麻豆社区

The idea from the City of Whitehorse to host a Whitehorse Kids Triathlon proved to be more popular than initially expected.

The event was held Sunday morning at the Canada Games Centre.

"It's going to become an annual event,鈥� said organizer Cynthia Corriveau. "We had to close registration, because we were limited to 100 participants this year, just because it's the first year and we didn't want to go too big. We had a lot of people on the waiting list.鈥�

This year's non-competitive triathlon was a resounding success, and Corriveau said next year, the city hopes to allow more youngsters to attempt the event.

Children ages five to 14 were invited to participate, with the goal being to encourage kids to be active and healthy while introducing them to the fun of triathlon and fair play.

"We wanted to engage the kids that have never done it before,鈥� Corriveau explained. "It introduces them to active living, and shows them the trails, the pool. It's to really make them more active.鈥�

The top athletes were able to perform the event as a sprint, while others saw it as a challenge they were able to be overcome.

"It wasn't that intimidating,鈥� Corriveau said. "Because it was a non-competitive event, we saw a lot of encouraging and also a lot of kids were going and getting watermelons to welcome their friends at the finish line.鈥�

The day was full of cute moments 鈥� including many young athletes who felt they had won the event, she added. Each individual received a medal, a certificate, a meal, and a commemorative T-shirt.

Distances were staggered by age groups. The 11- to 14-year-old category had the longest race, swimming 200 metres, before biking four kilometres and running three.

The eight- to 10-year-olds swam 100 metres before biking 2.5 kilometres and running one.

The six- to seven-year-old category swam 50 metres, biked 1.8 kilometres and ran 510 metres to the finish.

The five-year-olds did not have a bike element to their race and were accompanied by a parent or guardian throughout the competition.

Their race consisted of a lap around the leisure pool followed by a 200-metre dash.

City of Whitehorse fitness specialist Eliza Pahl's five-year-old daughter Rory competed.

"The spirit that kids have and those positive encouraging words from one child to another is absolutely why I hope we continue to run fun events like this in the future,鈥� Eliza said. "It was almost emotional to see the process unfold.鈥�