James Young, Malindi Elmore and Graham Hood aren’t planning to reinvent the wheel.
Other than the possibility of making a few tweaks, the new management team for the Pushor Mitchell Apple Triathlon is focused primarily on upholding the quality of what has evolved into a high-profile summer tradition in Kelowna.
“We want the legacy to continue and we want it to be a great event,” Young said of the Apple’s future. “It all comes down to quality and if you have that, people will be attracted to it, both the athletes and spectators.
“We want to keep improving the race, keep the quality up and making sure it’s here for another 33 years or longer.”
Young, Elmore and Hood, who also manage the Kelowna Cherry Blossom Triathlon, are taking over the reins from Richard Montgomery, who has decided to step aside after 15 years as president of the Apple Triathlon Society.
The new co-directors of the Apple have seen has seen triathlons from virtually every perspective—as coaches, high-level competitors and organizers.
Elmore and Hood, who are married, both have international experience in athletics, having competed for Canada on the track at the Olympic Games.
Elmore also became a pro triathlete this year.
In short, all three are immersed in the world of triathlon and hope to use those experiences to further stimulate the growth and popularity of the event.
“(Triathlon) is for us our lifestyle, our social network, it’s what we love to do,” said Elmore, who ran in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. “It feels like just kind of a natural fit for us to approach triathlon as an athlete, coach and organizer. We’re all super excited.
“All three of us have different skills sets, but we work well collaboratively, so it’s really nice because they’re such big shoes to fill and and such a big event that I think it will make it easier for us to bring some pieces together.”
From Richard Montgomery’s perspective, it was time to devote more time to his personal life while making room for new blood and new ideas.
Montgomery, along with competition manager Randy Sparrow, helped build the race up from a small grassroots event of 300 competitors in the early 2000s to a major national competition, with as many as 1,800 athletes competing.
Montgomery will leave behind more than a few good memories.
“I had so many positive experiences, saw so many happy faces, just all the people have come to the race and gone away with smiles on their faces,” Montgomery said. “I’m sure I’ll get more time to reflect over the next few weeks, but it was time to step down and let new people with new ideas take it and run with it.
“It’ll all be good.”
Young said he, Elmore and Hood will look to carry on the work done and progress made by Montgomery, Sparrow and their volunteer core.
And if any changes are on the horizon, Young said they won’t be taken lightly.
“One thing we don’t want to do is change everything for the sake of it, Richard and Randy have put on an amazing race so they’ve done a lot of things right,” said Young.
“We’re not going to take any change lightly because it is a successful event, it’s going to be a case of sitting down with everyone, including the guys running it this year, and they say they’re happy to help us next year.
“We want to make sure it’s a race for the athletes and one that spectators want to go to.”
For more on the Apple Triathlon, visit appletriathlon.com
