It’s only fitting that they’re in L.L.Bean apparel, a company that has been an integral part of the outdoor industry from the very beginning, as they take on this unprecedented new challenge,” Dressman said.
The TriggerPoint Ultimate Mountain Challenge is one of many options at the GoPro Mountain Games June 8-11. Spectating is FREE, and athletes, yogis, music and art lovers of all ages can sign up and take part in an event to match their age and skill set (even toddlers can compete for free in the EverBank X-Country Mountain Bike competition). With a full lineup of everything from yoga to DockDogs to the Kyocera Mountain Mud Run, the 2017 GoPro Mountain Games will have thousands of people up on their feet, enjoying the mountains, and looking good doing it in their L.L.Bean apparel.
Share this Story:
