Stasa Arnold in the First Round Olympians,   It's been some time since the last update, but fear not! Athletes were kicking and punching their way through the karate event right up to the final last Saturday. Didn't catch it on ESPN8? See the summary below. Next, we gear up for the long awaited, much anticipated: mountain biking event! And don't forget to wax your board for surfing! Next Up: CYCLING: CROSS-COUNTRY MOUNTAIN BIKE I n honor of Greg Nigon's big accomplishment (getting married), we're finally answering his repeated requests for a mountain biking event. Join us at 10:30am on July 9th at the Human Powered Trails in La Crosse, WI. More details to follow for those who are interested. Just finished: KARATE I: KATA O ver the past three months, the kata tournament has slowly played out. It began with a seeding round to place the eight competitors in a ranked bracket. After that it was one-on-one matches and single elimination. Kate Nigon showed early promise,...

Olympians,   We've got our eyes set on Japan. Both karate and surfing are having their Olympic debut this summer, but we're beating Tokyo 2020 to the punch. I'm pleased to announce our next two events, but first I must say that I don't know whether to be proud of such a convincing April Fool's joke in Extreme Ironing, or if I should be checking my sanity since no one thought this goofiness was out of my norm. KARATE I: KATA A lison Nigon-Kirgis is to thank for helping usher in our first Karate event: Kata. While Kumite style Karate involves physically sparring with an opponent, Kata does not require actual fighting . It's an event where two competitors demonstrate their moves and techniques against an imaginary opponent. For our event, we will place the willing participants in a March Madness style single elimination bracket. Alison (a black-belt herself) will develop routines that get progressively harder by round. Competitors will film themselves doing the ro...