Children inspired by the success of Team GB’s Brownlee brothers at the London 2012 Olympics triathlon will have an ideal opportunity to have a go at the sport in July. The Children’s Centre is organising a Junior Triathlon event in Ramsey to raise funds for the charity’s services which help families and children across the Island. The event, which is on Sunday July 27 and sponsored by Integrated Capabilities Ltd, is open to children aged between 8 and 14 years old.
The event is being endorsed by Andrew Nash who will be competing for Team Isle of Man at this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Andrew, who is a recipient of an Isle of Man Sports Scholarship from RBSI, says the Junior Triathlon is a great opportunity for children to discover this rapidly growing sport – and he wishes there were more like it when he was a child as he didn’t take up the event until he was 19. Nash, now 25, will be the Island’s sole representative in triathlon at Glasgow 2014. He commented: “The Junior Triathlon is a brilliant way of getting Manx youngsters involved in the sport. You never know, maybe one of the children who take part will go on to become a Commonwealth Games triathlete.”
The Children’s Centre’s Junior Triathlon begins at 9am on July 27 at the Northern Swimming Pool in Ramsey (in the 25metre pool), followed by a bike ride on the wide Ramsey Promenade footpath on a marked out 700metre circuit. The triathlon then finishes with a run on a 550metre course on the field around Ramsey Rugby Club.
There will be competitions in 4 age groups and each child will be asked to wear a particular coloured tee-shirt to denote which group they are in. Children will be given tee-shirts which they can then keep as mementoes of the event. It’s being run under British Triathlon Federation (BTF) rules and the distances for each age group are the maximum allowed by the BTF.
8 years (blue tee-shirts): Swim – 50metres (2 lengths); Cycle – 700metres (1 lap); Run – 550metres (1 lap)
9 to 10 years (green tee-shirts): Swim – 150metres (6 lengths); Cycle – 3.5kms (5 laps); Run – 1.1kms (2 laps)
11 to 12 years (yellow tee-shirts): Swim – 200metres (8 lengths); Cycle – 4.9kms (7 laps); Run – 1.65kms (3 laps)
13 to 14 years (red tee-shirts): Swim – 300metres (12 lengths); Cycle – 6.3kms (9 laps); Run – 2.2kms (4 laps)
Under BTF rules, qualification for each age group is defined by the age that the child will be on December 31, 2014. For example, if a child is 8-years-old on the day of the event – but will be 9-years-old on December 31 this year – then they will take part in the 9 to 10 years age group.
There will be no winners’ prizes, but all children will receive a medal for taking part, and there will also be electronic timing including a printout of each child’s finishing time. The entry fee is ?10 and participants will also be asked to raise a minimum of ?25 in sponsorship for The Children’s Centre. To sign-up, or for more information, go to http://www.thechildrenscentre.org.im/adventure-events/ or contact Lisa Motley by emailing lisamotley@thechildrenscentre.org.im or phoning 676076.
Photo - Team Isle of Man competitor Andrew Nash pictured after competing on the course which will be used for this summer’s Commonwealth Games triathlon in Glasgow.
