Development triathletes enjoy their first taste of triathlon

A team of eight aspiring triathletes from Mamelodi had their first taste of competing in this exhilarating three-discipline sport when they participated in the second leg of the BSG Energade Triathlon Series at Potch Dam in the North West Province on Sunday, October 18.

Involving a 600m swim, 20km cycle and 5km run the race was a challenging experience for most first-timers, even more so for the Mamelodi youngsters who have limited swimming experience and not all have bicycles.

Undeterred however, the group arrived with their coach Isaac Kolela at Potch Dam and excitedly, although a little apprehensively, waited for the race to start as Kolela gave them last minute advice before the starter’s gun went off.

As they are not yet proficient in swimming the group only participated in the cycle and running stages of the race with Bright Mamogali of Sunnyside, one of the country’s elite triathletes doing the swim leg on their behalf, which enabled them to savour their first experience of competitive triathlon.

While, as one of Africa’s most popular multi-sport events for the past 15 years the BSG Energade Series offers South Africa’s leading triathletes a stage to compete against each other for nearly R200 000 in prize money, its main aim is to develop the sport amongst the community at large.

And as part of the sponsors, BSG and Energade’s, ongoing commitment to the above, development teams of athletes, from fledgling triathlon clubs across the country, like the group from Mamelodi, are participating in the series this year in a joint initiative with Triathlon South Africa (TSA).

They now join the thousands of other swimming, cycling and running enthusiasts who have been given a platform in the past in this series to participate in their first triathlon in a fun and safe environment, thereby nurturing a love for the sport.

With comments of “I loved it,” “It was fun” and “Bright is such a good swimmer” the Mamelodi youngsters enjoyed their first outing so much they were back in action in the third leg of the series with a few more members of the team, a little closer to home, at Roodeplaat Dam on Sunday, October 25.

“Today I have a group of 24 youngsters and we’ll be doing the race in teams as we only have about eight bicycles, so some will cycle and the others will run. Bright will once again swim for the kids and will be joined by our only team member who can swim, Thabile Bokaba. Because we have to travel about 20km’s to get to a swimming pool most of the kids are still learning to master this discipline,” said Kolela before the Roodeplaat race. Luckily this is not a problem as being able to compete in teams is one of the reasons why the BSG Energade Triathlon Series is such a success.

To get involved in triathlon, sporty Mamelodi residents, of all ages, can contact Kolela on 072-8120804 or email him on kolela7@gmail.com for more information. For those who would like to help sponsor kit or bicycles for these youngsters they can also contact him at the above telephone number.

Schools who are also interested in participating in this sport can enter learners into the BSG Energade Kids Triathlon Series which is run hand-in-hand with the above mentioned event, and is aimed at getting kids, under the age of 14, active and outdoors. Participation is as individuals or in teams and is not about winning but having fun.

There is a R5000 incentive prize for the school that has the most participants at each race and is a fantastic way to expose youngsters to the sport. For more information on the kid’s event visit www.kidsseries.co.za and for adults who are interested go to www.bsgenergadetriseries.co.za for entry details and race info.