Despite a swim advisory at Centennial Beach, the annual Barrie Triathlon will go as planned Sunday morning, athough athletes will have the option of staying out of the water.
The Barrie Triathlon will have approximately 475 competitors participating in the swim, bike and run for the best times Sunday morning/ The event has been going strong since the early 1990s.
On Saturday, a message was posted on the triathlon’s Facebook page that while there is a swim advisory, the beach is not closed and the event was still on.
The message reads:
The water quality has tested above the provincial standards of more than 100 EC per 100 mL of water. As such, the beach is under a swim advisory, it is not closed.
The International Triathlon Union deems water quality between 300 to 500 EC per 100 mL of water to be fair quality and swimmable.
We will be giving the option for the (Kids of Steel) to either swim, or if you do not wish your child to swim, they can stand by the swim exit until the last swimmer has exited the water for their age category and then proceed to transition.
For the adult races, you will have two options:
1. The swim portion of the event will take place. If you are uncomfortable with the advisory posting and do not wish to swim you can choose to compete in the duathlon.
2. Please advise us if you wish to change to the do either one so that you can be moved by sports stats for timing purposes it will start at 10 a.m. and run as currently set up - 5K Run, 20 K bike, 5K run.
Event organizer Gerry Maitland spoke to BarrieToday before the advisory was posted and said that while there is a lot of planning that goes into the triathlon, he enjoys it.
“I’ve been involved in triathlons for over 20 years and feel it is one of the best forms of exercise I can recommend,” said Maitland. “Whether it is from the swimming, running or biking, you are getting the ultimate in exercise and using every muscle in your body. The other really great thing is completing it or bettering your last time; it gives you such a boost.”
The event is open to anyone aged 6 and up with a special section for the kids starting at 8:30 a.m. The Kids Of Steel program was started by Maitland and it is something he looks forward to every year.
“I am really happy with the Kids Of Steel initiative because it is so important for kids to get out and get physical in many types of activities and triathlons are a great mixture for them,” said Maitland. “It isn’t good for a kid to do hockey 365 days of the year or baseball or any sport for that matter. They need to mix it up and this is three types of sport in one.”
The Barrie Triathlon takes place at Centennial Beach today with the main race underway at 9:30 a.m. Proceeds from the race will go to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
