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After 45,148 participants slid a total of 3,593 miles, Great Wolf Resorts, Inc.(R) /quotes/comstock/15*!wolf/quotes/nls/wolf (WOLF 3.23, +0.08, +2.54%) , North America's largest family of indoor waterpark resorts, received official word today from Guinness World Records that the company's 11 Great Wolf Lodge(R) locations set a new record for "longest distance water sliding in 24 hours in multiple venues."
On March 26-27, all Great Wolf Lodge locations participated in the 24-hour event to celebrate the opening of new waterslide attractions at three of its locations -- Kansas City, Kansas, Kings Island in Mason, OH, and Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania. The Great Wolf Lodge "World's Largest Waterslide-athon" took place over 24 consecutive hours with one designated slide per resort. Every slider who descended the designated slide counted toward breaking the record for longest distance traveled on waterslides over a 24-hour period.
"We're thrilled to hold the Guinness World Record for the longest distance watersliding in 24 hours. It was a true team effort at all of our properties," said Kim Schaefer, CEO of Great Wolf Resorts. "We had so much fun setting this world record, but what makes this a truly special event is the generosity of our guests and the general public who donated during the waterslide-athon to our charity of choice, Big Brothers Big Sisters."
In addition to celebrating the new attractions, the event raised money for local Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies. Participants were asked to make a donation to the organization before descending the waterslide. The resorts collected more than $75,800 during the event, and a $50,000 contribution to the national agency from the Great Wolf Resorts corporate office makes the total donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters more than $125,800. Additionally, many properties opened their doors to local Bigs and Littles to participate in the event.
"Great Wolf Lodge has given its guests a fun and inventive way to support Big Brothers Big Sisters' work in providing successful, long-term mentoring matches that help vulnerable kids beat the odds," said Karen J. Mathis, President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters. "The company's commitment brought an energy and excitement to these communities, which will enable us to positively impact even more children and their families."
