Kinloch Triathlon Festival returns this Sunday
Kinloch’s biggest sporting event of the year returns this Sunday, February 10 to the Kinloch Domain, with five events in one.
For the serious athletes, the Kinloch Triathlon Festival comprises the Erin Baker Olympic distance triathlon, the National Sprint Championships, and a Youth Super Sprint event.
For the more social athletes, there’s a Splash and Dash for boys and girls, Try a Tri for men and women and Team Tag, a fun event for four athletes.
Organised by Tri Sport Taupo¯ , the triathlon festival features the country’s longest-running triathlon, the Erin Baker Olympic distance race, now in its 36th year. An Olympic distance triathlon consists of a 1500m swim, 40km bike and 10km run. It has been won by local triathlete Sam Warriner (Bradley) for the last six years and local triathlete and Tri Sport Taupo¯ president Steve Currie, 66, and Rotorua triathlete Ray Lichtwark, 73, have competed in it every year.
The feature event of the day is the National Sprint Championships, which is a qualifying event for age group triathletes aiming to compete at the ITU Sprint World Championships in Switzerland later this year. It is organised by Tri Sport Taupo¯ and Triathlon NZ and the distances are a 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run.
The children’s Splash and Dash consists of a 100m swim and 1km run for children aged up to 10, while the Try a Tri for adults is a 300m swim, 10km bike and 2.5km run.
At the end of the day’s racing the fun Team Tag event is a free race for triathletes who have already competed. They form teams of four and each person competes a mini triathlon of a 200m swim, 2km bike and 1km run before tagging their teammate.
Steve Currie of Tri Sport Taupo¯ says this year’s venue for the festival is slightly different as it has been moved further along the Kinloch foreshore so that it is opposite the shops. The area has a better beach than the former site on the Kinloch Esplanade, good toilets and runners did not have to cross the marina bridge.
Sponsored by the Grassroots Trust and Taupo¯ District Council with support from Seven Oaks, Seay Earthmovers, Higgins and Bayleys, Steve says the triathlon festival is expected to attract around 400 athletes on the day, with 200 to 250 of those competing in the National Sprint Championships, including four top Australian triathletes.
■ Road closures take place for a brief time on Saturday afternoon, from 3.45pm to 5.30pm. On the day of the event (Sunday) roads will be closed from 6am to 3.30pm.