weekly newsletter 11 april 2016

Upcoming Events

• April 24 - Club triathlon and BBQ
• May 1 - Bellingen Show Fun Run
• May 7 - Byron Bay Triathlon
• May 14th - 6pm AGM & Presentation night

CLUB CHAMPS
What  a fabulous event. Kudos to Karen, Nicole and Kristy for the organisation of accommodation and goodie bags. No one could race without volunteers so a big shout out to the pink hat people.
 

Junior Tour Race Report
FIRST RATE… the only way to describe the junior weekend away on the Gold Coast to compete in the Luke Harrop Memorial Triathlon on Sunday.
From effort, conduct, results, comraderie, manners, appreciation: the eight kids from Coffs Harbour Triathlon Club could not have been more impressive over the two day trip.
Leaving Coffs bright and early on Saturday, the drive north was pretty subdued, with a few drowsy heads taking the opportunity to snooze or just relax despite the less than perfect comfort factor on the hire bus.
Once in Southport, jump out and head directly to the race precinct just as the elite women are being introduced as they take position on the starting pontoon. Witnessing these guys in action was an eye-opener for most, not only their sheer speed, but the skills through transition and a very technical bike circuit. The highlight was without doubt seeing Emma Moffatt qualify for her third Olympic Games. Both Dave and Trish, Emma’s parents and Coffs Tri Club members, took it in their stride and were outwardly extremely relaxed. Emma on the other hand, then had to content with several hours of media commitments and back-to-back interviews.
The men’s elite race was no less exciting, with Aussies prominent inside the top 10, as Ryan Baillie secured his spot on the team for Rio.
Despite a lot of time in the sun, and on their feet our junior team were pretty relaxed over dinner, with the only angst coming from the difficulty in applying the race tattoos to their body, prior to packing their gear bag and getting some rest.
An early Sunday start, and a short walk to transition. Pump up the tyres (and repair one puncture), then a patient wait until their wave got underway.
Ben Martin hit the enticer course, finishing well up in his age category on the back of an impressive bike split, and the usual fluent run. A heap of potential here, that will be revealed with a regular training regime.
All in the same wave start, Elora Croaker, Bonnie White and Cleo Abbott were never separated by much throughout the course, and finished inside two minutes of each other.
Elora fought through a stitch on the run to finish strongly, Cleo was closing fast with an impressive run split, while Bonnie surprised herself with how well she handled what was a step up in both distance and race intensity.
Improvement in the last 12 months has been dramatic with Elora, mainly through her dedication and mental tenacity. There are many more steps to be taken on this journey.
Although Cleo has been competing for a while, the benefits she can gain from being exposed to racing on this scale will be enormous as she begins to gain in both confidence and strength.
An extremely relaxed Bonnie was a surprise packet, cycling well above expectation and holding it together through a hot and steamy run.
The boys were off shortly afterward as Angus Roberts, Jake Golding, Isaiah Koopmans and Sam Burke hit the water in a very competitive field.
For me the performance of the day was delivered by Isaiah, taking out second place in his category and an impressive 26th overall. It was great to see him execute a race plan to perfection, finishing the run with a 3min33sec final kilometer. However, what stood out was his attention to detail in ensuring all the little factors were addressed: bike in perfect mechanical condition, frame packed to minimize any chance of damage, stretching routine, warmup procedure, hydration and nutrition all carefully thought out.
Only a couple of minutes behind Isaiah was Sam, using the race as a warmup for All Schools next week. Solid swim, controlled bike and a run that took some time to find a rhythm all good enough for a 3rd place in his category.
Pleasing to see Jake Golding continue to develop, working the swim and bike well and holding on for a posture-focused run.
Angus also ran well off the bike, maintaining sub 4min30 tempo throughout to finish in style.
Special thanks to our two “older” chaperones for the weekend, Sian Bignill and Joe Kane, who were vital in ensuring the juniors were comfortable, informed and were able to start the race in a relaxed state of mind.
Sian also competed, making some positive steps on the bike leg where her top end speed was certainly an improvement. Joe, as always, hit it hard and pushed the limit despite nursing some end-of-season niggles.
Overall, I believe this weekend is unrivalled in the development of our younger athletes. It allows them to observe first-hand the elite end of the sport, whilst also giving a taste of a race where they need to take responsibility for themselves and not rely 100% on parental backup. The support is there if needed, but not as a default mechanism when they are capable of catering to their own individual needs.
On behalf of Phil Benoit and myself, thanks to the parents for “lending” us their kids for the weekend, and also to the Coffs Harbour Triathlon Club for having the vision to financially support an excursion that will have nothing but a positive impact on those that participate.
Hopefully this will be repeated again in 2017!
 
Andrew Rowlings
Phone 66515937
Mobile 0434718274
email: [email protected]

Launch of the Coffs Harbour Triathlon Club Junior Development Squad
CHTC are excited to announce the launch of our first Junior Development Squad (JDS)! The JDS will kick
start for the upcoming 2016-2017season, commencing 1st July 2016.
Our JDS program has been designed to provide:

• A structured training environment
• Focus on individual development and performance goals
• Life balance skills
• A holistic approach to exercise and training principles
• Support and encouragement
• Active involvement within the CHTC and wider sport of triathlon

The opportunity for selection to the JDS is open to all junior members of the CHTC. A detailed selection criteria can be downloaded below and is also available on the Coffstri website, “Junior Development Program Application Package”. We encourage all of our junior members and parents to review this document and applications are encouraged and welcomed from all of our junior athletes.
We are committed to supporting ALL of our juniors and as part of the selection process we will provide unsuccessful applicants with individual feedback and guidance on future development areas to assist with achieving JDS selection in future.
We are open to constructive comment on the future of junior development within the CHTC.
Opportunities are never lost, someone will take the one you miss – Unknown Author
Be part of the process! Submit an application!!
Applications will close Sunday 1st May 2016 and can be submitted via email to:
Phil Benoit [email protected]  (Ph 0418 635 153) or
Norman Howard [email protected] (Ph 0488 025 933).

Junior Development Program Application Package

Sponsor Packages 2016-2017 Season