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Veteran industry personality Bob Glazier recently won two medals at the World Masters Games in Sydney, Australia. The event, which is held every 4 years, is the world’s largest multi sporting event after the Olympic Games. Bob, who worked for many years at Sears Travel and Goway Travel won his medals in the 10k road race and the 5,000 metre track event.

The majority of the Games’ events took place at the 2000 Olympic sites. There were opening and closing ceremonies with the usual parade of athletes, plus newsworthy sportspeople, including:

• Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark who competed in the sailing competition.
• The oldest competitor was a 101-year-old Lawn Bowler.
• The most unusal competitor was a 100-year-old female shot-putter!

Nearly 200 competitors were former Olympic athletes ranging from the 1936 Berlin Olympics to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Goway Travel’s Special Events division was the official North American representative for the Games, and handled the travel arrangements for over 1,000 athletes. This specialist team at Goway handles many major events around the world including the upcoming World Winter Masters Games in Bled, Slovenia in January 2010 and the Lions Convention in Sydney Australia in 2010.

The next World Masters Games will be held in 2013 in Turin, Italy. For more information on Goway’s Special Events division, call 1-800-838-0618 or email events@goway.com or visit www.groupsonly.com.

To celebrate, Goway has announced that all bookings before October 31, 2009 to the Lions Clubs Convention in Sydney will be entered into a draw to win airfare for 2 from Los Angeles to Sydney with Qantas and 5 nights accommodation in Sydney.

With 40,000 years of aboriginal history and its convict origins as the first European settlement in Australia, Sydney is the country’s largest and most vibrant city. With its beautiful harbor and beaches, Sydney is not only scenic but an icon of the unique Australian culture. Sydney is also the gateway for touring extensions not only in the State of New South Wales and the rest of this vast island continent but also for the whole South Pacific region including New Zealand the Pacific Islands.

To find out more about the 2010 Lions Clubs International Convention and to book all travel arrangements including international and domestic air, Sydney Convention hotels and pre/post convention touring, please contact Special Events by Goway on their dedicated “Lions Only” telephone number and/or email:

Tel: 877 469 2914
Email: lions2010@goway.com
Website: www.goway.com/lions2010

The World Winter Masters Games will be held for the first time in history from January 25-31, 2010 in Bled, Slovenia. It will see competitors from around the world take part in 6 sports: ice hockey, alpine skiing, cross country skiing, ski jumping, biathlon and indoor football (or Futsal), which will be a demonstration sport.

The World Winter Masters Games are for all athletes older then 25 years. “Masters” is simply an age designation; it does not denote a level of proficiency or a particular achievement.  To compete, all you need to do is to satisfy the age criteria for your sport. The Winter World Masters Games will be a fantastic opportunity to meet people from around the world and forge new and lasting friendships.

Situated on the crossroads of four European landscapes – the Alps, the Pannonian Plain, the Dinaric Mountains and the Mediterranean, — Slovenia is one of the smallest and also one of the youngest European countries joining the European Union in May 2004. To the north lies Austria, to the east Hungary, Croatia lies to the south and Italy to the west.  The landscapes range from snow-covered alpine peaks, glacial lakes and emerald rivers, to the rounded Pannonian hills overgrown with vines, to the mysterious Karstic caves and white salt pan fields all of which combine to give the country its incredible diversity. Your gateway to Slovenia and the Winter Games is through its capital city, Ljubljana. With over 300,000 inhabitants, the city’s blend of medieval, baroque, art nouveau and modern buildings is home to a number of museums, theatres, churches, and quaint shops.

With its beautiful natural surroundings, Bled is a jewel among the European alpine resorts and is widely known for its mild curative climate and the thermal lake water. With over 1000 years of history, not only does Bled have stunning natural surroundings, it is also rich in culture, tradition and heritage. From the ancient Bled Castle to museum and art galleries, Bled is the perfect destination for the 2010 inaugural Winter Masters Games.

To find out more about the 2010 Winter World Masters Games registration, visit the main Games website: www.2010mastersgames.com. To book travel arrangements including pre and post games touring, contact Special Events by Goway Travel:
TEL: 866 913 6918
EMAIL: events@goway.com
WEB: http://www.goway.com/specialevents/wmg_winter/index.html

Goway has been in business for 36 years! They belong to U.S.T.O.A. in the United States, providing a million dollar protection for any group’s funds. In Canada, they are licensed and contribute to the Travel Industry Compensation Fund for a group’s protection. The GROUPSOnly division also provides competitive pricing, innovative itineraries, assistance with promotions and advertising, assistance with designing flyers and presentation folders, comprehensive documentation and Group Information Kits.

Barbara Norton is the General Manager of GROUPSOnly and runs a dedicated team of 12 who are all experienced, travel planning experts that have travelled extensively to all of Goway’s destinations. Each year, senior Group Coordinators attend the important trade shows in the South Pacific, Asia and South Africa to keep updated on new product and new destinations. The GROUPSOnly team works closely with agents to ensure that from the initial planning stages to the group’s return their GROUPSOnly experience is stress free and profitable!

All Goway GROUPSOnly proposals include a detailed itinerary and competitive land and air quotes in net CAD or US dollars, and, depending on the size of the group, tour directors can travel free. Sample group movements by Goway’s GROUPSOnly over the past 6 months include pre/post cruise groups in Asia and the South Pacific, Dragonboat teams to Singapore, cultural interest groups to China, a general interest group to Vietnam, college study groups to Australia, African safari groups, a walking club to New Zealand and a business conference in Malaysia.

“Although we can do most destinations we are really good at organizing groups to Downunder, Africa and Asia, where we have excellent buying power with the airlines, hotels and ground suppliers” continued Norton.

To help agents tap into the lucrative groups market, Barbara is personally conducting “How to Sell Groups” seminars in Toronto on September 12th and Vancouver on September 9th, in the company’s respective boardrooms. Also in attendance will be Kerry Bryant, the Groups and Incentives Manager from Goway’s Australia and New Zealand inbound office in Sydney.

Travel Counsellors and Managers wanting to expand into group travel or grow their existing group business should call 1-800-838-0618 for more details and a registration form.