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The DARE Adventure Race
Once a year, schools from across Europe and beyond send teams to a village on an Austrian lake to race up a mountain, across the water and off a cliff.
The DARE Adventure Race is an inter-school adventure race hosted by St. Gilgen International School in the Salzkammergut, 35 minutes from Salzburg. Teams of four students take on a course combining running, climbing, cycling, watersports and orienteering, with problem-solving challenges along the way.
It is demanding, entirely outdoors, and built around teams rather than individuals: a team finishes together or not at all.
Earth, water, dust and dirt. A mental and physical challenge. Push yourself and your team to the limit. Are you brave enough?
Around 25 teams · 100 students · schools from six countries · 20+ nationalities
Location: St. Gilgen, Salzburg, Austria
Date: 11th and 12th June 2027
Sign Up Closes: Confirmation is subject to availability – closing date Friday, 21th May 2027
Earth, water, dust and dirt. A mental and physical challenge. Push yourself and your team to the limit. An unforgettable experience. Are you brave enough?
Who takes part
The DARE is an inter-school event. Each year around 25 teams and 100 students travel to St. Gilgen from international and independent schools across Europe and beyond. Recent races have brought teams from the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria, and from as far as Kenya, with more than 20 nationalities represented among the students.
Schools that have taken part include Gymnázium Evolution, the International School of The Hague, International School Augsburg, Amadeus International School Vienna, St Andrew’s School Turi and Mittelschule St. Gilgen, alongside teams from St. Gilgen International School.
Teams compete in two age categories, Senior and Junior, so schools can enter students across a wide age range.
More than a race
The race is one day. The event is two.
Teams arrive on the Friday to collect their starter packages and attend the race briefing. The evening is a pasta party on campus — the first chance for students and staff from different schools to sit down together.
Saturday runs from a rolling start in the early morning through to the awards ceremony in the afternoon, and closes with a barbecue.
For many of the schools that return each year, this is the point. Students spend a weekend alongside peers from other countries and the friendships that form over a shared exhaustion tend to outlast the results sheet.
Race Description
- Each team, comprising 4 students, must complete the whole course. Teams have to arrive and leave each station together. If one member is seen far behind or ahead, the team will be disqualified.
- The whole team has to cross the finish line at the school campus at the same time.
- There is a time limit for the course. If a team fails to arrive at a check point in the designated time, they will be removed from the race.
- A team will be removed from the race if they fail to check in at any check point at any point on the course.
- There are physical challenges along the course, some of which must be completed as a team, while others can be completed by individual team members.
- Each challenge can result in a team being given a time allowance, depending on how quickly and accurately a team complete the challenge.
- The team with the fastest overall time will be crowned the winners of the The Dare Adventure Race.
Further Information
Accommodation:
Has to be booked individualy, in or around St.Gilgen.
The JUFA in St.Gilgen and Camping Lindenstrand in Abersee can be recommended.
Entry Fee:
420 EURO per team. Please use your invoice number as the reference.
Bank Details
Raiffeisenbank St. Gilgen, 5340 St. Gilgen, Austria
IBAN: AT23 3505 6000 0006 8585
BIC: RVSAAT2S056
Programme
Friday 11th June:
16h00: Starter Package pick up
17h00: Race Brief for Team Leaders and Coaches.
17h30: Pasta Party (directly after the race brief)
06h30: DARE Race rolling start
16h00: Awards ceremony
17h00: BBQ
Competition Format
Teams:
Each team must consist of 4 students (mixed – at least one male or female). We would recommend all teams to have a fifth team member as back-up. Each team requires a name and a team captain. Each team requires a coach.
Categories:
A) Senior – year 2008 – 2012
B) Junior – year 2013 – 2017
Activities: Running, Climbing, Cycling, Watersports, Orienteering, as well as cognitive challenges
Distance:
A) Senior – approx. 27km
B) Junior – approx. 14km
Race Duration: 5 to 8 hours
Equipment Required:
10-15 litre backpack, swim wear, towel, running shoes, long + short sleeved tops, trousers + shorts, rain jacket + trousers, cap, beanie, sun cream, sun glasses, drinking bottle, gloves and at least two fully charged mobile phones per team. (All other equipment provided by StGIS).
FAQ
FAQ
