The Deschutes Dash 2008 Weekend Sports Festival took place in the Old Mill District, downtown Bend, Oregon. The Old Mill District is the former sight of the timber mill, where logs were floated down the Deschutes River and corralled at a bend in the river to be milled into lumber. Today the only remaining building is the original frame structure of the mill, which has been restored and is now occupied by REI Outdoor Retail. Today's Old Mill District is an outdoor mall of mixed retail and open park space with a public use trail system and outdoor amphitheater clustered along the river.

The Deschutes Dash Sports Festival Weekend celebrated its fourth year this year by adding a 5k, 10k, and duathlons to the existing sprint and olympic-distance triathlons. The event encouraged direct involvement by youth and newcomers to the sport. The event is produced by a local wellness and event organization - Fresh Air Sports, headed by Gina Miller. Bend is a relatively environmentally conscious town with good intentions and initiatives to do more. The race is spectator-friendly and provides a great opportunity to educate and inspire both participants and spectators to race responsibly and therefore cause a ripple effect of change far beyond the weekend festival.

The event attracted approximately 1,100 competitors over the two-day festival. Many were local, but at least half came from over 200 miles away - from places such as Portland, southern Washington, and western Idaho. Saturday hosted approximately 300 olympic-distance triathletes, 100 duathletes and runners and a few dozen kids participating in the Splash and Dash kids event. Sunday hosted approximately 450 sprint-distance triathletes, 100 runners and 60 duathletes.

Waste
Early documentation indicated that the primary environmental focus of the event was to minimize waste through composting and recycling. The event strived to recycle paper, cardboard, plastic and glass, donate leftover food, and reduce the waste generated per participant by 10% from the previous year. No waste stations were visible to distinguish waste from recycling or composting receptacles, however. Efforts to separate trash, recyclables, and compostables may have taken place after the completion of the event, however no clear direction for waste disposal was evident on race day. We are awaiting further documentation to support the claim of a 10% waste reduction per participant from previous year.

The event was able to eliminate single use, plastic water bottles at all events in favor of water/hydration drink in coolers with paper Gatorade cups, which are compostable depending on the composting facility. Food served using paper or plastic products was done with recycled and biodegradable sources (e.g. utensils made from corn). The apparent disconnect was that there were no dedicated compost or recycle receptacles, a missed opportunity to not only engage, educate and empower participants and spectators but to bring awareness to the behind-the-scenes efforts taken by event organizers to green up the event and receive credit for it from the public.

Registration for all events was 100% online - no paper registration forms. Brochures were printed on recycled paper and have been reduced to a bi-fold design. This was a great idea but did not quite work out as well as it was designed. The brochure was printed by the Weekly Source publication, but instead of printing only the number of brochures needed for the number of participants, a brochure was printed and inserted into every paper on the newsstand - enough for every Bend resident.

Climate
The event worked with local stores such as Whole Foods, Nancy P's Bakery, and Cascade Lakes Brewing Company to serve organic and locally grown and/or made food to reduce transportation costs and packaging waste. The brownies were quite tasty and fresh. All fruit present was certified organic.

The event did provide a shuttle from transition to the swim start but nearly everyone drove to the event, whether local or from out of town.

Electrical energy for the timing, sound system, and other needs came from the grid via outlets located on light poles throughout the park. Extension cords transported the electricity to where it was needed. While power usage was minimal, the event will work with the Blue Sky Program through Pacific Power to provide a renewable energy source. There was no visible sign of a renewable energy source for power consumed, however further documentation is forthcoming.

Materials
Patagonia provided technical tees and not only were they made from 100% recycled material, but they are also recyclable through the Patagonia "common threads" program. The race looked to source organic cotton tees but further documentation is required. Bike racks and fencing were borrowed from a local sports foundation and the rest are owned by Fresh Air Sports.

Finisher awards were made of recycled sheet metal by a local artist and looked fantastic. Age group and overall awards were commissioned pieces of art - ceramic mugs with emblazoned race logo. Unfortunately, the standard lanyard the metals were attached to was imported from China.

Community and Outreach
The event worked with title sponsor REI to provide environmental stewardship education to kids during the race weekend. The event also worked with organizations such as the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council to provide information to event participants on the health of local water resources.

The event donates a portion of proceeds to the Mount Bachelor Ski Education Foundation (MBSEF), a non-profit junior ski and cycling education program, in exchange for use of race materials.

The event also hosts a "Try it Tri", "Community Challenge," and kids "Splash and Dash" race, which are all widely popular.

Health Promotion
The event offered a "Tri a Try" swim wave (sponsored by The Center) to encourage beginner triathletes. It also hosted a kid's "Splash 'n Dash" event in connection with the event beneficiary, Working Wonders Children's Museum, to encourage kids of all ages to get outside and become active. Overall this is the event's highest profile aspect - encouraging people who would not otherwise participate in such an event to try it.

No visible signage or announcements were made during the event to publicize sustainability initiatives. Pre-event press releases were published and require further documentation.

The event missed a unique opportunity to make participants and spectators more aware of the event's efforts in sustainability and to engage the public. Overall, the event did take small steps to green up the event, and while there is always room for improvement, should be commended for their efforts.