The NCTR Junior section was established in 2017 by now chairman Tom Williams and with the help of member Neil Teague it has gone from strength to strength over the years with the help of adult members and parents volunteering their time.
2023 is an exciting year for the club as we will be holding our first event, a Junior Team Tri on July 8th in Bourton on the water at the leisure centre.
This is the brain child Bart Finley. He became a member of NCTR in 2019 and has gone onto became the Junior Membership Secretary for the club in 2020. As a local resident and having children in the junior section himself Bart wanted to ‘give something back’
Bart had previously completed triathlons but after becoming a member of the club it reignited his passion for the sport. Bart has subsequently gone onto gain his Level 1 Coaching Certificate with British Triathlon in 2021.
Bart has quoted ‘ I am passionate about junior triathlon and generally our junior athletes. Generally, the children I coach inspire me to be a better athlete myself! When the idea was floated that we organise our own junior triathlon I was keen to help.
As chairman of the committee for the triathlon my key focus was to provide a team event. This is because I feel strongly that often competition for junior athletes is somewhat broken. In children, slight age differences can have dramatic effects in athletic pursuits, as can growth rates and just the privilege of access to various sporting facilities.
Ultimately, it leads to some children becoming disillusioned by sport because they are not as celebrated and sometimes even not coached the same as others deemed to be more successful. By creating a team event you give those that maybe don’t ascend to the top of a standard race equal footing in the competition. By combining the times of your competitors in teams your slowest racer becomes as important and integral as your fastest.
This gives all a purpose, an incentive and a real competitive edge to race. Not to just make up numbers.
As part of the ‘giving something back’, we recognise triathlon can be an expensive sport, a tri suit, a bike, trainers the cost all adds up. We want the event to be inclusive so with the help of the local primary and secondary school we will be offering a free child place per year group and free 4 weeks membership leading up to the event for those who meet the eligibility criteria.
Our moto as a club is IMAGINE BELIEVE ACHIEVE. This a moto we firmly standby. To enter go to www.northcotswoldtriandrun.co.uk