Click here for a Google Map to the wild park in Blue Diamond where the swimming pool and race start are located. Parking is a few blocks away near the NW entrance to Blue Diamond and will be directed with signs and volunteers on race day.
We will be starting the triathlon by age groups and self-estimated swim times, beginning with the oldest and fastest and ending with the youngest. The Long Course racers will go first, followed by the Sprint Course. The Parent-Assist category will go last. At 7:30 all athletes are required to be in the pool area to line up in their assigned start rows. Once everyone is lined up, parents will be asked to leave and the announcer will go over the rules with the racers. We suggest the athletes enter the pool area wrapped in a large towel.
The parent/guardian is responsible for getting the athlete to the event with sufficient time to be completely set up before the 7:30 athlete orientation meeting at the pool. Swimmers are started and timed by pre-assigned numbers. Missing the start time will mean missing the event. The organizers will try to accommodate any unusual circumstances but there is no guarantee that such can be done.
Long Course swimmers will line up along the NE wall and start one at a time in 20 second increments. After the first swimmer starts, the next swimmer will get in and get ready for his/her start in 20 seconds. They will be swimming 250 yards, serpentine-style, across the pool and back 10 times (5 x 50 yds) as such: up the right (NE) side of lane one, turn, down the right (SW) side of lane one, go under the lane divider, then up and down lane two, repeated for four lanes. NO DIVE STARTS.
Short Course swimmers will line up in four lines approaching the SE wall of the pool, behind four cones. Each lane will have an attendant to help the kids get in and out of the pool and get started on time. There are 5 lanes in the pool. All lanes will be used simultaneously. Short course swimmers will start in 30 second increments, swim to the far end of the lane, turn around, and swim back. Swim aids may be used so long as they don’t provide a time advantage. For example, fins are not allowed because they make you faster, but floaties and kickboards may be used if needed.
Swim aids such as kickboards or flotation devices will be allowed. No performance enhancing devices such as fins or noodles (pulled by someone else) will be allowed, except for athletes in the parent-assist category where anything goes.
The parent-assist swimmers will follow the same route as the short course swimmers, but with the assistance of a parent in the water. There will be no penalties for assistance of any type in this category.
over the river and through the woods…
Each lap is approximately one-half mile long. Fun Run, Sprint, and Parent Assist racers will follow this course once and Junior Long racers will run it twice. We will have volunteers at the short/long run split, but it is a good idea to preview the course, so you know when to turn and when to go straight. The run course will not be cleared or marked until the night before the event.
a country mile…
Each lap is one mile long. Parent Assist racers will follow this course once, (unless they are super fast, then twice), Sprint and Long course do not have options because theirs are timed races. Sprint racers will follow this course twice, and Long Course racers will do four laps. We will have lap counters, but it is a good idea to keep track of your own laps, too, so you know when to turn into the transition area.
You are all welcome at anytime to come to Blue Diamond to pre-ride the course. It may be a good idea to familiarize yourselves with the hilly terrain. Traffic will not be blocked except for during the race, so please exercise extreme caution and obey all traffic signs even if it seems like there isn’t any traffic.
No Bikes on Race Course Except for Registered Children. This includes parents in the parent assist category and parents on the Fun Run and Strider Race. NO ADULTS ON BIKES. Parents in the parent assist category may run alongside their registered child on the bike course. They must be on foot with hands free to assist their child as needed, ie: pushing them up the hills and slowing them down the hills.
Training wheels will be allowed.
