Students gain credits on the run

Year 13 students can earn NCEA credits while competing at the upcoming triathlon championships in New Plymouth.

The WIL SPORT National Secondary Schools Triathlon Championships forms part of the Taranaki Tri Festival that is capped off by the New Plymouth ITU Triathlon World Cup race.

Schools racing takes place on March 29 to 30, with the ITU Triathlon World Cup races on Sunday, March 31.

Among the events will be a special NCEA wave of athletes racing over the same distance as those competing in the U16 category.

Festival director Shanelle Barrett said it was an exciting concept for the sport and recognises the spread of course options in schools today.

It offers year 13 students the opportunity to include the event as part of their physical education (PE) studies.

Students can earn credits towards their NCEA through participation in the event, with a specific NCEA wave being set up during schools racing.

And in a bonus for Taranaki students, thanks to the support of TIL Freight (through local business subsidiary Hooker Pacific), 100 free entries have been made available to those entering from within the Taranaki Secondary Schools’ Sports Association (TSSSA) boundaries.

Regional Sports Director for TSSSA Tara Fevre said the opportunity to have the students racing on the same course as the best in the world and over the blue carpeted finish line was too exciting to pass up.

‘‘Many of our schools have in the past used the TSSSA event as a means to assess students for PE credits, so to take this idea to the national event was a no-brainer.’’

Fevre said the early response had been great.

More than half the free entries for Taranaki students were taken up in just the first week of entries being open.

Entries for the NCEA race and all other events are open online, with applications for the 100 sponsored entries from the Taranaki region going through Fevre at the TSSSA office.