TI National Series/Championship 2018

jnk883

Looks like races are starting to announce their selection for 2018

So far I see

Hook or by Crook (sprint) June 16th - National Series
Moby Dick Aquavelo July 15th - Aquabike National Championships
Cobh Jailbreak Triathlon (olympic) July 21st - National Series

Anyone aware of others? No doubt TI will be releasing it soon but excited to see what other races made the cut.

toomuchdetail

jnk883 wrote: »

Looks like races are starting to announce their selection for 2018

So far I see

Hook or by Crook (sprint) June 16th - National Series
Moby Dick Aquavelo July 15th - Aquabike National Championships
Cobh Jailbreak Triathlon (olympic) July 21st - National Series

Anyone aware of others? No doubt TI will be releasing it soon but excited to see what other races made the cut.

Westport June 16th - National Series

griffin100

Carlow is NS again for 2018, May 20th.

boysinblack

Kilkee loses national series...

https://www.triathlonireland.com/News/2017/2018-Major-Events-Calendar.html

jnk883

Anyone know much about Tri Limits Middle Distance Triathlon? Will start drawing up my calendar for the year soon. Nice to get the list out early. A lot of the usual events there. Pity it is the sprint in Dublin, I like that event but I'd prefer to do the Olympic distance.

Kurt.Godel

I've had a horror show each time I've raced it, but delighted to see Harbourman get the Standard Champs. Wicklow Tri put a huge effort into this race.

boysinblack

Kurt.Godel wrote: »

I've had a horror show each time I've raced it, but delighted to see Harbourman get the Standard Champs. Wicklow Tri put a huge effort into this race.

Are the steps still in the run course??


Sure the cork/galway lads wont be too happy with the sprint and standard national champs being up here!

Kurt.Godel

boysinblack wrote: »

Are the steps still in the run course??


Sure the cork/galway lads wont be too happy with the sprint and standard national champs being up here!

Its a handy series for the east coast all right!

And yes those steps are still there...

BTH

Kurt is putting all us westies up for the Wicklow race anyway

Macy0161

jnk883 wrote: »

Anyone know much about Tri Limits Middle Distance Triathlon?

There was a thread on it earlier in the year I think - seemed to be positive for the first running of it.

Is Carlow the 20th or 5th May (as per the TI list)?

Kurt.Godel

Macy0161 wrote: »

Is Carlow the 20th or 5th May (as per the TI list)?

5th May would be pretty optimistic for a Barrow swim

panda100

boysinblack wrote:

Kilkee loses national series...

That's suprising isn't it? How are these usually picked?

jnk883

I was hoping to possibly see one of the hardman races on it but it was too soon for them. Found the forum on Tri Limits Middle Distance Triathlon and looks to be good feedback, may target that with a nice weekend away.

I believe TI don't like to give a race NS three years in a row, but was it Kilkees second or 3rd year in a row last year? Wonder did the negative feedback on the pricing cost them?

Macy0161

Kurt.Godel wrote: »

5th May would be pretty optimistic for a Barrow swim

Would make the annual "will the water temp be high enough" debate more real though!

griffin100

Macy0161 wrote: »

There was a thread on it earlier in the year I think - seemed to be positive for the first running of it.

Is Carlow the 20th or 5th May (as per the TI list)?

We'll check in with TI tomorrow, the 5th is definitely optimistic for a swim.

RacoonQueen

jnk883 wrote: »

Anyone know much about Tri Limits Middle Distance Triathlon? Will start drawing up my calendar for the year soon. Nice to get the list out early. A lot of the usual events there. Pity it is the sprint in Dublin, I like that event but I'd prefer to do the Olympic distance.

Tri Limits is a fantastic race. Not sure about Dungannon in general for a weekend away though.
If I don't end up entering IM Copenhagen, Tri Limits will be on my plan. With it being national series I'd need to up my game to get podium again.

Kurt.Godel

griffin100 wrote: »

We'll check in with TI tomorrow, the 5th is definitely optimistic for a swim.

Looks like TI agreed with you, Carlow now listed as the 20th May.

Begs

Black Triday alert!

https://www.castletriathlonseries.co.uk/enter-now-2018/enter-lough-cutra-castle-triathlon-2018/

You can enter this NS race now for €48+booking fee - a €20 discount.

Kurt.Godel

Reminder that entries open for Harbourman in Wicklow this morning.

boysinblack

Kurt.Godel wrote: »

Reminder that entries open for Harbourman in Wicklow this morning.

In standard TI fashion it's open already

Kurt.Godel

boysinblack wrote: »

In standard TI fashion it's open already

Like any good boy scout I made sure my own entry was wrapped up before kindly alerting the hordes

Begs

I see Carlow are pricing their sprint at €60 this year.

Trilimits - also NS - is priced at £80 for a middle distance event.

Kurt.Godel

Begs wrote: »

I see Carlow are pricing their sprint at €60 this year.

Trilimits - also NS - is priced at £80 for a middle distance event.

Carlow increased their price to €60 last year, annoyed a lot of people alright but it sold out so the market has spoken. In their favour they ran a very slick operation from year one.

Macy0161

Kurt.Godel wrote: »

Carlow increased their price to €60 last year, annoyed a lot of people alright but it sold out so the market has spoken. In their favour they ran a very slick operation from year one.

The top the gave out was excellent too in fairness to them - I've got a lot of use out of mine (and am actually wearing it as I type!).

TheBazman

Macy0161 wrote: »

The top the gave out was excellent too in fairness to them - I've got a lot of use out of mine (and am actually wearing it as I type!).

Half the triathlon community in the country are wearing those tops. They are excellent.

RacoonQueen

Ah forgot about the price of Carlow. That's that one off my list.

griffin100

Apologies to anyone trying to register for Carlow this morning. TI don't seem to have opened the reg page. We're trying to get hold of them to get it sorted.

Kurt.Godel

Seems to be working now, I entered.

griffin100

Yep just sorted.

EC1000

Just noticed there are still spots available for Kilkee next month. Is that purely a reflection of it not being NS this year or is there a lingering resentment about last year's pricing strategy? Big change from a couple of years ago when there were 1000+ and a lottery system.

Kurt.Godel

Schull Triathlon Club hosted a brilliant NS race today, the sun blazed down upon a wonderful part of the world. It was pretty hot from early on, the water giving welcome relief with ne'er a wave to be seen. Donncha Kiely, Trevor Woods, and Fabian Mangan took the honours for the gentlemen (a very wide spread of ages there) and Katie Hickson just edged a very tight ladies race on the run passing Amy O'Keefe and Katie Cooke.

Huge kudos to our very own BoysinBlack on a brilliant 4th place!

Results

boysinblack

Kurt.Godel wrote: »

Schull Triathlon Club hosted a brilliant NS race today, the sun blazed down upon a wonderful part of the world. It was pretty hot from early on, the water giving welcome relief with ne'er a wave to be seen. Donncha Kiely, Trevor Woods, and Fabian Mangan took the honours for the gentlemen (a very wide spread of ages there) and Katie Hickson just edged a very tight ladies race on the run passing Amy O'Keefe and Katie Cooke.

Huge kudos to our very own BoysinBlack on a brilliant 4th place!

Results

Cheers Kurt. Schull such a beautiful place! Tri was well worth the driving.

MojoMaker

Well done Micheál :cool:

TopOfTheHill

Kurt.Godel wrote: »

Schull Triathlon Club hosted a brilliant NS race today, the sun blazed down upon a wonderful part of the world. It was pretty hot from early on, the water giving welcome relief with ne'er a wave to be seen. Donncha Kiely, Trevor Woods, and Fabian Mangan took the honours for the gentlemen (a very wide spread of ages there) and Katie Hickson just edged a very tight ladies race on the run passing Amy O'Keefe and Katie Cooke.

Huge kudos to our very own BoysinBlack on a brilliant 4th place!

Results

Only down the road from me, and have done it the last 3 years , since I started triathlon - its a great starter race.

Always a great race and great atmosphere, the weather was amazing, and the water as pancake flat.

Well done to Schull Tri Club.

Kurt.Godel

EC1000 wrote: »

Just noticed there are still spots available for Kilkee next month. Is that purely a reflection of it not being NS this year or is there a lingering resentment about last year's pricing strategy? Big change from a couple of years ago when there were 1000+ and a lottery system.

It's still open with 2 weeks to go- that's pretty much unprecedented over the past few years. They lost a lot of brand goodwill when they raised the price to €90 last year (since lowered to €75 for 2018). Limerick Tri are a great club and Kilkee a great race but they raised the bar on price entry way too high.

boysinblack

Getting seriously frustrated with the amount of drafting in this years national series. Two national series races so far haven't even had motorbike marshals and no signs of any penalties even been handed out at the other two

TriFirst

boysinblack wrote: »

Getting seriously frustrated with the amount of drafting in this years national series. Two national series races so far haven't even had motorbike marshals and no signs of any penalties even been handed out at the other two

I did the Westport triathlon and there was no mention of drafting in the pre race briefing, but the communication was poor generally at this triathlon, not helped by a clapped out P.A. system and officials / race directors who were found wanting. It was my first time doing a national series race and other than in name there was very little difference in organisational standards and communication compared to even the smallest non- triathlon Ireland sanctioned events. The conditions were testing and temperature was cold, with sideways rain and gales blowing, so insisting all competitors stand around for 20 mins in the cold while they attempted to give an inaudible race briefing was pointless as was explaining the run route which nobody could hear. And as for the goodie bag ? ... a chocolate cake !!! Not sure I'd do this particular race again, but the Westport scenery was stunning.

jester1980

TriFirst wrote: »

I did the Westport triathlon and there was no mention of drafting in the pre race briefing, but the communication was poor generally at this triathlon, not helped by a clapped out P.A. system and officials / race directors who were found wanting. It was my first time doing a national series race and other than in name there was very little difference in organisational standards and communication compared to even the smallest non- triathlon Ireland sanctioned events. The conditions were testing and temperature was cold, with sideways rain and gales blowing, so insisting all competitors stand around for 20 mins in the cold while they attempted to give an inaudible race briefing was pointless as was explaining the run route which nobody could hear. And as for the goodie bag ? ... a chocolate cake !!! Not sure I'd do this particular race again, but the Westport scenery was stunning.

Had to laugh at the choc cake bit there, I did this as well and came down from Dublin, I wasn't sure what to expect when given the goodie bag, the cake made me laugh, I thought maybe they had ran out and that was what I was left with. But I ate it today with my work friends and everyone loved it.

I did see a good bit of drafting on the bike, I think I came out high enough on swim but was overtaken on bike by good few people drafting. You see these things though which is a pity.

My only small complaint about the race was the run markings, 1km marking was @1.5, 2 @ 2.5, 3 @3.5 4@ 4.1 so was strange, as you said couldn't hear about the run but I thought maybe they had added 500 m to run because the swim was 60/70 m short.

toomuchdetail

TriFirst wrote: »

I did the Westport triathlon and there was no mention of drafting in the pre race briefing, but the communication was poor generally at this triathlon, not helped by a clapped out P.A. system and officials / race directors who were found wanting. It was my first time doing a national series race and other than in name there was very little difference in organisational standards and communication compared to even the smallest non- triathlon Ireland sanctioned events. The conditions were testing and temperature was cold, with sideways rain and gales blowing, so insisting all competitors stand around for 20 mins in the cold while they attempted to give an inaudible race briefing was pointless as was explaining the run route which nobody could hear. And as for the goodie bag ? ... a chocolate cake !!! Not sure I'd do this particular race again, but the Westport scenery was stunning.

I am not sure of what you were expecting or what experience you have on the triathlon scene in this country but as race director I can categorically say that neither the officials or myself have ever been found wanting , we had a race briefing document that mentions drafting in it 7 times and drafting was mentioned in the briefing on race morning and allowing for the weather perhaps it got lost in translation. The organisation standards for NS are very high we for example submit a 28 page event plan and we also had a 18 page race briefing , we had 14 life savers on the water ,2 ambulances, 2 garda cars , civil defense, 2 ribs and the coast guard all on site on race day.We also provided free food for 250 people and the 70 marshals , free ice cream for the kids or those who wanted it and this level of detail is not unique to ourselves , alot of very conscientious clubs organising big or small triathlon in the country does the exact same thing but alot don't ,I will also happily provide my details if you want to run your experienced eye over our event plan and on how we executed it and I would be happy to chat on where you personally found me wanting and on how I can improve . I am delighted you took the time and spent your money with us and we hope you come back to Westport , we had 1 person from the 300 competitors make a comment on the run markers which we will take on board and we had no complaints on the free cake, free medal, free hot food, free fruit or the free ice cream.

toomuchdetail

jester1980 wrote: »

Had to laugh at the choc cake bit there, I did this as well and came down from Dublin, I wasn't sure what to expect when given the goodie bag, the cake made me laugh, I thought maybe they had ran out and that was what I was left with.

I did see a good bit of drafting on the bike, I think I came out high enough on swim but was overtaken on bike by good few people drafting. You see these things though which is a pity.

My only small complaint about the race was the run markings, 1km marking was @1.5, 2 @ 2.5, 3 @3.5 4@ 4.1 so was strange, as you said couldn't hear about the run but I thought maybe they had added 500 m to run because the swim was 60/70 m short.

Drafting is always an issue at most events and perhaps 2 motorbike officials is not enough, in an out and back for 10k each side it is hard to avoid. Drafting is an athlete issue and if someone decides to take an illegal advantage it is cheating by the athlete involved. The run measured 5.01k in total , the signs mix up happened as a tree blew down on the course on race week and we had to replan the run. Most people have garmins so they will be self guided. We hope you make it back to us and make a weekend of it .

Kurt.Godel

That was my first time doing Westport and I didn't think it too bad for drafting compared with most other races. Sure it goes on but after a while you realise cheaters gonna cheat... the motorbike draftbusters seemed to be doing a decent enough job from what I could see.

My only gripe was the shortened swim course which I thought was unnecessary, but it was only short by less than 100m or so, so no big deal. I too noticed the run km signs in the wrong place but this didn't affect me as I paced from the watch.

Sometimes we can comment on the negatives and leave the positives for granted- FWIW I was very impressed with the organisation on the day. Registration was quick and efficient. Plenty of lifeguards in the water and I don't ever think I've seen surf rescue boards used in previous tri's, they were very effective in Westport so well done there. The bike was well-marshalled, any tight corners were forewarned loud and clear which is what you want at speed on the bike. The run course was a treat through those grounds, and again there were loads of efficient marshals (some of whom had to face that exposed wind for a couple of hours and stayed smiling throughout). Plenty of food and drink at the finish (I didn't get to hang around for the hot meal). Results, prizegiving, photos etc all up promptly, €49 entry price... having raced tri's all over Ireland for the past five years I'd say Westport should be a template on how to run things well. A big thank you from me anyhow!

Oh, and I loved the cake! It was well received in my household!

EC1000

TriFirst wrote: »

I did the Westport triathlon and there was no mention of drafting in the pre race briefing, but the communication was poor generally at this triathlon, not helped by a clapped out P.A. system and officials / race directors who were found wanting .

Did you read the briefing? It's up to you to know the rules in advance.

Found wanting how? If you are going to point the finger at an individual you should at least be specific.

jester1980

toomuchdetail wrote: »

Drafting is always an issue at most events and perhaps 2 motorbike officials is not enough, in an out and back for 10k each side it is hard to avoid. Drafting is an athlete issue and if someone decides to take an illegal advantage it is cheating by the athlete involved. The run measured 5.01k in total , the signs mix up happened as a tree blew down on the course on race week and we had to replan the run. Most people have garmins so they will be self guided. We hope you make it back to us and make a weekend of it .

Oh ill definitely be back next year, the drafting is not your fault at all, you see it in all races, maybe a good bit of it was relay teams.

Good to know on the run, in my head I just thought I had misheard something when you said swim was shortened, I thought I missed something like an extra 500 m to make up for it on run haha, the stuff that goes through your head on the run,

Have to say hats off on bag drop, great idea using van that moves up to end of run then. The food at the end of the run was excellent also, haven't seen as good a one anywhere I can think of.

TriFirst

EC1000 wrote: »

Did you read the briefing? It's up to you to know the rules in advance.

Found wanting how? If you are going to point the finger at an individual you should at least be specific.

My point was, the pre-race briefing is part of the organisers remit, if it is not audible for whatever reason the responsibility lies with them. I would have expected that a national series standard race would have a P.A. system that could do the job. I have competed in other triathlons that weren't sanctioned by Triathlon Ireland nevermind National series, who did a better job with communication. The pre-race briefing is essentially a safety talk if I cant hear it then that's an issue. I wasn't the only one who had difficulty hearing it. If its sufficient to just read the race brief then fine, dispense of the pre-race brief. But if you are going to give a pre-race brief it MUST be audible. In THAT regard I found the organisers wanting.

peter kern

its a slight irony, while you make potentialy a valid point I found your communication wanting in your first post lol , it wasnt really clear what you wanted to say... So maybe try to put a bit more thought into it when you criticise people and try to make it more constructive.

Simply saying you had issues to listen to the briefing is a fair point.

TriFirst wrote: »

My point was, the pre-race briefing is part of the organisers remit, if it is not audible for whatever reason the responsibility lies with them. I would have expected that a national series standard race would have a P.A. system that could do the job. I have competed in other triathlons that weren't sanctioned by Triathlon Ireland nevermind National series, who did a better job with communication. The pre-race briefing is essentially a safety talk if I cant hear it then that's an issue. I wasn't the only one who had difficulty hearing it. If its sufficient to just read the race brief then fine, dispense of the pre-race brief. But if you are going to give a pre-race brief it MUST be audible. In THAT regard I found the organisers wanting.

ShineyShiney

Great event, v well run, only someone with wildly unrealistic expectations and experience of triathlon in Ireland could find fault. See ye next year

Domo1982

peter kern wrote: »

its a slight irony, while you make potentialy a valid point I found your communication wanting in your first post lol , it wasnt really clear what you wanted to say... So maybe try to put a bit more thought into it when you criticise people and try to make it more constructive.

Simply saying you had issues to listen to the briefing is a fair point.

The irony continues.......:rolleyes:

this forum is dying a death and of absolutely zero use to someone looking to enter and grow in the sport.

dapower

Well done to every single volunteer marshal and member of Westport Tri Club who made this race happen. I'm a race director with Belpark, organising 4 events this year and I realise how much effort goes into putting on a successful event. While boards can be a forum for all sorts of feedback, it helps if the group can balance itself. As the RD said, most of the 300 competitors had a great day out. Disclaimer: I've never done the race, but do appreciate the effort at getting a successful race over the line. It's not a day's work - it's probably 9 months work, planning since last August 2017 for a race in June 2018. If anyone does have feedback, please put yourself in the shoes of an organiser and realise that everyone wants feedback and is looking to improve and set the highest standard in racing, and that's what the NS series can help achieve. However on the day some things can go wrong - marshals not showing up, accidents, bad weather, equipment failures, etc. Competitors do have personal responsibility to know the rules and follow the rules and instructions of officials. None of the competitors are pros either - you're all doing it because you choose to do it. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better value sprint than €49. Enjoy your season everyone.

peter kern

https://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057786666/1

What did you find of zero use if I may ask?


The irony continues.......:rolleyes:

this forum is dying a death and of absolutely zero use to someone looking to enter and grow in the sport.[/quote]

Domo1982

one thread in 2 years? that the best you can do Peter? Do you feel smart for digging that out?

Do you not see the amount of unanswered questions and threads on here?

Its basically a clique for "Elite" triathletes. The majority of who look down their nose at new people entering the sport. That's what I've found after 2 years of trying to use this as a resource

Your own attitude at times has left a lot to be desired Peter. Sniggering at guys who take 14 hour plus to do the iron man was one that sticks out recently. Being condescending in general and it going unchecked. Giving communciation advice to a poster this morning when you have issues with the same yourself. The arrogance and lack of self-awareness is comical.

And just for the record I did raise this issue(lack of help for people new to the sport) with the mod a while back and made a suggestion but he didn't have the basic manners to reply. Sounds about right really

griffin100

dapower wrote: »

Well done to every single volunteer marshal and member of Westport Tri Club who made this race happen. I'm a race director with Belpark, organising 4 events this year and I realise how much effort goes into putting on a successful event. While boards can be a forum for all sorts of feedback, it helps if the group can balance itself. As the RD said, most of the 300 competitors had a great day out. Disclaimer: I've never done the race, but do appreciate the effort at getting a successful race over the line. It's not a day's work - it's probably 9 months work, planning since last August 2017 for a race in June 2018. If anyone does have feedback, please put yourself in the shoes of an organiser and realise that everyone wants feedback and is looking to improve and set the highest standard in racing, and that's what the NS series can help achieve. However on the day some things can go wrong - marshals not showing up, accidents, bad weather, equipment failures, etc. Competitors do have personal responsibility to know the rules and follow the rules and instructions of officials. None of the competitors are pros either - you're all doing it because you choose to do it. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better value sprint than €49. Enjoy your season everyone.

After the Carlow Tri our RD sent out requests for feedback from competitors. Some of the responses we got were really useful, and things that we thought worked out on the day didn't for some athletes, so we will look at them again for next year.

That said some of the responses were a bit surprising. These included:
- We should be providing a hot meal after the race rather than cake and sandwiches
- The bike course is too tough
- The swim should not have a turnaround point as this makes the swim much tougher
- Some marshals were not encouraging enough when they were passed

Constructive criticism is always welcome by a RD, if you have some send it on after the race. But remember as mentioned above, things happen on the day that can affect the race and are beyond the control of the RD. My two biggest fears on race day are that a load of marshals wont show up and / or the weather becomes wet and windy causing bike crashes. Ultimately to run any club race depends on the goodwill of a large number of people who are giving up their time for free.