<?xml version="1.0"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>Tri247</title><link>http://www.tri247.com/index.html</link><description>Latest news from Tri247</description><item><title><![CDATA[LIVESTRONG pledges to raise $1million with Ironman</p>]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_9628.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Today, February 9th, the Lance Armstrong Foundation announced a new partnership with Ironman&reg; to help raise more than $1 million for people affected by cancer. Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor, champion cyclist and the Foundation&rsquo;s founder and chairman, will compete as a professional athlete in several Ironman and Ironman 70.3&reg; races including Ironman 70.3 Panama, Memorial Hermann Ironman 70.3 Texas, Ironman 70.3 Florida, Ironman 70.3 Hawaii and Ironman France. Armstrong is racing with the goal of qualifying for the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i, on Oct. 13, 2012, and will be competing as a member of Team LIVESTRONG, which is adding these Ironman and Ironman 70.3 races to its endurance events series designed to raise funds for people affected by cancer.

&ldquo;I am grateful to Ironman for partnering with LIVESTRONG to raise funds and awareness for people affected by cancer,&rdquo; said Armstrong. &ldquo;In my career as an athlete and as a cancer advocate, I&rsquo;ve learned that progress demands partnership, but it&rsquo;s not without a struggle. And that&rsquo;s what Team LIVESTRONG is about &ndash; it&rsquo;s about purpose; it&rsquo;s about challenge and it&rsquo;s about empowering survivors to fight like hell. There&rsquo;s progress to be made with cancer and we invite anyone up for the challenge to join Team LIVESTRONG.&rdquo;

&ldquo;At 13 years old, Lance got his start in triathlon by racing in the IronKids&reg; Series,&rdquo; said Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer of World Triathlon Corporation. &ldquo;At 16 years old, he went pro and was considered a star in our sport. At only 18, he was racing against the best triathletes in the world: Mark Allen, Dave Scott and Scott Molina. We are happy to have him return to our sport. Lance is a fierce competitor and his involvement with Ironman and Ironman 70.3 is good for triathlon.&rdquo;

&ldquo;Lance&#039;s involvement at perhaps the toughest one-day event in all of sport sheds light on what surviving cancer can mean to millions around the world,&rdquo; said Scott Tinley, two-time Ironman World Champion and Ironman Hall of Fame Inductee. &ldquo;I remember Lance as a determined kid who channeled that competitive spirit into an amazing career as a cyclist, survivor and advocate for survivors of a horrible disease. A partnership between LIVESTRONG and Ironman will further improve the lives of people affected by cancer. People need to realize that Lance&rsquo;s foundation represents the use of sport to improve our world. There are only positive things that can come from having Lance join the Ironman family.&rdquo; 

&quot;It is exciting to see Lance Armstrong, one of the greatest-ever endurance athletes, coming back to race triathlons in 2012,&quot; said Craig Alexander, three-time Ironman World Champion and two-time Ironman 70.3 World Champion. 

&ldquo;Lance is an exceptional athlete; he&rsquo;s the type of person who wants to excel and be the best at whatever he puts his mind to,&rdquo; said Chris Lieto, multiple Ironman and Ironman 70.3 champion. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited to see how his participation in our sport will draw attention to what it takes to be a triathlete and how challenging it can be. It will definitely bring triathlon more into the mainstream and I know pro athletes, including myself, will look forward to racing with him at future events.&rdquo;

Team LIVESTRONG has a limited number of entries for these events and people interested in joining Armstrong should visit www.TeamLIVESTRONG.org for more information. Athletes who are already registered for one of these Ironman or Ironman 70.3 events can still race as part of Team LIVESTRONG. General entry is also still available for each of these events and can be accessed at www.ironman.com.

Through this partnership, Ironman will serve as a gold-level sponsor for the Team LIVESTRONG Challenge Series. As a sponsor, Ironman will donate four Ironman World Championship slots in 2012 and 2013 to be auctioned with proceeds going directly to LIVESTRONG.

LIVESTRONG is the brand of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, created in 1997 by the cancer survivor and champion cyclist to serve people living with cancer and empower communities to take action. The Foundation specializes in patient navigation services that help cancer survivors and their families overcome the insurance, financial, emotional and practical challenges that accompany a cancer diagnosis. As a member of Team LIVESTRONG, people walk, run, ride or tri in the fight against cancer in the LIVESTRONG Challenge Series or in other major athletic events around the world. By participating and fundraising for Team LIVESTRONG, participants join a group of committed individuals dedicated to inspiring and empowering people affected by cancer. To date, Team LIVESTRONG participants have raised $82 million for Foundation programs and services. For more information, visit TeamLIVESTRONG.org
]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Winning is for losers...?]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_9614.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Coach James Beckinsale has been doing a lot of thinking recently. The head coach of Optima Racing Team (www.optimaracingteam.com) coaches athletes of all abilities from novice juniors through athletes looking for London 2012 Olympic selection. However, he&#039;s questioning the attitude and focus on &#039;winning&#039; that he has been seeing from several sources and now asks, is &#039;winning for losers&#039;? Is an increasing obsession on &#039;winning&#039; healthy?
These are his thoughts - let us now if you agree (or not) by adding your comments below.  

You constantly hear coaches, parents and athletes talk about the &#039;winning mentality&#039; or &#039;winning at all costs&#039;. However you put it, it&#039;s setting the athlete up, if they are not always first, to become a loser. If you are not first or a winner then, by definition, you are a loser.
Don&#039;t get me wrong, I want the athletes I coach to be picking up first place and gold medals as that can be their reward for the hard yards and performing optimally. But it is precisely not having the &#039;winning&#039; mind-set that will enable them to achieve this. By setting out to win or to beat others, you&#039;re setting the benchmark by something uncontrollable.

Sure you can have outcome or dream goals - &#039;I want to become Olympic champion&#039;, etc. But in reality, in the cold light of day, you have no control over that outcome, so don&#039;t dwell on it, yes use it as motivation but put your time and energy into the process, the day-to-day consistency and hard yards.

I&#039;m a big believer in the benefits of competition and developing a competitive spirit in athletes. But there is a big difference between developing an attitude, wanting to perform optimally and believing that winning is everything. When &#039;winning&#039; becomes all encompassing, when the athlete, parent or coach believes that&#039;s what it is all about (keeping in mind there can only ever be one winner) anyone who doesn&#039;t come first must be seen as a loser.

Other sports
Let&#039;s look at this from the perspective of the noble art; in boxing if you are second you quite possibly got hurt. Still the boxer cannot worry/be focused on &#039;winning&#039; they must be 100% in the moment, focused on the next movement/ counter movement. If they think they have done it (&#039;it&#039;s in the bag&#039;), or even lost it (&#039;this guy&#039;s too good for me&#039;), part way through the fight, it will hinder progress and the fighter could get sloppy, possibly getting knocked out, or demoralised and therefore not seize his opportunities. 100% he needs to be driven, dig in and be mentally tough&amp;hellip; but focus too much on &#039;winning&#039; during the fight at his peril.

Now to the less noble art&amp;hellip; The English football team; we see these players for Chelsea, Liverpool et al, playing well week in week out. They even play quite good stuff in friendlies or pre-big competition (the group stages / quarter final etc). Then like a tonne weight has come from nowhere, they seem to forget it&#039;s just a game. They become tense and tight, make wrong calls, the tension inhibits what they &#039;normally&#039; do. Like a man being faced by a lion and told to run to a safe place! But it is simple; ball - look - pass &amp;ndash; score&amp;hellip; enjoy (I don&#039;t play football!).

They are focused on the outcome and possibly on what people will think or say. They may be worried about a re-signing or their win bonus (or being eaten!). This thinking takes them exactly where they don&#039;t need to or want to be. Instead, to perform at their best, they need to focus on the job at hand, on their individual performance and how they will help the team. And, importantly, they need to enjoy this highly competitive environment.

Winning at all costs
The &#039;winning&#039; mind-set may also encompass &#039;winning at all costs&#039; - we see this all the time on the football pitch, with dives to get penalties and players sent off. We also see this creeping more and more into rugby union, with more players looking for penalties and cards and the infamous &#039;blood-gate&#039; scandal. Generally this type of behaviour is not being discouraged by team mates, coaches or most fans&amp;hellip; until they are on the receiving end&amp;hellip; It may even be considered &#039;not playing for the team&#039; if you don&#039;t employ these tactics.

Is winning at all costs what we want our athletes, sports men and women aspiring to? Do we really want our national teams cheating in front of our eyes on the TV and in front of other nations? Are you happy that we win gold and later find out it was drug fuelled? Or a GB athlete impedes another foreign athlete so their GB team mate gains and advantage?

Do we not want to develop a national sporting standard that we as British subjects are not willing to go beyond, based on sound moral standards? Thus, not prepared to win at all costs?

Beware young prima donnas
It is unusual for young athletes who are heralded as &#039;winners&#039; or child prodigies to go on to compete for top honours in endurance sports (which are classically late development sports). It is more likely that when we see examples of senior athletes performing at high levels they were not seen as exceptionally talented children, but had to fight hard, got their arses kicked from time to time, but didn&#039;t give up, as they saw a light at the end of the tunnel (loved it) and were prepared to work for it.

These same young athletes are commonly the ones who go on to be successful in business or other aspects of life, not only in sport. As adults, they know that things won&#039;t be handed to them on a plate and if something is worth having it&#039;s worth working hard for.

The road to doping&amp;hellip;
The obsessive &#039;winning mentality&#039; can also start us down the doping road, where the athlete is so pressurised and brainwashed about &#039;winning&#039;, possibly from a young age, that they can develop what is called a fixed mind-set. This is where they begin to set themselves up &#039;not to fail&#039; by only competing at events they know they will win or pulling up/out of events they are being beaten in (feigning injury or some other excuse). This can also be seen in training and will be exacerbated if they are coached in an environment where it is not picked up.

They are not thinking about the here and now of their individual performance or how they could learn from the competition/situation for the future&amp;hellip; just &#039;winning&#039; (in this situation, not losing) and why would they, with coaches and/or parents focusing so much on the next race and winning that? In coaching terms we call this &#039;coaching for next Friday&#039; and it&#039;s part of the &#039;winning mentality&#039;.

There is another phase that can follow on with this mentality; if the athlete stops being so dominant and &#039;winning&#039; when he or she asks &quot;How can I guarantee I will become a &#039;winner&#039; again?&quot; the answer some reach is to cheat and possibly take performance enhancing drugs.

So this is the &#039;winning mentality&#039; - is this what we want our young and aspiring athletes to become&amp;hellip; winners?

Is there an alternative mentality?
Yes; a mentality where the athlete is taught about hard graft, skill acquisition &amp;amp; development, mastery of oneself and coached through negative experiences leading instead to the development of a &#039;growth mind-set&#039;.

Just four years ago we saw a young triathlete competing in the Beijing Olympics, the then relatively unknown Alistair Brownlee (unknown outside triathlon at least) had a good little swim, good bike for the young fella and then he went off and took on the world&#039;s best triathletes at their own game. Leading the 10k for most of the run, digging in and hurting, then when the world&#039;s best came past him with 3k to go, he battled on to a 12th place finish.

After the race he was already viewing the experience as an invaluable lesson that would stand him in good stead after another four year Olympic-cycle, saying &quot;hopefully another four years maturity will help me gain extra 12 places&quot;.

We know you get nothing worth having without working bloody hard for it. Learning, taking a few knocks, getting up, digging in and fighting on, developing the mental toughness that is essential in high level competitive sport.

The secret to success
What has driven highly successful senior athletes? Environment, fellow athletes, friends, family, a sound coach, and encouraging (not pushy) parents or possibly an intangible drive from childhood? Probably a mix of all of these and at some point they will have experienced a taste of what good performance feels like, enjoy it / got a buzz from it and want to feel this again. It may not have been a &#039;win&#039;; it may have been a feeling of mastery or just of progression (as in Alistair&#039;s case)&amp;hellip; getting better at something worthwhile or that they believed in.

If an Olympic podium or World Championship was easy to win and you didn&#039;t have to work damn hard to get it&amp;hellip; then everyone would be an Olympic or World Champion... it takes a heck of a lot of hard, focused, consistent yards to make it.

Summary
In this era of high speed internet, mobile phones, internet shopping, quick loans, we can have just about anything we want&amp;hellip; now. It is imperative as coaches, parents, teachers and athletes we understand that a masterpiece cannot be painted overnight; it takes many re-worked and screwed-up efforts before we even begin on the road to mastery.

So let&#039;s take our eye off &#039;winning&#039; and focus on the reality of sport and competition - start putting the pieces of the jigsaw together in building true performance athletes through hard work, enjoyment, technical mastery, discipline, positive / performance environments, sound coaching, developing mental toughness and fun.

Winning is for losers



James Beckinsale is the head coach of Optima Racing Team (www.optimaracingteam.com), which is a performance triathlon club for all abilities.

He is also the director of Optima Training Systems which is a sports coaching company, specialising in triathlon coaching for all distances and is currently the head coach for the BTF Triathlon London Academy.

You can follow James on Twitter: @eggsrinbasket]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Chrissie Wellington gets high in New York...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_9622.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[When Chrissie Wellington announced she was &amp;quot;taking a break from competing in Ironman during 2012 to explore other   opportunities&amp;quot;, I wonder if even she realised that &amp;quot;the chance to explore and seize new opportunities within triathlon and outside&amp;quot; would include...running up the Empire State Building!

The annual Empire State Building Run-Up is organised by the New York Road Runners Club (www.nyrr.org). Taking place yesterday evening (Wednesday), the event/race is exactly as indicated by the title - a run up the 86 stories and 1576 steps of the Empire State Building, finishing on the external observation deck.
Now, this is an event I know a little bit about...I did it myself in 1997 (report HERE), when 14:03 was my finishing time, enough for 31st out of 159 starters.

Well, Chrissie, not surprisingly, did better than I did - finishing in 13:15 for third place overall amongst the women, while men&#039;s winer Thomas Dodd won for the seventh straight year.


  
    Pos
    Men
    Women
  
  
    1st
    Thomas Dodd (GER) 10:28 
    Melissa Moon (NZL) 12:39 
  
  
    2nd
    Christian Reidl (GER) 10:36 
    Suzy Walsham (SGP) 13:08 
  
  
    3rd
    Mark Bourne (AUS) 10:55 
    Chrissie Wellington (GBR) 13:15 
  

]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Clarke and Blatchford kick off 2012 in Australia]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_9619.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[British athletes, Will Clarke and Liz Blatchford begin their 2012 season this weekend as they take to the start line at the 2012 Geelong ITU Sprint Triathlon Premium Oceania Cup in Australia. [Ed: Blatchford&#039;s season actually started last weekend at Caloundra, Queensland where she finished third in the Gatorade Queensland Tri Series Enduro event...]

Olympic hopefuls, Clarke and Blatchford, are part of the UK Sport Lottery funded British Triathlon World Class Programme&rsquo;s 2012 squad and are acutely focussed on gaining selection for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The two athletes are currently training in Australia until the ITU World Triathlon Series event in Sydney in April. They will use the sprint triathlon event as an early season test as they build towards the opening race of the Series, and the first significant opportunity to achieve British Triathlon&rsquo;s Olympic selection criteria.

Clarke finished the 2011 season ranked ninth in the world with his two highlight performances including a second place finish in the Dextro Energy Triathlon - ITU World Championship Series Hamburg and top-five finish in the 2011 Dextro Energy Triathlon &ndash; ITU World Championship Series Kitzb&uuml;hel.

Clarke commented: &ldquo;I&#039;m really excited to get out there amongst it for the first race of my 2012 season. I&#039;ve been training really hard out in Australia and want to blow away the cobwebs with a good hard race. I&#039;m in decent shape but you never know with the first race of the season, the Australians are always strong at this time of year, so it&#039;s just a see how it goes race.&rdquo;  

Blatchford is one of the most consistent British performers, delivering three top-ten performances throughout the 2011 season and finishing eighth at the 2011 Dextro Energy Triathlon - ITU World Championship Grand Final in Beijing.

Blatchford echoed Clarke&rsquo;s comments, adding:  &ldquo;Training in Australia has been good and I&rsquo;m looking forward to testing my form this weekend in the Geelong sprint event. I will use it to help me to find some speed and get race ready for the bigger races of the season. I&rsquo;ll be racing the Mooloolaba World Cup followed by Sydney, San Diego and Madrid WTS in my effort to gain Olympic Selection.&rdquo;

Blatchford and Clarke aren&rsquo;t the only British athletes racing this weekend. The 2012 Bridgetown ITU Sprint Triathlon Pan American Cup will also welcome Kerry Lang and Vanessa Raw in the women&rsquo;s race and Ritchie Nicholls and Harry Wiltshire in the men&rsquo;s event.]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[The 10th Triathlon Show set for success]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_9617.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[The Triathlon Show 2012 (formerly the TCR Show) is now just over three weeks away, taking place on 2nd to 4th  March 2012 at Sandown Park, Esher. Over the coming weeks we&#039;ll be bringing you all of the latest news on the show including previews of many of the exhibitors and details of all of the features and events which will be taking place, all within our dedicated show section.

Here is the latest news on the show. 



The hugely popular Triathlon Show (formerly TCR) will take place on 2nd to 4th  March 2012 at Sandown Park, Esher. The leading multi-sport show, targeted specifically to the triathlete, is ten years&#039; old this year and attracts amateur, professional and celebrity triathletes in the masses. This year, with over 150 represented brands and exhibitors, the show is a must for all with an  interest in triathlon. It will feature informative seminars, from Q&amp;amp;As with  Chrissie Wellington, to bike set-up, to cracking your run PB. There&#039;s also an  array of events, including an Evans Sportive and the Saucony 10k run.

There will be a host of top sporting names present at the  show, including four-time Ironman World Champion and record holder, Chrissie  Wellington, Hywel Davies and Rick Kiddle. Show-goers will have the chance to  get first-hand top tips and an insight into what it takes to reach the top of  the game. Chrissie Wellington will be there with signed copies of her upcoming  book, &amp;lsquo;A Life without Limits&#039;. The signed copies can be pre-ordered by  purchasing an event  ticket in advance. She&#039;ll be holding two Q&amp;amp;A sessions in the 220  Triathlon Magazine Theatre. The triathlon elites will also be participating in  the various challenges and races over the weekend. 



Included in the weekend&#039;s schedule is the Zoggs SwimZone,  where top coaches and athletes will be providing demonstrations of swim  technique and stroke efficiency. Guests can also compete on a virtual 5k bike course in the Powerbar Indoor Time Trial, or relax at The Fit Brands Fashion  Show, where professional triathlete models will be launching the new lines of  innovative brands. The Saucony 10k run will allow visitors to race around the  famous Sandown grounds and The Soleus Perfect Pace Challenge is there to test  participants pace judgement. Evans is also running a sportive on Saturday and  Sunday, taking riders over some of the Olympic Time Trial and Road Race route.  There are many prizes up for grabs for visitors.

Surrey&#039;s Human Performance Institute is holding two hour  consultation sessions, booked in advance, which can focus on areas such as  VO2max testing, anaerobic testing, nutrition and diet and training advice. 



David Townsend, founder of The Triathlon Show says:  &quot;Triathlon is one of the fastest growing sports in the UK and you certainly get  that feeling at the show. It&#039;s always a sell-out and we&#039;ve made sure that  everything going on is targeted absolutely with the triathlete in mind. With  more than 850 triathlons in the UK, there&#039;s no sign of interest dying down. In  2010, there were more than 130,000 instances of athletes donning their wetsuits  and heading for start-lines up and down the country[i].&quot; 

There is also a Triathlon Club Village where local triathlon  clubs can meet, socialise and showcase their offerings to potential new  members.

Advance weekend tickets are now on sale at  &amp;pound;9 for adults. On the door, the ticket price is &amp;pound;12. Under-16s go free if  accompanied by a paying adult. There is free car and secure cycle parking at Sandown Park and a regular shuttle bus will run from Esher Station to the venue. The show opening times are as follows:


  Friday, 2nd March: 12:30pm &amp;ndash; 7:30pm
  Saturday, 3rd March: 09:30am &amp;ndash; 5:00pm
  Sunday, 4th March: 09:30am &amp;ndash; 5:00pm


Address: Sandown Park Exhibition Centre, Portsmouth  Road, Esher, Surrey KT10 9AJ, www.sandown.co.uk

&amp;lsquo;Like&#039; us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter (@triathlon_show) for up to date information.]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Tata Kids of Steel: your help needed!]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_9616.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[The Tata Kids of Steel series introduces tens of thousands of youngsters to the sport of triathlon every year and is a key element in developing the growth of the sport for the future.
The London Region will be hosting four Tata Kids of Steel events, and is seeking volunteers to help and make sure every child leaves with a positive experience of the sport. Can you help? Here are the dates, details and contacts if you can spare a day to support the sport you love and share the message with the next generation. 

Volunteering  Roles Tata Kids of Steel 2012
The following roles are required at  the Tata Kids of Steel events 2012. Full details of each role are explained below. 

  Registration (3)
  Swim start (5)
  Transition  (10-15)
  Bike and run  marshal (10-15)
  Finish (5)
  Runners (5)

Time: 
The event starts at 08:30 and the  event will finish at 15:30. We can be flexible on arrival time if necessary.
London  Dates and Venues
24th April @ Newham  Leisure Centre, E13 8SD
  25th April @ Willesden  Sports Centre, NW10 3QX 
  12th June @ Gurnell  Leisure Centre, Ealing, W13 0AL
  13th  June @ Erith Leisure Centre, DA8 3AT
The  day of the event
A volunteer briefing will be held by  the race director (Adam Moffat/Iain Hamilton) at approx 30 minutes before the  first participants are due to arrive.&amp;nbsp;  Enough time will be allocated to allow any questions that volunteers may  have. They will then be allocated to their team leader.
T-Shirts  and a packed lunch will be provided.
IF YOU ARE ABLE TO VOLUNTEER PLEASE GET IN  TOUCH WITH JON
    jontrain@triathlonengland.org and mob: 07739 526 558
OUTLINE  OF THE VOLUNTEER ROLES AVAILABLE

  Registration       Process

The  main purpose of this volunteering is to ensure that all competitors are  registered for the event, have been given their t-shirt and swim hat and have  been briefed about the event.&amp;nbsp; You will  then show the participant to the changing rooms to get ready for the swim.
Responsible  to: Team leader and/or Race Director
Skills  and experience: No experience necessary, just be enthusiastic with a friendly,  approachable manner and be able to work as part of a team. 

  Swim Start

The  main purpose of this volunteering is to ensure the safety of the swimmers  within the pool.&amp;nbsp; You will be required to  be located in and around poolside to guide participants.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Once the participants have finished the swim  section you will guide them into transition.
Responsible  to: Swim start leader and/or the Race Director
Skills  and experiences: Knowledge of the safety rules within a swimming pool, be  enthusiastic, with a friendly and approachable manner and be able to work as  part of a team.

  Transition

The  main purpose of this volunteering is to ensure all participants are fitted with  the correct bike and helmet size and guide them safely out in to the bike  course.&amp;nbsp; With the participants coming  back into transition you must ensure they safely dismount the bike and safely  remove their helmet before commencing the run section of the course.
Responsible  to: Transition leader and/or Race Director
Skills  and Experience: Knowledge of a transition area (although this can be explained  if required). Be enthusiastic and motivational with a friendly approachable  manner. You must also be able to work as part of a team.

  Bike and Run Marshal

The  main purpose of this volunteering is to ensure that all participants are in a  safe and fun environment, and help facilitate the smooth running of the  event.&amp;nbsp; For the bike and the run course,  it means guiding the participants safely around the course, in and out of  transition and giving them encouragement and motivating them along the route.
Responsible  to:&amp;nbsp; The team leader and / or Race Director
Skill  and Experience: No experience necessary just be enthusiastic and motivational,  with a friendly and approachable manner.

  Runners

The  main purpose of this volunteering is running between the swim, bike and run  section with transition boxes.
Responsible  to: The swim start leader, transition leader and/or Race Director
Skills  and Experience: No experience needed, just be efficient, enthusiastic and be  able to work as part of a team.

  Finish

The  volunteers at the finish area are there to hand out medals, and the drinks to  the participants and direct back to the changing area.
Responsible  to: The team leader finish and/or Race Director
Skills  and Experience: No experience needed, just be efficient, enthusiastic and be  able to work as part of a team.
]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Team Freespeed Virgin Active expands for 2012]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_9615.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Last month  we brought you news that Team Freespeed Virgin Active were expanding for 2012, seeking three new members to join their existing squad of four for the 2012 season. That search has now been completed...and so good was the response, they have actually added four new members to double the team size.
Here are the fortunate four that made the selection. Congratulations to you all.  

New athletes announced for 2012
The selection process for our 2012 athlete line up has been completed and some tough decisions have been made. We set our criteria high - potential to finish top 10 at Kona or Vegas - but we were stunned by the volume and standard of applications we received.
Five athletes had already achieved a sub-9 ironman time, four more already have a Kona entry for this year secured and there were six national champions at varying distances.
In light of this the four successful applicants should feel very proud. Four?? Yes, we decided the competition was strong enough to justify an extra place so the final team size will now be eight athletes, the four existing members and four new faces.
We feel that the chosen four represent the very best of amateur triathlon talent, a perfect blend of potential and experience. So, racing alongside Stuart Anderson, Declan Doyle, Tim Bishop and Jenny Gowans in 2012 will be&amp;hellip;
Richard Hobson
Racing in the 45-49 age group, Richard should need no introduction. 21st overall in Kona 1995, five times British middle distance champion in the 90s, World and European team gold medallist and British Triathlon high performance coach taking two athletes to the Athens Olympics in 2004.
Richard currently lives in France, married with two (very fast) children, and is busy coaching and organising several popular training camps each year in Lanzarote.
Richard was chosen for two reasons, his wealth of experience as an athlete and coach make him an ideal choice to mentor the team and his competitive fire has not dimmed so this year he will be looking for that perfect Kona performance that has eluded him to date. He raced for the team as a guest at the National Relays last year and his fun and relaxed attitude to the sport is infectious and he will fit right in at Freespeed.
&amp;ldquo;Team Freespeed Virgin Active epitomizes what triathlon has always meant to me and is the reason I have loved the sport for nearly 30 years. It&#039;s cool, it&#039;s fun, it&#039;s incredibly professional and made up of committed, dedicated and inspiring athletes. I am truly very excited and honoured to be part of it.&amp;rdquo;
Matt Molloy
 Another name that should be familiar to most is Matt who stepped up a level in 2011, breaking the amateur course record at Windsor alongside winning Swashbuckler, London Olympic Plus and the Dublin City Tri. Qualifying for Kona in Austria, he posted the fastest time ever by an Irishman on the Big Island, 9hrs 13mins, and then went on to win a bronze medal in the ITU World Long Distance Championships in Las Vegas. Matt will be racing in the 40-44 age group in 2012.
Married with four children, Matt is looking forward to a busy year ahead. Kicking off the season in Abu Dhabi, he will then race in Lanzarote, Roth, ITU Long Distance in Spain, Las Vegas 70.3 and finally, the main focus, Kona.
Matt is going to be a tremendous asset to the team, he is dedicated, talented, visible and his enthusiasm shines through everything he does in the sport. The rest of the team are quietly hoping Matt doesn&amp;rsquo;t bring his 9 year old daughter Megan to swim training as she recently clocked 6mins 11secs for 400 metres freestyle.
&amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m delighted to be part of the team for 2012. The support package that has been put together is seriously impressive, as are the athletes that I&amp;rsquo;ll be joining. I&amp;rsquo;m really excited about this year and I believe that being part of Team Freespeed Virgin Active will enable me to progress from what I achieved in 2011 and make 2012 a year to remember.&amp;rdquo;
Sam Baxter
A new name to many, Sam burst onto the scene last year, his first year of focussing on triathlon, in which he won the infamous Ballbuster duathlon, followed by a win at the Beaver Middle Distance, first British amateur at Ironman UK and a 9hrs 12mins finish in Kona.
28 years old and working full time in business development, he is an ex hockey player with, before last year, only a passing interest in cycling and running and no swimming background. We believe Sam has a prodigious talent and we look forward to joining him on his journey to see how good he can be.
Plans this year include retaining his Ballbuster and Beaver titles, UK 70.3, Vitruvian, Ironman UK and if all goes well a podium at Kona.
&amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s fantastic to be joining Team Freespeed Virgin Active. To be a part of a team with high achieving athletes and top brand sponsor support, gives me the best opportunity to develop my own performance and achieve my goals whilst contributing to the team&amp;rsquo;s success.&amp;rdquo;
Alison Rowatt
In 2010, Alison was overall amateur champion at the 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater. Amateur champion and fifth overall at UK70.3 was another highlight in a year that included impressive second place finishes at three other half ironman distance races &amp;ndash; Lisbon, Aberfeldy and Vitruvian. A stress fracture of the foot meant that 2011 was a frustrating experience but Alison still managed to win the Scottish Middle Distance championship and was once again second at Aberfeldy behind Cat Morrison.
A full time solicitor living in Scotland and training with Stirling Triathlon Club, Alison will be racing in the 30-34 age group this year. A step up to Ironman is on the cards and her season kicks off with a visit to Abu Dhabi in March. Other planned races include Lisbon, Bilbao, UK70.3 and Ironman UK culminating, hopefully, in a trip to the Big Island in October.
Another ex hockey player, Alison knows what it takes to get to the top having competed in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
We are delighted to have Alison on the team and are convinced 2012 will be a great year for her. We are looking forward to some road trips to Scotland and to seeing Alison in London to sample the training delights of Richmond Park.
&amp;ldquo;I&#039;m absolutely thrilled to be part of Team Freespeed Virgin Active for 2012. It&#039;s an exciting year ahead and to gain the support from such amazing sponsors as well as the other team members provides the ideal platform to help us all achieve our goals. I can&#039;t wait to get started!&amp;rdquo;

With some fantastic new sponsors in place for this season, things are looking very good for the team in 2012. We will have a dedicated team website up soon and you can follow the team&#039;s progress on twitter at @teamfreespeed
]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Win Newton trainers with B2P Sports]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_9613.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Win a pair of Sir or Lady Isaac Trainers with B2P Sports (www.b2psports.com).
In February B2P sports would like to offer all Tri247 readers the opportunity to   win a pair of the fantastic Sir or Lady Isaac Guidance Trainers.

To   discover your best running form all you need to do is run barefoot. You&#039;ll   immediately discover that when barefoot you&#039;re not landing on your heels, you&#039;re   striking on your forefoot.  Striking on your forefoot is the most natural way to   run, it is also the fastest and most efficient way to run. Newton Running shoes   were developed to make your feet think they&#039;re barefoot and increase your   performance.
The Sir and Lady Isaac offers intelligent control for all   foot types. The Isaac is a neutral guidance trainer designed for runners   committed to improving their running form to the more efficient midfoot/forefoot   running style. Utilizing Newton&#039;s Action/Reaction technology they provide up to   40% more energy return than conventional running shoes whilst guiding you into a   more natural form of running.
CLICK HERE TO ENTER]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Swimovate join Challenge Henley for second year]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_9612.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[We are delighted to  confirm that Swimovate will be the official Swim Sponsor at Challenge Henley  and the Henley Half for a second year in 2012, following on from the successful  partnership in the inaugural year.  We  are thrilled to be working with Lisa and her team again.
The swim course will  once again be known as the Swimovate Swim Course
Swimovate Ltd is a UK  company run by swimmers and triathletes developing innovative, affordable  electronic training products for sports, in particular swimming. They developed  and manufacture the PoolMate range of swimming computers. They are dedicated  to finding workable solutions to training issues athletes of all abilities  have.
The Pool-Mate is an  amazing fully automatic lap and stroke counter for swimmers. It will work with  all major strokes, all abilities of swimmer and all sizes of pool, without  calibration. The PoolMate was used by David Walliams in his epic 140-mile swim  down the Thames and is also used by Ellie Faulkner one of our top Olympic  hopefuls
For more information  on the race go to:  www.challengehenley.com
For more information  on Swimovate go to:  www.swimovate.com]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Do you want to get tribal?]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_9580.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[We&#039;ve been wear-testing some rather nice casual sports clothing over the Christmas and New Year period which may appeal to the triathlete who likes to be identified as such without having to wear neoprene or Lycra. The kit comes from Ultimate Warrior Clothing who are trying to build the concept of sporting &#039;Clans&#039;. The clothing is common to all the sports, currently that&#039;s triathlon, swimming, biking, running, mountain biking, boarding and fighting but the logos and mottos vary for each.

The two garments we&#039;ve been trying are the classic hoodie, an 80:20 cotton polyester fleece which is definitely warm and cosy, and a pure cotton T-shirt that has been finished with that sort of peach fuzz effect that makes it feel really soft. They describe the hoodie as having a large hood - that&#039;s a bit of an understatement, we camped out in ours! OK, perhaps not but it&#039;s definitely on the urban style side of the room rather than the compression kit side and if the wind catches it you may well take off!



The kit&#039;s not cheap: the hoodie is &pound;55 and the T-shirt is &pound;25 but it seems to be of decent quality and should last. Certainly our test samples aren&#039;t showing any signs of distress after a couple of month&#039;s wear but being in that ash grey colour it&#039;s only a matter of time before they get stained - shame that they didn&#039;t offer different colours to match the logos.

Overall we aren&#039;t sure about the whole &#039;clan&#039; thing - triathletes have enough sub-groupings already with clubs, national federations, long distance variants and so on but pretty much all of us know what we are without some form of branding. (OK, there&#039;s the whole M-dot tattoo obsession but I can&#039;t really comment on that given the wife will probably read this!) Pseudo social groupings apart, if you&#039;re looking for something other than your club kit to wear pre- or post-race then this is worth a look. But then, if you&#039;re wearing club kit you&#039;ve already made it quite clear what &#039;clan&#039; you&#039;re in...]]></description></item></channel></rss>
