2008 ING Georgia Marathon Neighborhood Challenge Guidelines

CLICK HERE for 2008 Entry Form

Overview

The ING Neighborhood Challenge encourages spectator participation to cheer on race participants at designated Cheering Zones along the race course. During the race, these Cheering Zones will be judged on the criteria listed below, and the top 3 Cheering Zones will be awarded grants of $10,000, $5,000, and $2,500 from ING to support neighborhood fitness initiatives.

Eligibility

As in the 2007 ING Georgia Marathon Neighborhood Challenge, there are 5 designated Cheering Zones in the 4 applicable Atlanta Neighborhood Planning Units (NPU E, F, M and N) and in the City of Decatur. All neighborhood, civic, business, and other associations, groups and individuals are invited to participate at their designated Cheering Zone:

• NPU E: on Juniper at 10th St
• NPU F: at Inman Middle School on Virginia Ave at Park Dr
• NPU M: on Randolph St at Edgewood Ave.
• NPU N: on Euclid Ave at Hurt St.
• Decatur: at Fellini’s Pizza on Commerce Dr

In addition, up to 5 additional Cheering Zones can be designated for neighborhoods along the course that sign-up for a Cheering Zone and comply with Neighborhood Challenge guidelines. The location of any additional Cheering Zone must be approved by ING and Georgia Marathon LLC to be eligible to compete for the award grants. Examples of neighborhoods that may be interested in signing up for an additional Cheering Zone include:

• Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association (in NPU-M)
• Candler Park Neighborhood Association (in NPU-N)
• Druid Hills Civic Association (in both NPU-N and DeKalb County)
• Marietta Street Artery Association (in NPU-E)
• Oakhurst Neighborhood Association (in Decatur)
• Poncey-Highland Neighborhood Association (in NPU-N)

Signing up for a Cheering Zone

Any eligible neighborhood or NPU that is interested in participating in a Cheering Zone must complete the attached Sign-up Form and fax it to Georgia Marathon LLC at (770) 939-4484 no later than March 9, 2008, at 5:00 p.m. EST. A Sign-Up requirement is to designate how the award grant would be spent, if won. Keep in mind that other neighborhoods in your NPU or area may also sign up to participate in a given Cheering Zone. Georgia Marathon LLC will compile the Sign-up Forms and notify everyone who signed up for each Cheering Zone, so that the interested parties can get together and organize their Cheering Zone. Note that ING and Georgia Marathon LLC do not participate with the neighborhoods in planning, supplying or staffing the Cheering Zones.

Organizing and Participating in a Cheering Zone:

All Cheering Zone organizing teams are required to adhere to the parameters of the applicable event permit from the City of Atlanta, City of Decatur, or DeKalb County, including the following:

• Must ensure that participants are on the sidewalk or other public property or have the property owner’s permission, if applicable. For any additional Cheering Zones, the requesting organization is responsible to nominate the location of the Cheering Zone during Sign-Up (see Sign-up Form) and to obtain permission from the property owner, if applicable.
• Must not sell any food or beverage at the Cheering Zones or any other areas of the marathon route without the applicable Health Department Permit and/or permission from ING Georgia Marathon, LLC.
• Must adhere to the noise ordinance of the applicable jurisdiction (in the City of Atlanta, go to nonoise.org/lawlib/cities/atlanta.htm for details of the ordinance).
• Must ensure that all attendees and participants in the Cheering Zone understand they are participating at their own risk.

Judging

There will be 3 to 5 judges, including at least one ING executive or ING Georgia Marathon Race Official and the remainder will be individuals from the metro Atlanta Community.

Official judging will occur during the race, and each Cheering Zone will be given an approximate time when the judges will view their Zone. Each Cheering Zone will be judged on the following criteria:

1. “Orangeness” : Orange is one of ING’s corporate colors and the color theme for the ING Georgia Marathon & Half Marathon.

2. Open, Opportunity and Optimism: These are the three main attributes of the new Atlanta brand.

3. Enthusiasm: Participants in the Cheering Zone should show that they are excited and proud to be there.

4. Volume: There’s “safety in numbers” and also FUN in numbers! A big crowd of people at the Cheering Zone makes visual impact and audible impact.

5. Innovation/Creativity: The judges will look for unique themes relating to the Cheering Zone’s neighborhood or organization.

In addition to the official judges, the ING Georgia Marathon Pace Teams will provide input to the judges on the enthusiasm and size of each Cheering Zone. The goal of the Cheering Zones is to showcase your neighborhood and to encourage all participants to reach the finish line. It is important for the Cheering Zones to remain in place for all race participants.

Grant Awards

There are three grant awards which must be applied to neighborhood fitness initiatives:

1^st place: $10,000

2^nd place: $5,000

3^rd place: $2,500