Put Your Skills to the Test with Military Vets During "Operation Wildcat"
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 24, 2019) — Part Amazing Race, part CrossFit Games, the University of Kentucky Sports Medicine Research Institute’s Operation Wildcat provides an opportunity for veterans and civilians to solve a challenge that feels a lot like a military mission.
The event is open to military veterans and civilians of all ages and athletic abilities. Applicants will be selected in a “draft” and placed on diverse teams of up to 12 people. The teams will begin with warmups and team building activities and then progress through a hypothetical “mission” that will mimic a real military exercise. Finally, the event will end with a “battle” on Kroger Field that will put participants through a variety of physical challenges with their team.
Operation Wildcat is hosted in conjunction with Team RWB, a nonprofit organization seeking to enrich the lives of America’s veterans by connecting them to their communities through physical and social activity.
The SMRI, part of UK's College of Health Sciences, is a multidisciplinary research center that studies injury prevention and performance optimization for civilian athletes and the tactical athletes of the U.S. military Special Operations Forces.
"We were delighted to help with this event, as its goal aligns so closely with ours," said Nicholas Heebner, SMRI associate director for research and event co-director. "We made sure that all of the activity for Operation Wildcat was scalable — you don't need to be a triathlete to participate and have a great experience. It’s about teamwork and supporting your team members through physical and mental challenges"
Operation Wildcat will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. on Friday, April 26 at Kroger Field. A registration fee of $10 per participant will be collected at sign up. All proceeds will benefit the SMRI Active Duty and Veterans research initiative. To register for the draft, visit uky.edu/chs/smri/operation-wildcat by April 26.
