Writtle College, in partnership with Discovery Tri Club, will be hosting its first ever Open Water Triathlon event using the network of cycle paths across its 220-hectare estate and its reservoir.
The event, on Saturday 20 June, is also the first time that Chelmsford-based Discovery Tri has staged a Junior Open Water Triathlon – and the first Junior Open Water Triathlon in the Eastern Region.
It will feature a Tristart (under 9s), Duathlon (run, bike, run), and Open Water Triathlons for Tristart 1 (under 11s) up to Junior level (under 19s).
Caroline Flanagan, Head of the School of Sport, Equine and Animal Sciences at Writtle College, said: “We are proud to partner Discovery Tri in their first ever Open Water Triathlon, which is also the first time the College’s estate has been used for a triathlon. We have the ideal surroundings here at the College to facilitate such an event and hope it becomes an annual collaboration.
“We deliver sports courses at both Further Education and Higher Education levels, as well as our Foundation Degree in Cycling Performance, so we hope the youngsters taking part will be inspired by this event and consider studying with us in the future, if they want to turn their hobby into a career and work in the exciting sports industry.”
Discovery Tri Club, in its 9th year, offers regular triathlon training for children aged eight to 18. Although only a small club, it can boast a record as one of the best in the East Region with 21 first place, 13 second place and eight third place finishes for its athletes in Regional League events in the 2014 season.
One sibling pair, Abbie and Cameron Kerr notched up nine Regional victories in the 2014 season, with Abbie coming top for the Region and 6th in National Finals in Nottingham. Brother Cameron came second in the Region and was selected to the Regional Academy. Cameron has also recently been selected to represent Great Britain later this year in Geneva at the European Finals, in the 15 to 19 year-old category.
Ashley Nicholson, Event Director for Discovery Tri, said: “Discovery boasts 11 sets of siblings (24 children!) taking part in weekly training and regular triathlons on behalf of the Club. Athletes range in age from eight to 18 years old and now compete up to GB level. So it seems that, in the world of triathlon, it’s not only Great Britain’s Brownlee brothers who have the monopoly on being sibling triathletes!
“We are very excited to be hosting our first ever Open Water Junior Triathlon at Writtle College and look forward to working with the College further to continue our work inspiring young triathletes.”
• You will need to register for the Discevent at Writtle College by 12 June and places are limited. More information is available on the Discovery website - www.discoverytri.co.uk (Discevent 2015) - or by email to membership@discoverytri.co.uk. You can register direct on www.entrycentral.com.
• For more information about Writtle College Sports courses, please visit www.writtle.ac.uk