2010 Romp Series Kicks off Next Weekend!
January 16, 2010
The first event in the 2010 Tubbs Romp to Stomp out Breast Cancer Snowshoe Series® starts a week from today at Mountain Creek Resort in New Jersey to benefit the North Jersey Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.
Overall participation and fundraising rates are at all-time highs and thousands of people across the country are gearing up for a fun weekend of snowshoeing and fighting breast cancer.
One of the most common questions I get asked when people learn that I travel around the country putting on snowshoe events is this: “What do you do in the off-season?” The answer is rather simple–”PLAN!!” There’s a lot of work that goes into putting on the largest snowshoe series in the world–from recruiting sponsors, working with site venues, designing and building website content, sending press releases, developing promotional materials, developing participant communications, co-planning with the Canadian Romp and working with Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.
It is an incredibly powerful moment when at 8am that first Saturday of the Series, we open up the check-in area to hundreds (sometimes thousands!) of participants eager to strap on a pair of snowshoes–sometimes for the first time–and do their part in stomping out breast cancer.
Then after the event is over we pack everything up to be ready for the next weekend Romp, tally the initial results, and get inspired by the stories that begin to pour in.
All of our participants Romp for various different reasons–they might be a breast cancer survivor, might be supporting a friend or family member, are enticed by the idea of trying a new sport this winter, or all of the above. The Romp is truly a unique event-pulling together people of various backgrounds to fight for a cause and try a fun, family-friendly sport that allows us to enjoy the wonders of winter.
If you’ve already registered for the Romp, we’re excited that you’ll join us and hope that, if you haven’t already, you’d consider fundraising for Susan G. Komen for the Cure® (for the USA) or the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation® (in Canada). There’s no minimum fundraising requirement for the Romp, but we encourage everyone to set a goal of $100. If everyone raised at least $100, we’d nearly DOUBLE our overall goal.To get started fundraising, check out the USA Romp Fundraising Info or the Canadian Romp Fundraising Info.
If you’ve not yet registered for the Romp, why not join us! It’s a great way to spend a Saturday morning. You’ll have a blast snowshoeing and support a great cause at the same time. To register, click here to register for the USA Romp or click here to register for the Canadian Romp.
We’ll see you at the Romp!
Wendy Miller
Event Manager
USA Tubbs Romp to Stomp Snowshoe Series
romptostomp@tubbssnowshoes.com
Registration Now Open for Romp 2010
October 30, 2009
Breast cancer has met its match this winter! The Tubbs Romp to Stomp out Breast Cancer Snowshoe Series® has opened up registration for the 2010 season and lots of people have already logged on to join in on the fun times and fantastic cause.
Register now for a Romp near you and save up to $15 with the Early Bird Registration Discount! The Romp is a fun, inexpensive way to get active this winter AND support a fantastic cause. Find your event and register today!
USA (benefiting local affiliates of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®)
New Jersey: Sat, Jan 23, 2010
Vermont: Sat, Jan 30,2010
Utah: Sat, Feb 6, 2010
NEW!! Washington: Sat, Feb 20, 2010
Oregon: Sat, Feb 27, 2010
Colorado: Sat, March 6, 2010
CANADA (benefiting the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Foundation)
Ontario: Sat, Feb 20, 2010
Romp 2010 Dates Announced
June 4, 2009
The Tubbs Romp to Stomp out Breast Cancer Snowshoe Series is back for the eighth year to fight breast cancer one snowshoe step at a time! Save the date for the event near you.
New Jersey
Sat, January 23, 2010
Mountain Creek Resort
Vermont
Sat, January 30, 2010
Stratton Mountain Resort
Utah
Sat, February 6, 2010
Mountain Dell Golf Course, SLC
NEW! Washington
Sat, February 20, 2010
The Summit at Snoqualmie Nordic Center
Oregon
Sat, February 27, 2010
Mt Hood
Colorado
Sat, March 6, 2010
Frisco Nordic Center
Mother’s Day
May 7, 2009
This week, I’ve been making plans to celebrate Mother’s Day with my family. It hit me that during the course of the 2009 Romp Series, I met hundreds of people who aren’t able to celebrate Mother’s Day the way I can–giving my mom a hug, telling her in person just how much I love her. So many sons and daughters participate in the Romp to Stomp because they’ve lost their mothers and grandmothers to breast cancer, they’ll never celebrate Mother’s Day quite the same, and they want to join the fight by supporting Susan G. Komen through the Romp. But as I traveled to each Romp to Stomp, it also seemed that for every person Romping “in memory” of a mother, there was one Romping “in celebration”. It brought me an incredible sense of hope to know that breast cancer is being conquered. More women are surviving than ever before. And more families can celebrate Mother’s day with new appreciation. Of course the battle is not yet won. But this Mother’s Day, let’s celebrate the women in our lives that make us strive to love better, live more fully, and embrace the blessing it is to be alive.
Happy Mother’s Day to all who have lost the battle, to all who are fighting it, and especially to my own mom–thanks for traveling so far to support me at the Romp and Stomp this year!
Wendy Miller, Romp to Stomp Event Manager
Romp to Stomp Results
April 2, 2009
2009 Romp to Stomp Series
3,881 Participants
$190,234* Donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure®
*includes $8,670.00 from Tubbs 08/09 Women’s Product Sales Donation
Romp to Stomp Series History
15,982 Participants
$928,245* Donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure®
*includes Tubbs Women’s Product Sales Donation
The five Romp to Stomp events in 2009 were a tremendous success offering a positive first-time snowshoeing experience to more than 2,200 people. Although economic conditions contributed to lower fundraising totals at each event, Tubbs kept event operations expenses low, ensuring that more registration fees and event income went to Susan G. Komen than ever before. From an operational standpoint, we also introduced a handful of successful programs such as Priority Check-In’s and the Colorado Romp carpool initiative, to increase the quality of experience for participants and develop a firm foundation for continued growth in 2010 and beyond.
Results by State
New Jersey
218 Participants
$6,911 raised for North Jersey Affiliate
Vermont
548 Participants
$40,971 raised for Vermont/New Hampshire Affiliate
Utah
469 Participants
$23,705 raised for Salt Lake City Affiliate
Oregon
555 Participants
$10,407 raised for Oregon/SW Washington Affiliate
Colorado
2,091 Participants
$99,570 raised for Denver Metropolitan Affiliate
Beth Winter was celebrating many things when she strapped on snowshoes for her fourth Romp to Stomp event at Mt. Hood, Oregon. Of Course, celebration was in order for her daughter who turned 30 that same day and for winning a Tubbs Snowshoe package as the top individual fundraiser for the event, but Beth was also celebrating something much more profound—the mere feat of being alive.
After accepting her prize at the awards ceremony, she took the microphone and could hardly hold back tears of appreciate for Tubbs, friends and family and for organizations like Susan G. Komen who supported her in her fight to become a breast cancer survivor—not a statistic.
photo: Ron Jackenthal
“Go Team Grandma Helene!” “Go Team Grandma Helene!” chanted my niece and nephew with every step my out-of-breath mom took as she raced along the 3K Tubbs Romp to Stomp out Breast Cancer Snowshoe. That crisp, sunny morning, my mother, Helene, a breast cancer survivor who is currently battling lung cancer, strapped on snowshoes for the first time in her life.
“These are pretty cool,” she said, tapping them together fascinated with their sleek, lightweight design. “They’re not what I expected.” She envisioned wooden slabs with leather mesh. Give her a break; she lives in the Sunshine State and doesn’t see much snow.
My brother, Ron, and his family reside in Utah, so we thought snowshoeing together at the Salt Lake City Tubbs Romp on the Mountain Dell Golf Course would be terrific way to support our mom. I flew in from New York, while our mom and other brother, Michael, left warm West Palm Beach, Florida, to Romp to Stomp together.
As we clunked to the energized starting area, music cranked and 469 spirited snowshoers shook their hips and pumped their fists. “Three … two … one… go!” We were off. Holding hands in a family chain, we thumped down the first steep hill onto the crunchy, undulating snow-covered greens. The warm sun felt great as we marched into the pod of snowshoers zigzagging along the sprawling, snow-carpeted field.
“I don’t think I can do this,” said my mom, who was out of breath and holding my arm. We were just 20 minutes in. Having undergone chemotherapy just two weeks earlier, she wasn’t at 100 percent and the thin air at 6,000 feet altitude wasn’t helping. While finishing the 3K was our goal, starting and staying together was most important.
After a brief rest and a “You can do it Grandma!” from my 9-year-old nephew and 7-year-old niece, mom rallied. We pressed on slowly and methodically, sipping the fresh mountain air. As an endurance athlete who has competed in six-day running races across the Kalahari Desert in South Africa and in Costa Rica, the Hawaii Ironman, and adventure races in Borneo and Ecuador, I know what it is to suffer. This was the first time I had ever seen my mom dig so deep, and I felt an unfamiliar athletic bond with her that is typically reserved for my fellow competitors.
At the halfway point, we met Barbara, also a breast cancer survivor, who was resting her weary feet daunted by poor circulation. She joined our posse. Further along the course, the husband of a cancer survivor gave my mom his water, peanut butter crackers, and told her “You are such an inspiration for being out here, go do your best.”
As we neared the end of the tree-lined rolling route, the finish appeared atop the steep hill we descended nearly two hours earlier. My mom was hurting. “It may be time to call the rescue snowmobile,” she said, starring up the hill while stopping to catch her breath. With my brother holding one arm and me clutching the other, we took it step-by-step with a few rest stops in between.
“Go Team Grandma Helene!” we chanted in unison. Onward we went. We inched up the hill and upon crossing under the pink finish banner, my mom collapsed into my arms as we hugged. My family piled in and from beneath came a muffled “We did it!”
–From Active.com article by adventure racer & elite athlete Stefanie Jackenthal; ClICK HERE for complete article
{Tales from the Romp} Morris & Mojo Romp ‘n Stomp
March 17, 2009
photo: Chris Wyman
Although the day started out cold and gray, as the sky began to clear and turn a deep blue, the temperatures continued to fall as a stiff northwest wind battered the snowshoe hikers at the top of Vernon Peak at Mountain Creek. The event was part of the “Romp to Stomp Out Breast Cancer” Snowshoe Series.
Two very special hikers Lisa Morris of the Glenwood section of Vernon, NJ came to the New Jersey Romp to Stomp with her service dog Mojo. Although getting around with snowshoes is not really a difficult task for many people, it can be quite challenging for someone who has difficulty just getting around to begin with. Morris is making the best of her struggle with multiple sclerosis (MS) and Mojo is her tireless assistant and helps her to maintain her balance as she walks. Morris loves to get out and do things, but something like walking though the woods on snowshoes presents a potentially dangerous situation, even with Mojo’s help. The Romp to Stomp event gave her the opportunity to get out in the woods with a group of people who could be of assistance if needed. This was her first time at the event but she has been on snowshoes before.
“With all of the people that are so involved in the outdoors, there’s a lot of encouragement for somebody like me who wants to get back out. I get cabin fever, I want to go back out,” She says.
–Excerpt taken from AIM Sussex County News Correspondent, Chris Wyman. CLICK HERE for complete article
What happens when you match three friends with a love of snowshoeing, a passion for the cause, and unlimited airplane flights from their employer, Delta airlines? You get a trio of Romp to Stomp groupies! Mary Wood, Vivian Peplinski,& Joni Gagnon will go down in Romp history for attending every single Tubbs Romp to Stomp out Breast Cancer event in the 2009 series. Teaming up as the “Rack Pack” this trio braved the crazy New Jersey winds and biting New England cold, delighted in clear Utah skies, conquered “the hill” in Oregon, and reveled in the tasty pancakes in Colorado.
{Tales from the Romp} 7 Romps & Nearly $25,000 later
March 13, 2009
photo: Kay Beaton
In the history of the Romp to Stomp, no participant has contributed more to Susan G. Komen through her fundraising efforts than Jill Overdorf. Each year, Jill travels from her hometown in Southern California to participate in the Colorado Romp to Stomp, and each year she blows everyone away with her prolific fundraising! 2009 was no exception. As the top individual fundraiser, she raised $3,615 bringing her 6-Romp total to nearly $25,000!
