Triathlon Ireland eBulletin – 21/11/09

Winter may have taken a firm grip across the country and floods may have played havoc with your biking plans this weekend, but the work has been continuing within Triathlon Ireland. The provisional race calendar for 2010 has been published on the website, although changes will continue to be made for several weeks yet. The final calendar will be confirmed around the turn of the year. A number of new events have been included and these will require additional support from TI officials as they prepare for their inaugural event. We extend a welcome to the new races and wish all race organisers success for 2010.

One of the administrative successes of 2009 has been the timely return of paperwork, results and One Day Licence money from the vast majority of events. Our thanks go to all those who assisted. I know it can be a pain at times when you’re queuing to register rather than spending time posing with your new bike in transition, but these ‘Sign On’ sheets are critical for your safety when racing. They help to ensure that insurance regulations are met and allow the Technical Official and Referee to issue a race permit, confident that the organiser has complied with safety guidelines. Your safety when racing is of paramount importance.

There are a tiny number of events who have not played ball and have withheld paperwork or ODL money. These races will not be sanctioned by Triathlon Ireland until they comply with regulations. They will not have approved safety plans or be insured by us and competitors may want to check the level of any alternative cover being offered. Your views on this matter are most welcome.

Membership for 2010 is available through the website, and makes a perfect Christmas present for someone! Who said romance is dead??

The last few weeks have witnessed two very different events being held by TI. The latest Talent ID day was held at the end of October and incorporated re-testing of those juniors who are already on the program. It was great to see a dedicated team of coaches, working under the direction of Chris Jones, put a large group of young athletes through their paces. Following the swim time trial, athletes and parents were given a presentation on the realities of performance sport. No punches were pulled and all present were given an insight to the sacrifices required to reach the pinnacle in sport. The current junior squad members were kitted out in TI gear, presenting a very professional image. We’ll continue to keep tabs on the development of this squad during 2010.

The second event was classroom based; well lecture theatre actually, in UCD as the National Coaching Conference took place. Over sixty members signed on for an enlightening day with some dynamic speakers. First up was Tristan Collins from Performance Impact who talked about developing and managing a coaching team. We’d all like to call upon the best physios, nutritionists, lunch makers, bag carriers etc, but Tristan emphasised the need to identify specific requirements and address them accordingly using available resources. As a coach, control the resources and don’t let them control you.

The middle part of the day gave an insight to the specialist assistance which is available and may be called upon. For the vast majority of us, significant improvements can be made pretty easily. Work on body position in the water and stop trying to beat it up! Lose a few kilos and you’ll go faster on the bike. Exercise consistently and steadily, stay injury free and your running will improve. Add that to a healthier diet with more sleep, knock the booze on the head and hey presto – we’ve all improved. But still, most of us tend to operate at about 60-70% of potential.

Elite athletes have already made these lifestyle changes and show incredible dedication. They may be operating at 95% of potential and find it difficult to squeeze out that extra few percent which can make such a difference. This is when the coach draws upon specialist services such as those provided to Triathlon Ireland by the Sports Institute of Northern Ireland. Presentations were made by Michael Johnson and Declan Gamble, Head of Strength & Conditioning and Physiology respectively. The two guys showed how immensely technical things can get. It was an eye opener, but it has hopefully sparked an interest in those present. Coaching courses will be organised during 2010, but in the meantime, the advice was to get active in coaching and gain experience from those around you.

The last speaker was Darren Smith, the Australian coach of a number of top international triathletes including Lisa Norden and Daniela Ryf. Darren outlined how a coach needs to create a suitable environment for an athlete to prosper and how that environment will differ from one person to the next. This can be witnessed at just about every club training session across the country. It is the coach’s impossible job - to keep all of the people happy, all of the time, while still improving performance. Tough one. On behalf of TI, Chris Jones thanked all the speakers and those in attendance.

Congratulations go to all the Irish athletes who competed in the recent Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Florida. Pride of place goes to Olympian’s Dessie McHenry who ran a 1:33 half marathon to make up a five minute deficit and win his age group. We’ll have at least one more bulletin circulated before Christmas but in the meantime, stay safe on the roads.

Yours in Sport

Conal Heatley
Secretary, Triathlon Ireland
secretary@triathlonireland.com
Tel: 00353 83 374 6607

November 23, 2009 10:23

Michael