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Darlington to welcome Tour de Georgia for third time
Apr 5, 2007 12:00 AM
By Tannika King - Faculty
When the 120+ cyclists participating in the 2007 Tour de Georgia ride into town on April 17, the city and Darlington School will be ready to make the two-day stop in Rome both exciting and successful.
Darlington, which served as the location for the Time Trial start in both 2004 and 2005, was quick to agree when asked to serve as the location for the start of Stage 3 this year. On Wednesday, April 18, spectators will be able to watch some of the world’s top riders depart from Darlington’s A.J. Huffman ’67 Memorial Athletic Center at noon on their 100+ mile trek from Rome to Chattanooga, Tenn.
Middle and Upper School classes will be dismissed from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to watch the events. All students and faculty will be on site in matching purple T-shirts, and Darlington’s mascot will also there to show spirit. Middle and Upper School student art will be displayed in painted signs saluting Tour de Georgia.
“We at Darlington School are extremely excited and honored to host the Stage 3 start and to be a part of Tour de Georgia for our third year,” said Headmaster Tom Whitworth. “In a school such as ours, with such a diverse international population, it gives our students great pride to watch their fellow countrymen compete in a race of this stature.”
Beginning around 10:30 a.m., the Alumni Tent will welcome guests and event-sponsor Maxxis will host a stunt show for students and visitors. Autograph Alley will kick off on the Huffman Center lawn at 10:50 a.m., and concession stands sponsored by Darlington’s House Senate will open at 11 a.m. near the start ramp. Food and beverages will be available, and proceeds will go to Habitat for Humanity.
Darlington Dining Services will provide lunch to all students and faculty members from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in a private tent that will be located at the back of the parking lot next to the softball field. Also beginning at 11 a.m. is the Handcycling Exhibition, where students can experience, firsthand, the strength it takes to operate a hand cycling unit.
Darlington’s fine arts department will shine from 11 to 11:45 a.m., with performances by the Steel Drum Band and the Middle School Chorus. After the show, Headmaster Tom Whitworth will give an official welcome and eighth-grader Ali Harton of Cartersville, Ga., will perform the national anthem.
At noon, Tour de Georgia cyclists will depart on a 118-mile trek to Chattanooga via Fouche Gap, downtown Summerville, Hwy. 48, Cloudland Canyon and Burkhalter Gap. Clocktower Classic Road Race participants will depart 15 minutes later on a 21-mile course to conclude at Lock & Dam Park.
In addition to local racers, Mike Sprouse of Rome and Krige Schabort of Cedartown, and current International Paralympic Committee World Champion Monique Van der Vorst of the Netherlands, handcyclists will be coming from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas and Florida. According to information released by the Greater Rome Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, 2007 marks the first year the Clocktower Classic is an officially sanctioned race by the U.S. Handcycling Federation. It is one of only five nationally sanctioned races.
Tour de Georgia is an annual, world-class, professional cycling stage race and series of city festivals across Georgia. Proceeds from the event benefit the Georgia Cancer Coalition, a statewide network of people and organizations working together to fight cancer. Tour de Georgia is sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale and USA Cycling. Local sponsors include the City of Rome and Floyd County, the Downtown Business Improvement District, the Downtown Development Authority, First Presbyterian Church, The Forum, Georgia Power, the Greater Rome Convention & Visitors Bureau, Harbin Clinic, the Hospitality Association of Rome and Floyd County, Redmond Regional Medical Center and United Community Bank.
For more information on the Stage 3 start, please contact Anne Paige Wilson at 706-236-0472. For information about the Alumni Tent, call Whitney Keene at 706-236-0408. To find out more about Tour de Georgia and the teams participating in this year’s race, click here. For information on road closings in Rome on April 17 and 18, call 706-295-5184.
Darlington, which served as the location for the Time Trial start in both 2004 and 2005, was quick to agree when asked to serve as the location for the start of Stage 3 this year. On Wednesday, April 18, spectators will be able to watch some of the world’s top riders depart from Darlington’s A.J. Huffman ’67 Memorial Athletic Center at noon on their 100+ mile trek from Rome to Chattanooga, Tenn.
Middle and Upper School classes will be dismissed from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to watch the events. All students and faculty will be on site in matching purple T-shirts, and Darlington’s mascot will also there to show spirit. Middle and Upper School student art will be displayed in painted signs saluting Tour de Georgia.
“We at Darlington School are extremely excited and honored to host the Stage 3 start and to be a part of Tour de Georgia for our third year,” said Headmaster Tom Whitworth. “In a school such as ours, with such a diverse international population, it gives our students great pride to watch their fellow countrymen compete in a race of this stature.”
Beginning around 10:30 a.m., the Alumni Tent will welcome guests and event-sponsor Maxxis will host a stunt show for students and visitors. Autograph Alley will kick off on the Huffman Center lawn at 10:50 a.m., and concession stands sponsored by Darlington’s House Senate will open at 11 a.m. near the start ramp. Food and beverages will be available, and proceeds will go to Habitat for Humanity.
Darlington Dining Services will provide lunch to all students and faculty members from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in a private tent that will be located at the back of the parking lot next to the softball field. Also beginning at 11 a.m. is the Handcycling Exhibition, where students can experience, firsthand, the strength it takes to operate a hand cycling unit.
Darlington’s fine arts department will shine from 11 to 11:45 a.m., with performances by the Steel Drum Band and the Middle School Chorus. After the show, Headmaster Tom Whitworth will give an official welcome and eighth-grader Ali Harton of Cartersville, Ga., will perform the national anthem.
At noon, Tour de Georgia cyclists will depart on a 118-mile trek to Chattanooga via Fouche Gap, downtown Summerville, Hwy. 48, Cloudland Canyon and Burkhalter Gap. Clocktower Classic Road Race participants will depart 15 minutes later on a 21-mile course to conclude at Lock & Dam Park.
In addition to local racers, Mike Sprouse of Rome and Krige Schabort of Cedartown, and current International Paralympic Committee World Champion Monique Van der Vorst of the Netherlands, handcyclists will be coming from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas and Florida. According to information released by the Greater Rome Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, 2007 marks the first year the Clocktower Classic is an officially sanctioned race by the U.S. Handcycling Federation. It is one of only five nationally sanctioned races.
Tour de Georgia is an annual, world-class, professional cycling stage race and series of city festivals across Georgia. Proceeds from the event benefit the Georgia Cancer Coalition, a statewide network of people and organizations working together to fight cancer. Tour de Georgia is sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale and USA Cycling. Local sponsors include the City of Rome and Floyd County, the Downtown Business Improvement District, the Downtown Development Authority, First Presbyterian Church, The Forum, Georgia Power, the Greater Rome Convention & Visitors Bureau, Harbin Clinic, the Hospitality Association of Rome and Floyd County, Redmond Regional Medical Center and United Community Bank.
For more information on the Stage 3 start, please contact Anne Paige Wilson at 706-236-0472. For information about the Alumni Tent, call Whitney Keene at 706-236-0408. To find out more about Tour de Georgia and the teams participating in this year’s race, click here. For information on road closings in Rome on April 17 and 18, call 706-295-5184.
