Springvale to hold triathlon tourney

SPRINGVALE School will this weekend hold their inaugural triathlon competition in conjunction with Triathlon Zimbabwe as the national association seeks to spread the sport to different provinces.

The event is scheduled for Sunday.

It is open to all age-groups and categories, individuals and teams.

The school is hosting the competition for the first time and Triathlon Zimbabwe vice-president, Pamela Fulton, said taking the sport to different provinces is key for the growth of the sport.

It is also a development opportunity for the national association to showcase the sport and to encourage participation.

“The event is being held in conjunction with TZ. This is the inaugural event and we hope it will be well supported and be a huge success. Springvale and TZ can maintain this partnership and the event becomes a yearly event on our calendar.

“It is important for TZ to take our sport provincially to help grow, develop and create awareness of triathlon.

“It is very exciting for us to have a new venue and be able to take triathlon to Mashonaland East. Springvale have had a lot of interest from the local community, so we hope they will come on Sunday, be introduced to our sport and have some fun,” said Fulton.

Most of the triathlon events take place in Harare where the sport has more followers and Fulton, who is also the national coach, is hoping their regular supporters can support Sunday’s competition.

“Hopefully, our regular Harare supporters will also make the effort and travel to Springvale and be able to race on a new and different course.

“We are targeting athletes of all ages and abilities, not just the schools. There are races of varying distances on offer. Possibly down the line this event could even be included as one of our selection events.

“I am honestly excited for this event. Springvale have put a lot of effort into the event, so I really hope we get a good turn out and the weather is kind.

“It will be a start and something we can grow on in the future,” Fulton said.

The national association have held a number of events since the start of the season in September and this presents another opportunity for the youth and juniors to prepare themselves for the next selection event. Events on offer include trikids, trisport, tri-fun, tri-fit, super-sprint and sprint, which are likely to be the main events of the day.