Quadrathlon Summery of 2009
Quadrathlon Summery of 2009
Targets for 2010
Summery of 2009 Quad Season
This year has certainly been a tough one for Quadrathlon, reduced numbers at races lead to the Brigg Bomber being cancelled. I'm sure the recession has had its impact, there have also been depleted numbers and cancellations of Triathlons up and down the country too, so we are not alone. There has also been the pressure from other sporting activities with many of our regular Quadrathletes having other challenges this season focusing on world triathlon races, marathon running, adventure racing, long distance biking and marathon kayaking too. This has been good to see, with some excellent results across the board.
Under the Rules of the Trophy series, athletes have to compete in 3 races to qualify for the Trophy Prizes. Unfortunately this year no one has completed 3 races, so there are no winners in any of the categories. 10 males and 2 females completed 2 races, however there was a bigger than ever turnout of athletes doing 1 race, 90 males and 30 females. There have been a lot of new faces, which is very encouraging to see, lets hope they have got the bug and want to do more next season, It would be good to see the numbers building up again this coming season.
At World level the recession took its toll too, with little sponsorship for organizer Vaclav, and numbers down, there is now a question too about the venue for next season. We only had 4 athletes take the trip to CZ this year, never the less Dan Corner did us proud and took the World Title for the 3rd time. Keith Longney took Vet 45 Gold and Peter Hart Silver Vet 55. Unfortunately Helen Dyke struggled with the cold weather and choppy kayak conditions and came home 6th.
Trophy Races
The First race of the season Deeside had 30 competitors, 20 doing the Duathlon and 10 doing the Kayak Tri, the organizer was happy and conditions were good.
The Adventure Challenge, Brigg had 35 competitors with 6 Teams, good competitive racing, but slightly down on numbers from the previous year.
Unfortunately the Bomber (National Championships) was cancelled, due to lack of entries, this was a great shame, as it’s a superbly organized race, an excellent venue run by an enthusiastic bunch from Lincsquad. You need a lot of help to put on such a good race, and with the entries being so low it wasn't worth the expense and time. This is a great shame and we really hope we can get the support of Quadrathletes to get this race or similar back on our calendar.
On a positive note Mark Pryor from Quadrac Racing, made his race the National Championships at Box End. Once again the sprint race was a great success, good conditions and competitive racing too. The Sprint distance certainly attracts the numbers and it was great to see plenty of first timers enjoying the challenge. Maybe we should learn from this and try to have more sprint races in our calendar.
Pembroke only had 10 competitors, though that is up on numbers from last year, calm weather made for excellent conditions, so that may encourage athletes for next year.
Bude again, never having trouble with entries had a good turnout, lovely September weather lead to a successful race … there’s something about the Awesome Foursome … it must be those Cornish pasties!
Targets
The main concern for the BQA, over the winter is building up our race calendar and to try and encourage more athletes to do more races. We may have another Olympic distance race in the Lakes, and a Sprint in the New Forest, nothing has been confirmed yet, but we hope to add these to our calendar in the near future. Once again we hope for a training weekend to muster up more enthusiasm, this would be a great start to our season … we just need a good venue and some volunteers.
If anyone has any contacts, or knows of a Triathlon which may like to add a kayak leg, or likewise a canoe club who would like to help with a race or training weekend please don't hesitate to let us know.
Winter Races
The Winter Season is about to start, with details of all the races under events
18th October Box End Duathlon (5k run, 15k bike, 5k run)
25th October Way Kayak Club Kayak Triathlon (5.5k kayak, 14k bike, 5k run)
26th November Wadenhoe Series 1 (2 mile run, 2 mile kayak, 6 mile bike, 1 mile run)
13th December Lincsquad off Road Duathlon (3mile run, 11mile bike, 1.5mile run)
So there are plenty of races to keep your arms legs spinning over the winter!
Christmas
If you need any ideas for Christmas presents I have some BQA kit for sale
£60 BQA Tri Suit
£25 BQA Navy Hoody
£15 BQA Long sleeve T-shirts Navy or red
£1.50 BQA Car Stickers
Just email me with your order (+ £3.00 p&p) malpasashleys@btinternet.com
If you have any ideas or suggestions you would like to tell us about please email me, or even better come along to our AGM at Wadenhoe 26th November … Race first, then enjoy homemade soup and bacon butties, and then join us for the meeting.
It’s a small sport with a big heart, we need your help to keep our sport alive.
