Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club Sprint Triathlon Expands
Posted
Staff Report-
WINONA LAKE – The Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club will sponsor the 21st Annual Optimist Triathlon in Winona Lake June 28. The adult race event provides a major source of funding for the Optimist Club since all proceeds are used to sponsor programs and activities for children in the Warsaw and Winona Lake area, according to Ron Donkers, triathlon director. This event draws almost 600 participants from across the U.S., but primarily from Indiana and surrounding states. The race will expand on a new feature introduced last year. This year they are looking to make room for up to 50 area youth to participate in a triathlon just for young people. “We want to expose younger athletes to the health advantages of a multisport lifestyle. The last two waves that we will launch into the lake will be for youth only,” Donkers said. Applications will be accepted from 11- and 12- year-olds and 13- and 14- year-old participants. Age 15 and older will race in the adult classification. “The youth race nicely fits our mission to provide healthy activities in which the youth of our community can participate,” Donkers said. The youth course will be exactly the same as the adult course, but depending on the age group, youth participants will be turned around sooner and directed back to the finish line for that event. The 13- and 14-year-old group will be expected to swim 110 yards, bike 4.8 miles and run 2.8 miles. The 11- and 12-year-old group will be expected to swim 110 yards, bike 2.8 miles and run 1.5 miles. Regardless of age, all athletes will start with a swim then bike and finish with the run. More than 100 Optimist Club volunteers, assisted by Winona Lake, Warsaw and Pierceton Police and Fire departments, will be out to provide traffic control. “Our main goal is to provide a competitive yet family friendly fun activity that has safety emphasized in every event,” Donkers said. “For example, we will have 14 lifeguards in the water in during the swim event.” The race will start at 8 a.m. and a wave of about 60 people will launch into the water every three minutes. After the last adult wave is launched, the two co-ed youth groups will go. All racers will have an electronic timing chip strapped to their ankle to record their progress for each event and overall time. To help introduce adults to triathlons, a new classification called the “Half Swim” wave for those adults that would like to participate in the Optimist Triathlon, but were reluctant to sign up because they did not feel that they were strong enough swimmers to complete the swim portion of the event, immediately followed by a 13.5-mile bike and 3.7-mile run. This feature will be kept so that “less accomplished” adult swimmers can compete, increasing both participation and income from athletes. Half swim adults will only swim one half the normal distance, or 1/8 mile (660 feet total), and they can elect to use a lifebelt or other floatation device as long as it does not interfere with the progress of others. Pre-registration is required. To register for the race and to see the course map for the adult and youth events, visit the Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Triathlon home page, warsawoptimist.org/triathlon or for questions about the race contact Donkers at 574-267-7226. The Optimist Triathlon event is sanctioned by USA Triathlon, an athletic association that has over 140,000 members worldwide and sanctions over 3,500 races in the U.S. every year.
