The Barbados Federation of Island Triathletes (BFIT) has recently hosted athlete and coaching development camps as part of the organisation’s commitment to improving the skills of the triathlon community. In collaboration with British Triathlon, the two intensive training camps were a first of their kind in the Caribbean, as well as for British Triathlon.
Led by four international tutors, nine regional coaches (three from Barbados) and 12 young Barbadian triathletes (aged 13-16 years) participated side-by-side in the theoretical and practical sessions of this exciting opportunity for Caribbean coaches and local triathletes.
BFIT President Darren Treasure says the camps are part of the Federation’s broader strategy build the standard of the sport of triathlon, both in Barbados and in the region. “We hope that by bringing in this specialist knowledge from overseas, that we can increase the number of highly-trained triathlon coaches and triathletes available in Barbados, and in the wider Caribbean,” he said. “The learning that occurred during each of these five-day camps would have taken months to do in a normal training environment. We are very thankful to British Triathlon for conducting them in an innovative and condensed format so that our coaches and athletes could reap the benefits. Even in the UK, British Triathlon does not deliver the Level 2 Coaches Course with real triathletes, so they really went all-out to accommodate our needs. We hope that these new partnerships formed within the global triathlon fraternity will grow from strength to strength.” He also went on to thank the Tourism Development Corporation (TDC), Barbados Olympic Association (BOA), National Sports Council (NSC), Arts and Sport Promotion Fund, Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), and the Bank of Montreal Reinsurance (BMO) for their continued support of triathlon in Barbados.
The participating coaches will now complete another 40 hours of online study, assignments and practical sessions in order to receive their British Triathlon Level 2 Coaching Certificate; a highly sought after and respected coaching credential worldwide.
For the young triathletes, the camp was a timely opportunity to improve their skill sets and mentally prepare for the CARIFTA Triathlon, Aquathlon and Mixed Relay Championships, which will be held in Tobago from 29 – 30 September this year.
Treasure also revealed that the Barbados CARIFTA Triathlon and Aquathlon team had now been officially selected and would include the following athletes:
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| Triathlon (11-12 years)
Heidi Baker |
Aquathlon (11-12 years)
Heidi Baker |
|---|---|
| Triathlon (13-15 years)
Kayla Renwick |
Aquathlon (13-15 years)
Kayla Renwick |
| Triathlon (16-19 years)
Ashley Weekes |
Aquathlon (16-19 years)
Ashley Weekes |
He also announced that the CARIFTA Barbados National Head Coach will be Oein Josiah and the Barbados Team Manager, Shona Lashley.
It will continue to be a busy year for BFIT after CARIFTA, with the international 28th Annual Barbados National Triathlon in October, as well as the Barbados Olympic Association’s BIIG Games in November. Local elite triathlete Matthew Wright will also continue his arduous qualifying journey to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games for the remainder of the year.
BFIT is the governing federation for triathlon and triathletes in Barbados, sanctioning and organising various multi-sport events related to the discipline. For more information, visit https://triathlonbarbados.com/, like the Facebook page @BarbadosTriathlon, or email triathlonbarbados@gmail.com .
Featured Image: (left to right) (front row) Paul Moss (British Triathlon), Kara Donnelly (Cayman), Ewan Harrison, Danielle Treasure, Zahra Gaskin, Ashley Weekes, Kayla Renwick, Emma Lashley, (middle row), Derek Daniels (Trinidad), Mijail Jimenez (Cuba), Niel Skinner, McCallum Clarke, Eric Lashley, Lucas Austin, Keon Jessamy, Chris Pollard, Harold Lewis (Barbados), (back row) Emma Brunning (British Triathlon), Jonah Camps (Trinidad), Shaun Green (British Triathlon), Scott Murray (British Triathlon), Darren Treasure (Barbados), Derrick Simon (Trinidad), Kafia Rapley (Jamaica). Missing Troy Felix (Grenada).