TI: An invitation to all Triathlon Ireland affiliated clubs!

As the 2011 season unfolds and your members continue to avail of the numerous sanctioned events on the calendar, we have another little gem to announce as a season finale.

The last race on the calendar is Blacksod Point on September 24th. This will decide the Vodafone National Series and would usually round off the season. This year we’re pleased to announce, in conjunction with Armagh City Council, an invitation for your club to take part in a free relay event based upon the popular format used by the ITU.

Yes, you did read that correctly – it did sayfree. As a thank you to all those clubs who have been contributing to the growth of our sport over the last few years, it is only right that some small reward should be provided. We recognise that the clubs are the backbone of the organisation, and that many individuals within those clubs have contributed immensely to our development.

Read on for more…

So thanks to the sponsorship from Armagh City Council, and the hard work of Johnny Davis, our SportNI funded Development Officer, we are able to invite 30 clubs to join us for a race atLoughgall Country Park, Co Armagh on Sunday 25th September. The event will see each athlete racing over a course comprising a 400m swim, 6km mountain bike and a 2km run before handing over to their next team member. Each team will have two female’s racing, 2 male’s racing and 2 support crew. The swim is in a wonderfully clean and sheltered lake, the bike is quite hilly but not overly technical and the run is flat along the edge of the lake.

The action is guaranteed to be fast and furious with transitions and handovers gaining or losing valuable seconds. This format has been used at international level for a couple of years now and will hopefully be included at the Rio Olympics, albeit on road bikes!

In addition to free entry, each member of the team will receive a goodie bag that includes a commemorative T-shirt, refreshments, entertainment and a great day’s craic. There are a few catches, but nothing too severe. Each athlete must race in club kit and they must be a Triathlon Ireland member. The event will be chip timed and all the usual medical/support services will be in place.

What we need from you at this stage is confirmation of your entry, contact details for the team captain, along with your club logo in .jpeg format. This should be emailed to Johnny at development@triathlonireland.com before Friday 2nd September.Entries must close on this date, or sooner if all 30 places are filled, to facilitate our preparations. The names of individual team members must then be submitted before Friday 16th September.

Thanking you for your continued support, we look forward to welcoming you to Loughgall.

**For further information contact Johnny at development@triathlonireland.com **

Triathlon Ireland