An Adventure Awaits: Arctic Challenge Launch in Support of Sport for Good New Orleans

Last week, we celebrated the launch of The Arctic Challenge 2025 at The Broadside in New Orleans! In July 2025, the team will push off from land on a historic journey across the Arctic Ocean. In pursuit of a World Record, the 4-person team will test the limits of human endurance as they row 1000 Kilometers through one of the world’s harshest climates. In addition to chasing the speed record of being the fastest four to ever row the Arctic, they will also be chasing a series of firsts. With the successful completion of The Arctic Challenge, the team will be the first All-American team to row across a polar ocean. Team member (NFL veteran and New Orleans Saints legend) Jimmy Graham will be the first Black person to row a polar ocean. Team member and USA Coastal Rowing Team member Hannah Huppi would become the first American woman to row a polar ocean.

At the launch event, Laureus USA’s Sport for Good New Orleans and The Arctic Challenge hosted two panels with incredible athletes, advocates, and leaders from across the sport-based youth development sector, who took the stage to share insights about their experiences, ideas, and challenges in their respective sectors and how sport may influence a deeper positive impact on youth and community in New Orleans. Guests also got a chance to see the boat that the team will be rowing next summer. For the team, the importance of the row goes far beyond setting records.

“The Arctic Challenge is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It is a chance to fully connect with nature and to test the limits of human endurance. I am also excited to deal with the many moments of adversity. I want to use the Arctic Challenge to show others that with good planning and teamwork, and strong determination, anything is possible.”
 
– John Huppi

Joined by Arctic Challenge team members Graham and Hannah Huppi, rower and best-selling author Arshay Cooper (moderated by Laureus USA’s New Orleans Program Officer, Tiffany Aidoo) discussed the long term, transformative power of sport and how our experiences as young people can impact the ways we move through our careers and lives as adults. All three panelists found their niche in sports through unconventional, and at times, deeply challenging circumstances, and imagined the possibilities for young people in communities where we continue to increase access to positive sports experiences for youth.

We were then joined by three incredible program leaders in the Sport for Good New Orleans community, Lowrey Crews (The 18th Ward), Heather West (LOOP NOLA), and Gerald Williams (Excite All-Stars). SFG NOLA Leadership Council member Julieanne Lund moderated the conversation on the importance of the collaborative work over the past 10 years in Sport for Good New Orleans, and the impact of diversifying investments and reach in youth development.

As we await their departure in July 2025, be sure to stay tuned for more activities with The Arctic Challenge!