The Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau will kick off a new marketing campaign today, designed to showcase the region as a sports, health and wellness destination.

The Catch Des Moines Active initiative will be showcased tonight at the CVB’s annual Catch Des Moines release party. The initiative will include local and regional advertising campaigns and a new website (www.catchdesmoinesactive.com) that will serve as a central location to make it easier for visiting and local sports, health and wellness enthusiasts to locate information on parks, trails, healthy restaurants, sporting events and adventure travel opportunities.

“Our goal in creating Catch Des Moines Active is to satisfy a need for both visitors and locals,” said Greg Edwards, president and CEO of the CVB and Des Moines Area Sports Commission, in a news release. “We’ve experienced an increase in requests from visitors, meeting and sporting event planners and locals asking for information on parks and trails, healthy restaurants, healthy activities, sporting events and adventure travel opportunities.”

Resources will be split into three categories: Do, Watch and Healthy Des Moines.

A few resources found in the “Do” category include:

• Maps of Greater Des Moines trails – paved, gravel, hiking, mountain bike, water trails, skywalks.

• Lists of parks by type – skate parks, dog parks, disc golf, accessible playgrounds.

• Indoor recreation – bowling, paintball, aquatic centers, sports-related attractions.

• Outdoor activities such as golf courses, water sports, adventure travel, outdoor exploration.

In the “Watch” category:

• Sports teams – high school, collegiate, professional, motorsports and horse races.

• Calendar for annual sports spectator events.

In the “Healthy Des Moines” category:

• Healthy food options.

• Active amenities at area hotels, like fitness centers and trails access.

• Suggested running, biking and walking routes.

• Gyms and drop-in fitness classes.

The website was tested with focus groups made up of representatives from 25 entities including local parks and recreation departments, sports teams and sporting events, hospitals and clinics, sports-related attractions and organizations with health and wellness-related missions.