The CAMROSE BOOSTER, July 30, 2013 – Page 28
Kids of Steel program introduces sport of triathlon By Les Parsons, Vikings coach
Kids of Steel? Yes, you read that correctly. In our sport of triathlon, the event for children is called Kids of Steel for a reason. It refers to how tough our kids need to be to compete in our demanding sport of triathlon. This year marks the first year that our Camrose Ski Club has offered triathlon to youth in our community. Triathlon is a triple sport involving the completion of three consecutive and sequential endurance disciplines: swimming, biking and running in immediate succession. Triathletes compete for the fastest overall course completion time, including timed transitions between the individual swim, bike and run components. Our Junior Vikings Triathlon Team consists of 25 youth, ages nine to 14, some volunteer coaches and some support parents. In May, our Junior Vikings started practising three afternoons per week, at action-packed two-technique split-practises of swim and run, bike and run, and bike and swim. Our practises are fun because we have an incredibly dedicated volunteer head coach Mark Eggink, who provides a variety of challenging and interesting adventures for our youth at every practise. I have been coaching endurance sports for 30 years, but I have never cocoached with such a dynamic coach as Mark. His number one priority is the safety of our kids, but, fun is his second priority. The smiles on the faces of our kids, their parents, and even us other coaches, is proof that Mark is a great coach who we are very fortunate to have in our community. Volunteer parents Jeff Humphrey and Kelly Bauer, both active triathletes, are sharing their expertise to help Mark to coach our team. I show up once in a while, just to be entertained by Mark – my "Mister Bean" or "Forrest Gump" of the coaching world. The credit for our great Vikings' team spirit goes to Mark and his coaches, who
Marcy Humphrey Photo Camrose Kids of Steel participants and coaches prepare for the triathlon season. Running are from left to right, Chantelle Bauer, Leigh Humphreys, Hannah Humphreys, coach Mark Eggink, Molly Boyd, coach Jeff Humphreys, Ben Eggink, coach Les Parsons, Emily Eggink and Nolan Koskela.
give each and every child an equal amount of positive feedback, so they feel really important as a member of our team. The focus of our Junior Vikings Triathlon Team is to encourage our youth to experience and enjoy lifelong sport as part of an active healthy lifestyle. We promote fun, participation and skill development. Our youth are challenging themselves to learn new skills like swimming, biking and running. The improvement in their skills and fitness over the past two months has been amazing. Our secret to success is not only great coaching. Camrose offers three great resources for triathlon. The Camrose Aquatic Centre staff have been very accommodating to schedule us into their great facility. Our Rotary Club Four Seasons Park in the Stoney Creek Valley, has a challenging trail system, that is the ideal training site for biking and running. Konrad and his staff
at the bike shop have been extremely helpful in keeping our kids' bikes in working order. Our Junior Vikings have already competed in a few Kids of Steel Triathlons, our first being our own Camrose Mini-Tri in June, followed by the Vegreville Kids of Steel, and, another in Beaumont. Our next three Kids of Steel Triathlons are in Devon, Stettler, and we finish with our own Camrose Mini-Tri at the end of August. Our goal equals finishing is winning! The most important priority for our team is to see the smiles on our kids faces as they cross the finish line with a feeling of accomplishment. We don't focus on results, we focus on enjoying the process of learning to be a healthy, balanced athlete. The Camrose Ski Club offers a multi-season organization of outdoor sports, so that our Junior Vikings and their families can be a part of our team all year long, and, for many years.
The special thing about our Junior Vikings, is that they enjoy the opportunity to train with our Augustana Vikings cross-country running team, ski team, biathlon team and triathlon team. After triathlon season ends in August, we will change our focus to cross country running in the fall. Once the snow flies, we will change our focus to cross country skiing and biathlon. Watch for more information in August, when we will offer opportunities for older junior high school and high school aged athletes to join our team for cross country running. Older youth in junior high school and high school from 13 to 18 years of age, from other summer sports like soccer, swimming, biking, who are really interested in learning how to run and joining our team in September, or learning how to cross-country ski this winter, are encouraged to contact myself, coach Les Parsons at les.parsons@ualberta.ca or 780-691-6912
Some of our Junior Viking triathletes need better bikes. Some of our youth are riding used, older mountain bikes or 10-speed road bikes that are barely holding together, and in need of repair. A few of their bikes are too small; as young growing athletes, some of our youth have out-grown their bikes this summer! If your family has any used mountain bikes or 10-speed road bikes, which you will not be using again, but are in good enough working condition to be used for racing, we would really appreciate your consideration of donating your bike to our team. Your donated bike would stay with our team from year to year, so that each spring new triathletes would have a bike that fits. Or, if you would consider selling us your used bike at an affordable fair cost, that would be equally appreciated. If you have a bike to donate or sell, phone Les to arrange a quick visit to look at your bike.
Bicyclists will make three laps of city for local tour watchers By Murray Green
Tour of Alberta cyclists will be entering Camrose from the north and will be making three laps within the city before riders cross the finish line on the first day of the event on Sept. 4. Cyclists will be heading south on 53 Street and then head east on 50 Avenue until they hit 50 Street. The tour heads south to 44 Avenue where riders will turn west. The tour goes back north past the hospital to 48 Avenue, east to 51 Street and then back to 50 Avenue to complete the first lap. The Tour of Alberta will
feature some of the world’s top cyclists covering 900 kilometres of roads from Sept. 3 to 8. The leader of each day's event is awarded the green Tour of Alberta sprint jersey at the end of each stage and at the overall finish of the race. Stage 1 is from Strathcona County in Fort Saskatchewan to Camrose. “Sprints add a really exciting element to the race and for communities along the route,” said Tour of Alberta chair and former professional cyclist Brian Jolly. “Cycling sprinters are the
ones who can finish a race very explosively by accelerating quickly to a high speed. Their teams often shelter them so they can conserve their energy for that highspeed sprint effort.” Fifteen of the best professional cycling teams in the world will be competing in the 2013 Tour of Alberta, including Team Argos-Shimano (Netherlands); Belkin Pro Cycling Team (Netherlands); BMC Racing Team (USA); Cannondale Pro Cycling (Italy); Team Garmin-Sharp (USA); Orica GreenEDGE (Australia); Champion System Pro
Cycling Team (China); UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling Team (USA); Bissell Pro Cycling (USA); Canadian National Team (Canada); 5-Hour Energy p/b Kenda Racing Team (USA); Equipe Garneau-Quebecor (Canada); Jelly Belly p/b Kenda Racing Team (USA); Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefits Strategies (USA); and Team SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis (USA), which will feature Making the Tour Champion, Kris Dahl from Calgary. Eight riders from each team will compete in the Tour of Alberta. The final
roster of cyclists for each team will be announced in August. Official stage maps and more information about the Tour of Alberta can be found at www.tourofalberta.ca. Follow the Tour of Alberta on Twitter @TourofAlberta or on Facebook at TourofAlberta. On Wednesday, Sept. 4, several streets in Camrose will be blocked off to traffic to accommodate the racers during the stage one finish of the Tour of Alberta. The Camrose streets will likely be closed between 2:45 and 3:45 p.m.