WEST VILLAGE — Some of the city's most cutthroat competitors are taking their Wall Street mojo to the first-ever Hudson River Park Games.
Teams from companies like Goldman Sachs, Brookfield and Ogilvy raised $4,000 each to play in the June 13 games, a fundraiser for the park. Teams can still join, and any group with the cash is welcome.
Corporate teams from real estate firms, hedge funds and banks are training up a storm for the pentathlon, according to organizer Gregory Boroff.
“Last night we hosted an orientation for team captains,” said Boroff, executive director of the Friends of Hudson River Park. “People were very serious.”
“There’s going to be lots of friendly competition, but many of the people who are playing really want to win this cup.”
Teammates from Moore Capital Management have already held a strategy session about volleyball positions, he said. Captains are combing through 19 pages of rules for the pentathlon's events: dodgeball, kayaking, an obstacle course, flag football and beach volleyball.
Locals can swing by the games for music, lawn games and kids activities.
For a $35 donation to the park, individuals can also participate in an exercise class or outdoor activity, including fishing, paddleboard yoga and a trapeze clinic. The Games will be held along Hudson River Park's Piers 25, 26 and 40, from Clarkson Street to North Moore Street from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Danny Boockvar, CEO of the Circle Line, said his team was not intimidated by “a bunch of guys from Price Waterhouse Coopers.”
“I’m not going to let a bunch of hedge fund guys and bankers beat our team,” he said.
Boockvar has been running and riding his bike to train for the big day. His team from New York Cruise Lines includes an IT worker, chef and the mail room clerk from the Circle Line, he said.
“We’re scrappy," he said. "We don’t wear suits every day. We’re out on the water.”
