Canadian triathlon legend to lead training session at national age group camp
Olympic gold medallist Canadian Simon Whitfield will be on deck
Age group athletes attending Triathlon Canada’s National Age Group Camp in May are in for a special swim session.
Canadian triathlon legend Simon Whitfield has been confirmed as a guest coach at the event in Victoria, BC, May 26-29. The two-time Olympian and the first male to ever win gold in triathlon at the Olympics will lead a dry land routine and tactical swim start workout. The camp is the first of its kind for age group athletes. Triathlon Canada announced the camp earlier this year, along with criteria athletes must meet in order to register for the four day camp that follows Ironman 70.3 Victoria.
Camp activities are a mixture of training sessions, presentations by special guests and industry experts, as well as social networking opportunities. Sessions are lead by Triathlon Canada’s coaches, athletes and other members of its high performance community. Organizers are also calling on local experts from the community to lead a bike mechanic and maintenance workshop.
Triathlon Canada expands service
The camp is part of a larger initiative to broaden Triathlon Canada’s support and services to its age group athletes, said CEO Phil Dunne.
“We want to start providing to our membership a higher quality of experience and a higher quality of support for our age group participants,” Dunne explained.
“This is one part of those initiatives. We want to connect the team of those that represent Canada at the world championships or the age group team together, to drive a stronger sense of community within our Canadian team but then also provide other opportunities for service, support learn development and recognizing the huge contribution that our age group team does make to our sport and country.”
Coming off of an Olympic year, the organization finally has some breathing room to explore and expand its current services.
“The attention is now available for us to start rolling out some programs like this and engaging our age group community in a little bit more of a meaningful way,” he added.
National training camp highlights
Triathlon Canada is taking a balanced approach to its first ever age group camp, combining a focus on training with learning. Athletes shouldn’t expect a typical smash fest of high mileage and intensity that characterizes most training camps. Instead there will be much focus on education and social opportunities.
“The main value-add pieces are going to be learning and education opportunities. We are doing education sessions with our partners and engaging our practitioners that actually work with our different parts of the program like physiotherapists and service providers. The other side of it is the group training initiative.
“We have specific coaching activities that are going to happen throughout that week as a group, and the social side of it that is going to bring the group together.”
The intensity and volume of the training sessions will be determined in part on the athletes that attend. Coaches will adjust to accommodate to meet the broader needs of attendees. Triathlon Canada anticipates it will continue to offer the camp annually.
“We think this is an activity that is going to contribute to that so that’s why we want to implement it and develop it now and have it as a consistent part of the program that people can avail of as we move through the coming years,” said Dunne.
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Submit an EOI to register
To secure a spot at camp interested athletes can visit the Triathlon Canada website and fill out an Expression of Interest before the March 31 deadline. Activities will be held at the Pacific Institute of Sport Excellence, the same facility used by the elite, and the Canadian Sport Institute, which houses services for mental health, nutrition and strength. Athletes will also be treated to a visit to the Havn Spa in downtown Victoria.
A tentative itinerary can also be found on the organizations website. Find more information here.