Special Partnerships Events
Go Ape!
Pauline Betz Annie Tennis Center
Go Ape! Wildly popular british treetop adventure comes to U.S.
Go Ape swings into action in May with its first opening in D.C. Metro Area
MARYLAND, February 25, 2010 – Go Ape, a treetop forest adventure company, announced today that it will open its first location in the U.S. in May 2010 in the D.C. Metro Area. Since its launch in the UK eight years ago, nearly 2 million people have monkeyed around in the trees of Go Ape courses. Last year alone, one percent of the entire population in the UK tapped into their adventurous spirits and went swinging through the trees at one of the 26 Go Ape courses throughout the country.
Go Ape, the first of its kind in the U.S., is a highly interactive treetop adventure where participants are equipped with harnesses, pulleys and carabineers and receive a 30-minute training session before they are turned loose into the forest canopy. Spanning a length of more than seven football fields and with obstacles 40 feet above the ground, the course features a series of ziplines, Tarzan swings, rope ladders, bridges, swings, and trapezes among the treetops of Rock Creek Regional Park, located in Rockville, MD.
Catering to all skill levels, Go Ape is ideal for friend and family outings, corporate team building, birthday parties, date nights, bachelor/bachelorette parties, scout events, and church groups – basically anyone who is looking for a fun and exciting activity that gets them into nature. Approximately, eighty percent of Go Ape visitors come from personal referrals, showing that the Go Ape experience leaves a lasting impression on its tribe.
The origins of the American species of Go Ape began when D.C. natives, Dan and Jenny D'Agostino, experienced a Go Ape course while living abroad in London on corporate assignments. They were immediately inspired to do something more in keeping with their own aspirations of living an adventurous life closer to nature, rather than in front of a computer screen. Together, they decided to launch Go Ape USA.
“Go Ape encourages people to live life adventurously! It takes participants beyond a traditional canopy tour or ropes course by empowering them with the skills needed to complete the course and then giving them the freedom to manage their own adventure,” said Dan D’Agostino, managing director of Go Ape USA. “The course provides people with a unique outdoor adventure where they can let loose, see the park from a whole new vantage point and surprise themselves by what they were able to accomplish. We are thrilled to be opening our first location in the U.S. and anticipate opening additional courses throughout the country in the near future.”
“We are delighted to welcome Go Ape to our community,” said Mary R. Bradford, Director of Parks, Montgomery County Department of Parks. “Nothing like Go Ape is currently available for Montgomery County residents. Others who live and vacation in the Metro area can try something new and experience the thrill of a lifetime with this attraction.”
To learn more about Go Ape or to book your visit to the course, please visit www.goape.com. To see images, join the fan page of Go Ape USA on Facebook or receive construction updates via Go Ape USA on Twitter. To see video of the Go Ape experience, visit the YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/goapeusa.
About Go Ape USA
Go Ape is a highly interactive treetop adventure where participants are equipped with harnesses, pulleys and carabineers and receive a 30-minute training session before they are turned loose into the forest canopy. The courses, which can be completed in two to three hours, feature a series of ziplines, Tarzan swings, rope ladders, bridges, swings, and trapezes. Catering to all skill levels, participants are encouraged to live life adventurously, push themselves and turn I can’t into I can.
Pauline Betz Addie Tennis Center
More than 350 people came together on May 1, 2008 to celebrate the life and career of tennis champion Pauline Betz Addie at the newly renamed Pauline Betz Addie Tennis Center at Cabin John Regional Park. Former students, family members and fans of Betz Addie, local dignitaries, and tennis great Billie Jean King gathered to honor the Wimbledon champ and six-time Grand Slam winner at the indoor tennis facility she helped to build and managed for 20+ years in Bethesda, Maryland.
The afternoon kicked off with tennis games, including "Beat the Pro" with instructors Abdul Jordan and Eric Zatman from the tennis center, and "Clock Your Serve" with Park Police Officer Sabrina Oglesby (using her radar gun only for good). There were refreshments for all, and goody bags filled with treats including a Washington Kastles coffee mug and a commemorative tennis keychain. As the crowd assembled, special guest Billie Jean King graciously signed programs, tennis balls, and most everything that the crowd presented to her.
The ceremony began at 4:30 p.m. with remarks, tributes and shout-outs to Pauline Betz Addie from mistress of ceremonies and Director of Parks Mary Bradford, Planning Board Chairman Royce Hanson, County Executive Isiah Leggett, County Council Vice President Phil Andrews (quite a tennis player himself!), Montgomery County Tennis Association President Frank Hatten, and tennis great Billie Jean King. The door prize winners were thrilled with their treasures (a 1940s vintage "Jokari" paddle endorsed and autographed by Pauline Betz Addie, a tennis racquet autographed by Billie Jean King, and four tickets to a Washington Kastles match), awarded by Hanson, Leggett and Andrews. Billie Jean King delivered a warm tribute to Betz Addie, then helped to unveil the beautiful new portrait of Pauline by artist Marilyn Kiel. The portrait will hang permanently in the tennis center, just across from the new 22-foot timeline mural of Betz Addie's life in tennis and next to a replica of Betz Addie's 1946 Wimbledon trophy. Finally, Pauline Betz Addie took the microphone, thanking all the people who had helped her--in tennis and life--throughout the years. Her self-deprecating wit got a lot of laughs, and the crowd gave this lovely, unassuming champion a well-deserved standing ovation.
Throngs of park patrons arrive to attend the Tennis Center Renaming Ceremony.
Phil Andrews, Montgomery County Council Members; Frank Hatten, Montgomery County Tennis Association President; Dr. Royce Hanson, M-NCPPC Montgomery County Planning Board Chairman; and Billie Jean King, International Tennis Champion celebrate the tennis center dedication with Pauline Betz Addie. (lower left)
The crowd fills the tennis center for the renaming ceremony.
Distinguished guests on the dais (left to right): Pauline Betz Addie, Billie Jean King Isiah Leggett, Mary Bradford, Frank Hatten, Royce Hanson, Phil Andrews. 
Chairman Hanson expresses the Commission's pride and appreciation for Pauline Betz Addie's distinguished public service to the park system and her stellar achievements as an internationally recognized tennis athlete.
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett expresses Montgomery County's pride and appreciation for Pauline Betz Addie's national and international achievements as a Montgomery County resident.
Frank Hatten, President of the Montgomery County Tennis Association, expresses his pride and admiration for Pauline's many achievements over the years as one of the first premier female tennis champions and for being a role model for future female tennis players.
Billie Jean King, Pauline Betz Addie, Isiah Leggett and Mary Bradford unveil the new portrait of Pauline by artist Marilyn Kiel.© Photos by Benjamin H. Woods, David Pullen and John Yanson
Date of last update: October 27, 2008
Montgomery County Department of Parks