TRIATHLON ENGLAND
REGIONAL MANAGER’S REPORT
EAST MIDLANDS AGM OCTOBER 2014
Introduction
This is the first full year that the Regional Manager has been solely responsible for the East
Midlands Region. Triathlon England is in the second year of the 4 year funding cycle (aligned with
the Olympic programme) that has seen the development of a 5 tier strategy as follows:
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Clubs
Participation
Events
Communication
Go Tri
The following report is based around the Regional Managers’ main working role within the region
which is to deliver on Triathlon England strategies within the region.
Clubs
The year has seen the number of clubs within the region increase by 3. There was the loss of
three clubs that were either a cycling/running club or a leisure centre that decided not to renew
their membership. At the time of this report there are currently 45 clubs affiliated to Triathlon
England. The good news is that the numbers within all clubs continues to grow with some clubs
having to put a cap on numbers. There is still potential for growth in the region and these avenues
continued to be explored by the Regional Manager.
The Regional Manager continues to visit and work with clubs on providing any necessary support,
advice or guidance on club development. It is the Regional Manager’s intention to try to visit every
club annually; this can be at committee level, at an AGM or a club session. The visits will provide
the opportunity to discuss club development, to raise any concerns and to give club members the
chance to ask questions about Triathlon England at an individual level.
Coach Education and CPD
Coach Courses
The last Coach Education season (2013-14) saw three Level 1 and two Level 2 courses taking
place. The outcome from these courses saw the qualification of 43 new Level 1 and 29 Level 2
coaches across the region.
This Coach Education season (2014-15) already has had one Level 1 course take place with 15
new Level 1 coaches completing the course. One is currently taking place with 15 candidates and
another is starting in the New Year and is fully booked. There are two Level 2 courses that will
take place over the coming months with both closed with 16 candidates on each. There are a
further Level 1 and Level 2 course being planned for early 2015 to meet demand.
There are two main reasons for the rise in demand. One is due to the changes in the rules on the
ability for a Level 1 to operate on their own. Secondly is the increase in membership within clubs
and the need for more coaches to take sessions. By the end of this coming Coach Education
season East Midlands will have run four Level 1 and three Level 2 courses with an expected
increase of approximately 60 Level 1 and 44 Level 2 coaches.
The demand for courses and the associated cost are continually being monitored by the Regional
Manager. The future location of coaching courses is likely to be centred on Loughborough as this
is the most central location within the region and has the best facilities to meet the budget.
TE Swim Smooth Open Water Training Days
There was one Open Water Swim Day for novices and more advanced swimmers. This was held
at the new venue of Girton Sailing Club, Newark on 12th July 2014. The day saw a total of 54
swimmers taking part and learning new skills. Pictures from these events were posted on the East
Midlands Triathlon facebook page.
Technical Officials Courses (LTO & RTO)
Only a Local Technical Official (LTO) course was held this year as there was no demand for the
Regional Technical Officials (RTO) course. The LTO course was held in Loughborough on 22
February 14 with 10 potential officials completing the day. The next LTO course will be held on 1
March 2015 in Loughborough and will shortly open for applications. There will be a joint RTO
course with the West Midlands Region and this will be held in Nuneaton on 14 March 2015.
Ride Leaders Course
This year will see the second Ride Leaders course take place within the East Midlands. This
course is delivered by the CTC on behalf of Triathlon England. The course will take place on 11
October 14 at Loughborough University with 12 candidates booked onto the course.
Swim Smooth Beginners to Freestyle Workshop
This year also saw the return of the Swim Smooth Workshop that helps to develop coaches
understanding of how to take swimmers from beginners to freestyle. This is a theoretical
workshop aimed at Level 1 to 3 coaches. The next workshop takes place on 14 December 14 in
Loughborough. Details are on the East Midlands Triathlon England web site page under news.
Leadership in Run Fitness (LiRF)
This is a new course being put on by Run England. It gives volunteers the opportunity to take club
members out on a club run within a controlled environment ensuring the normal safety protocols
are followed. This course was due to take place on 25 October but due to low numbers the course
has been postponed until 1 March 15 at Loughborough.
The ride leaders and LiRF courses are being delivered for clubs to use volunteers to take out cycle
and run groups. The aim is to ease the pressure on coaches and provide the best environment for
club members to participate in all sessions.
Regional Novice training Days
This year there were five Novice Training Days. Four of these were linked to the One Step
Beyond Sprint Series and one linked to the Bassetlaw Triathlon. Suitable clubs were found to
deliver these days based at the location of the race venue approximately 4 weeks before race day.
Generally these worked well with all days well attended. In total 204 novices took part in these
training days.
On behalf of the Regional Committee the Regional Manager organised four Children’s Novice
Training Days in four of the regional’s counties; no clubs volunteered to run a day in
Leicestershire. These days took place before the first race in the Junior Race Series. Overall 108
children took part in the days with 73 being first timers to triathlon events.
Participation
General
The 2014 race season has seen yet another increase in participation across the region. This has
been helped with some new races such as the Enduro Charity Duathlon, Hucknall Triathlon,
Stanton Lakes Triathlon and Louth Triathlon. This year the region has seen an increase of 20
events to 92 which has helped to increase participation figures within the region. There are yet
further events to be added to the 2014 race calendar so these totals are expected to rise. The
total numbers of events and participants will be collated on the completion of the season.
Go Tri Events
This has been a new Triathlon England product that has been rolled out in 2014. Go Tri Events
are about clubs, leisure centres and local authorities putting on multi-sport events that are easy to
organise, cheap to enter and aimed at those new to the sport. The East Midlands has seen 19 Go
Tri Events across the East Midlands at 9 different venues with 472 participants most of whom
were new to triathlon events this year. There are still more events taking place before the end of
the year. Some Go Tri Event organisers, including new events, have already started registering
their Go Tri Events for 2015. The 2016 season will see a further expansion in the number of Go
Tri Events across the region. Anyone interested in organising a Go Tri Events should contact the
Regional Manager.
Communication
As a part of Triathlon England’s new strategy communications is key to the Regional Manager’s
role. It is important that all of the East Midlands triathlon community is kept up to date with the
latest information and news. To this end the use of social media has become ever important. The
East Midlands’ facebook and twitter accounts have grown this last year to have the biggest
following/likes outside of London and this includes Scotland and Wales. All Triathlon England
members now receive a Triathlon England e-newsletter which incorporates regional news. The
Triathlon England East Midlands web page is updated on a regular basis providing the very latest
news on courses, races and other related activities. Communications is by no means perfect but
the improvements made this year will be built on to ensure all those with a vested interest in
triathlon across the region are kept as up to date as possible.
Conclusion
This has been an extremely busy year supporting Triathlon England’s new strategies; this is still
being developed but is now more focussed on clubs, events and individuals. This work going
forward will see further increases in new clubs, events and new participants taking part in triathlon
across the East Midlands Region. As always clubs, event organisers and Triathlon England
Members will be updated on regional matters in regular e-mails, e-newsletters, club visits and
through social media. The Regional Manager is always available to discuss any triathlon related
matter and can be contacted through the e-mail address or phone number below.
Peter Pain
10 October 2014
Regional Manager
East Midlands Triathlon England
E-mail: peterpain@triathlonengland.org
Tel: 07739-526561