2016 - SWIM - BIKE - RUN BROOME TRI CLUB

“After my children had got to a manageable age, I wanted something that I could train towards as I know we all say, I am going to get fit again, or jog again but doing that is not always easy. You need a goal. I felt if I had a competition that I could train towards it would get me motivated enough to get myself fit again to do a Triathlon So by hosting this event in Broome it is giving people a goal that they can aim towards. An event on a professional level that people would take seriously. If it is taken seriously people will train for it, if it is just a club event then sometimes the push is not there in the same way.

I wanted to see the Tri Club grow and as a member I felt it was waning with enthusiasm and membership. My aim is for my sponsorship is to help it grow and create an official event that people can train towards on an annual basis. My sponsorship is over a 3year period and I am hoping to see the Tri Club and the Broome Visitor Centre in a partnership so the event can grow to making Broome a sports destination during winter. This is one event that can show that Broome is a fantastic place for people’s winter destination for sports – beautiful beach, blue skies, clean air and great weather.

Sport tourism is huge elsewhere. People travel all over the world for golf, in New Zealand they do the extreme sports like biking down mountains, the tourism market is enormous. We want to encourage people to come to Broome, do some training in our incredible climate and then compete in the Triathlon. With this type of event, people tend to plan a year ahead, so with sponsorship we are helping with advertising, getting great timing equipment, making a You Tube video. There are a lot of hidden expenses in getting an event like this to an official level. Advertising, closing roads, lots of volunteers and publicity material – this year we had coloured caps for each of the categories and sun visors.

In the Leading Edge Computers Cable Beach Triathlon we had 65 people this was made up individuals and teams - a really good number. We split the Triathlon into different categories - an ENTICER 250m swim / 5km bike / 2 km run - FUN 500m swim / 10km bike / 4km run SPRINT 750m swim / 20k bike / 6km run. The majority of the people that entered the event were locals who were looking for a professionally run event. Next year we hope this will grow to over 100 people and have people competing from outside of Broome.

The Tri Club has a program and usually fortnightly or monthly they meet on a Sunday to swim, bike, run and then a few unofficial club triathlons during the year to see how everyone is going. They support the BRAC centre Dash and Splash, and there is someone at BRAC who coaches swimming. Usually on Tuesday and Thursday there is a bike ride and also there is arranged run sprints. So a lot is happening and it varies during the dry and wet season.

An interesting fact is that the women demographic in Tri Clubs is huge throughout Australia, and in Broome we have lots of young families, women over 30 with kids who are looking for a way to get fit again.

I participate in Triathlons and that is my journey. I am fitter than I was at 24 and I love that feeling. It’s amazing, the happiness is huge and that gives me balance to my daily stresses. Also I have discovered I have made some really lovely friends and it is a very social happy environment to be in. I never expected that because where you are coming out of the deep black hole of kids you kind do things when it suits you - might go on a jog on your own or swim. Though when I started cycling with a group of people, they were so kind, generous and helpful. I never expected that and it added another dimension to it all. It is great to sit down with like-minded people. They were so helpful if you wanted to give it a go.

Set your goals! It is a healthy event.”

For further information contact the Broome Tri Club www.broometriclub.myclub.org.au