search.noResults

search.searching

note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
Training triathletes O


ne of the most interesting sports phenomena of the past


few years has been the boom in triathlon. A relative new sport, the first


recorded triathlon took place in 1974, it now represents a signifcant industry. Indeed, according to the Triathlon Industry Association, in between Alistair Brownlee’s gold medal-winning exploits in Hyde Park in 2012 and on Copacabana Beach in 2016, the UK triathlon industry grew by 57%. Here at Sibford we have also seen a big rise in the number of pupils wishing to compete in triathlon. The trend started with former pupil Rosie Weston, who, in 2016 while still at school, took Gold in the Under-20s 2016 European Triathlon Championships in Lisbon. Rosie continues to make a signifcant name for herself in the sport and in her latest European Championship, the 2017 Düsseldorf ETU Sprint Triathlon, she took Silver.


In October Sibford hosted the North Oxfordshire School Sport Partnership Triathlon and in May we held three further triathlons ... one inter-school event and two inter-house events. The school is also investing in four Wattbikes to further assist those pupils interested in developing their skills in this area of the sport. But what is the attraction of triathlon? Scott Murray,


Regional Head Coach with the South Central Academy of the British Triathlon Federation (which, incidentally, holds regular training camps here at Sibford) takes up the story: “For me triathlon truly is a life style sport,” he says. “At the youngest official competitive age category (‘Tristars Start’ for eight-year-olds) it really is all about having fun and learning those life skills such as swimming and cycling. The benefits of swimming are obvious and cycling gives the child a chance of independence. “Once started in the sport then 9-14 year olds (‘Tristars 1’ to ‘Tristars 3’) have the chance to improve their skills and learn new ones in safe environments. But, perhaps more importantly, this is really when they begin to socialise and make friends for life. At this stage it is about enabling the athletes to fall in love with their sport and learn to love training. “From the age of 15 years onwards, if they want to, there is the opportunity to become more competitive. This is when the athlete has the chance to stretch themselves. “The nature of the sport means that athletes, across their respective age and stage of


development, get the chance to improve their motor skills and coordination. As they get older and train for longer events it will also improve their endurance and tactical considerations. “We know that being involved in


sport and being healthy improves your feeling of wellbeing, mental health and sleeping patterns ... something most of us need to improve given our dependence on smart phones, tablets, computers and other blue light devices. “Equally we know that being fit is beneficial to your academic studies. Athletes get used to thinking dynamically during an event and realise that, no matter how good their goal-setting, sometimes things do not go to plan and you have to be resilient enough to deal with these times of set backs. “There was a great coach called


John Wooden who stated that sport is not about making better athletes rather it’s about making better people. So, personally, I’ll do my best to sell triathlon to anyone who will listen, but ultimately I just want people to be active.”


The Sibfordian / 41


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48