In an area which seems to have an abundance of individuals interested in testing their limits, the Bulkley Valley Pool Triathlon is fast becoming a popular way in order to get a taste of such a test.
According to Carmen Wodjak of the pool, the preregistration numbers for Sunday’s race are up more than 10 per cent over last year’s figures.
“We had 94 registered by last Monday. That’s far more than we have had before in preregistration last year. We had about 85 preregistered last year and we had about 109 altogether including the late registers,” she said.
She feels that the event has gained popularity due to a number of number of factors.
“Ease of access. It’s really good for a starter triathlon for those who have not done one before. It’s really good for those younger participants who want to try it. We will have kids down to five years old who might want to start participating. It’s right in town here. You’re swimming in the pool so you are not in open water which can be challenging in itself.
“These are kids who are doing lessons at the pool or they are in Otters (swim club) or they are in sports at school. Maybe they are on the cross-country team so they are familiar with the routes. The youngest kids have to swim one length and they do have the option of using a kickboard or a noodle or swimming in a life jacket,” Wodjak said.
She feels that the event is designed to encourage them to participate.
In addition to the youngsters, adults have been participating in good numbers.
For those participants who might not want to do all three parts of the race (swim, bike, run), Wodjak said there were quite a few teams registered to compete.
“It’s a good way to start off on a triathlon if you are not sure about doing the whole thing on your own. You can start off with a team and maybe next year try it all on your own,” she said.
For safety out in the town, for the biking and running routes there will be numbers of people directing racers to go the right direction as well as for traffic control. There will also be race in progress signs, and there will be announcements on local radio.
“For the route where the younger kids will be racing, we will be delivering letters to the homeowners so that they are aware that there will be little kids running and biking so that they will be cautious when they are backing out of their driveways,” said Wodjak.
So far this year 30-40 participants have registered in the youngest group.
“We still need more volunteers,” said Wodjak.
“The event has been successful in the past because of the number of volunteers and sponsors and that’s the reason we have been able to have the very low price for the early bird registration. It’s due to the sponsors. And the reason we have been able to run it so smoothly on the day of the event is because of the volunteers.”
For more information on volunteering, check bvpool.com.
