Brother Greg Sets Up Zip Line for City Chase Competition

Zipping over Regina
Heather Polischuk
The Leader-Post
Friday, August 03, 2007
Leader-Post reporter Heather Polischuk rides a harness across a line high over downtown Regina. I can count my phobias on one hand: Deep water, small children and an odd childhood fear of softball top the list. But also up there is heights.
Until Thursday. At noon, I found myself walking the downtown streets in the direction of the Farm Credit Canada building where I was to meet up with a group who would accompany me to an area near the top of the building.
At that point, I knew I would have to step off the 14th floor and brave the frightful-looking Hamilton Street High Line to get to the roof of the Conexus building across the street.
Trying not to think about it, I was displeased to hear strains of 'Up on the Roof' being played somewhere in the Scarth Street Mall. Shortly after, the roof was exactly where I found myself, along with organizers of the Mitsubishi City Chase event -- taking place in Regina this Saturday -- and other media who were also going to be previewing one of the 'ChasePoints' firsthand.
Described as the world's largest urban adventure series, the Mitsubishi City Chase combines a scavenger hunt with an obstacle course and an adventure race.
Two people on each team must solve clues leading to various ChasePoints -- which include physical, intellectual and humorous challenges -- scattered throughout the city.
Regina's leg of the chase, expected to take from four to six hours, will include more than 90 teams making their way through the city, calling on family, friends, other teams, the Internet or complete strangers for help. The first team to finish 10 of the 15 ChasePoints and cross the finish line will represent the city at the national championship in September. World championships will be held later that month in Rome, Italy.
This marks the first year the event has been held in Regina, one of seven Canadian cities to take part this year. It is also the first time a challenge of this magnitude has been included, said City Chase national event director Carina Holtby.
"The challenges we're going to put your city through are unreal, nothing like you've ever seen in this series before," she said. "For example, this traverse is probably, I would say, the scariest thing we've ever made participants do in our four years doing the City Chase across Canada ... We're placing bets to see how many teams are actually going to have the guts to do this." Holtby herself was one of those who gave the traverse a test run on Thursday, along with James Korpan, vice chair of City Chase Regina's organizing committee. Sporting a recently broken ankle -- the result of a mountain climbing accident, of all things -- Korpan wasn't quite as nervous about the heights as some of us.
Not a single safety net was in sight, but luckily I had moral support in the form of several of my Leader-Post colleagues who showed up to watch. I was also informed by Korpan that the "bomb-proof" High Line was designed by an expert: Recently retired Regina firefighter Gregory Churchman, founder of Rescue Consulting Canada Inc.
"This guy knows what he's doing ...," Korpan assured me. "We really hope people will give it a try. The whole idea of City Chase is to do things you wouldn't do in day-to-day life and to expand your comfort zones, do things that you didn't think were possible and teach yourself in the process that you are capable of more than you thought you were." And as I zipped along, looking down to the street far below without losing my breakfast or my nerve, I realized how right he is.