There’s a lot going on this weekend! Ashcroft is hosting its 3rd annual Wellness and Music Festival, with fabulous workshops, entertainment, live music, and more! The fun is for every age and interest, all with the purpose of wellness! My favourite event of the weekend is the Kids’ TRYathlon, hosted by the Desert Hills Triathlon Club.
Three years ago, the Triathlon Club started the Kids’ TRYathlon, with the purpose of inspiring kids to be more to be more active. Whether it be swimming, biking, running, triathlon, or something else, the Club provides positive movement experiences so that:
Kids believe they can do it;
Kids will realize that moving is fun;
Kids know the camaraderie in sport; and
Kids make active living a part of their lives.
With the generous help of more than 20 local sponsors, including the United Way and Interior Savings Credit Union, the TRYathlon is in its third year, and has always been completely free. To date the event has impacted more than 100 children. The word triathlon was changed to TRYathlon, to indicate that the event was designed for kids to TRY the sport of triathlon. This year, in addition to the TRYathlon, the Desert Hills Tri Club added five days of Triathlon Day Camp. All this week at the Ashcroft Pool Park, kids are participating in full days of swimming, biking, running skills, drills, games, and fun; and again, thanks to our sponsors, the event is completely free!
We invite you to come cheer the kids on this Saturday from 9:00 am to noon. The TRYathlon begins at the Ashcroft Pool and finishes at the downtown Heritage Park. Participants complete a distance swim followed by a bicycle ride, and finish with a run. The distance of each leg depends upon the age of the child. For example, a 5-year-old would swim 25 metres (1 length), bike 2.5 km, and run 300 metres, whereas a 16-year-old would swim 500 metres (20 lengths), bike 10 km, and run 5 km. As you can see, a triathlon is no small challenge, and any child who completes it deserves their medal (which they receive at the finish line).
Bring your bells, horns, claps, and cheers, stand along the route wherever you wish, and cheer these young athletes on; your encouragement could be a turning point in a child’s life!
Vicky Trill