| St. Patrick’s AC Go For a Tri |
|
|
|
| Written by Emile | |
| Monday, 05 April 2010 | |
|
Promoting sport as a way of life has long been held as St. Patrick's AC main objective. The club isn't simply about winning races - important as this undoubtedly is - but it also wants to attract people to sport irrespective of their abilities. It is this philosophy that has seen it grow into the biggest athletics club on the island. Traditionally, and as its name suggest, running was the main focus but in recent months the club has also set up a cycling section to cater for a growing group of enthusiasts of that particular sport. This section immediately got off to a excellent start when interest for a cycling tour of Sicily exceeded expectations and plans are already being laid down for another similar trip. Indeed, such was the success of that section, that it has now been agreed to set up a similar setting for triathlon. "We have long had requests to organise a triathlon section within Saint Patrick's Athletic Club," club president Antoine Attard explained. "There are also a number of triathletes such as Danica Bonello Spiteri, George Vella and Michael Gellel who are already members of the club. So triathlon was an obvious choice for us to continue expanding our services to those out there who are adventurous and look for new challenges" "Awareness that a healthy life style makes sense is increasing," he continued. "Even with our limited resources we are going to try to build an organised structure to encourage all those who want to adopt such a life style. We will try to give some service such as basic instructions or a venue where educational sessions can be held. It is indeed complimentary to the current promotion to for a healthier way of life. This is after all our mission." Those views are echoed by club secretary Cyprian Dalli, a triathlete himself who will be heading the section. "The main is aim is to parallel St Patrick's AC mission statement which is that of promoting a healthy lifestyle through the practising of sports. As regards participation in triathlon, a two way strategy is planned: to get existing St Patrick's AC members to participate triathlon especially in the running off-season and to get unattached triathletes to join the ranks of St Patrick's AC." "Members of St Patrick's AC who already are into triathlon were very excited. Other runners-members are enthusiastic about the idea of trying triathlon in the coming seasons, while a few unattached triathletes are willing to join the club once this section is up and running." This initiative has found the full support of the Malta Triathlon Association, as its president Manuel Azzopardi confirmed. "It’s very exciting news that one of the leading Running Clubs in Malta is proposing to set up a Triathlon Section within its framework" "The MTA sees this as a major step forward in its drive to draw more athletes to Triathlon. The sport of Triathlon does not ‘poach’ athletes from other sports: it will rather enhance their commitment to sport in general. Because an athlete decides to ‘try a tri’, it does not follow that he/she will give up his/her original sports discipline; even if he decides to take triathlon seriously, it is likely that he will not want to miss out on taking part in cycling or running races. I see triathlon as complimentary to other sports rather than as edging them out." Azzopardi continued by stating that the association was willing to help the club as much as possible. "We will be able to give guidelines in the formation of the triathlon section; it can assist in the organization of a triathlon race which the club may decide to hold; it can help to foster an atmosphere of trust and ensure that the new club receives the respect and assistance it deserves. It can extend the network of contacts it has to the club and thus assist it to get firmly on its feet. "On its own part, the MTA also hopes to benefit from the resources which some of the clubs may have: meeting places, training places, gyms, human resources, equipment etc. I know that some athletes get together for a training session: they can be joined by their new friends from triathlon." The first event of the St. Patrick's AC Triathlon section will by TRY a TRI! an informative talk at its club house at Gudja on Friday 5th March 2010 at 19:30. This talk is open to anyone interested in getting to know more about the sport of triathlon. This talk will be presented by Malta's top triathletes and current National Triathlon Champions: Danica Bonello Spiteri and Dermot Galea. Both will focus on the basic needs and training required to successful complete and finish a triathlon race. Those who never did triathlon before might find this talk as a great way to enter into this sports and those who never plan to do triathlon will still benefit since the talk will include tips on training, nutrition and periodisation for the endurance athlete. Further information can be obtained by contacting the club's secretary Cyprian Dalli on This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or by visiting the club's website www.stpatricksac.info. |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|