Triathlon New Zealand Awarded Continental Cup Race

On the back of last year’s successful International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Cup race in New Plymouth, Triathlon New Zealand will host an ITU Continental Cup race in March – the first Continental Cup race to be held in New Zealand.

Triathlon New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Dave Beeche said the final race in the Contact Energy National Elite Championships, in Wellington on 31 March, would now also be an ITU Oceania Continental Cup race, with top Australian and Oceanian athletes invited to compete.

“The Continental Cup series allows athletes to compete for points to allow them entry into the ITU World Cup series,” Beeche said.

“It’s great for our up-and-coming athletes to be able to earn some points on home soil and to test themselves against some of Australia and Oceania’s rising stars.

“It’s also an honour for us to be awarded the race by the International Triathlon Union, and reflects the success of last year’s ITU World Cup race.”

Up-and-coming athlete Martin van Barneveld [21], who is based in Wellington, said having an ITU Continental Cup race in New Zealand is a fantastic opportunity for young athletes like himself to get on to the World Cup circuit.

“Younger athletes often can’t afford to travel to international races to enter races that earn us World Cup qualifying points,” van Barneveld said.

“Some athletes therefore schedule three or four international races in a row to make it a worthwhile trip, which is very taxing on the body, so having a Continental Cup race here at home is great.”

He said the race will also be a good chance for New Zealand athletes compete against some top Australian athletes.

“New Zealand and Australia are two of the top triathlon nations so it will make for a great race.”

Dave Beeche said in addition to being an ITU Continental Cup race, the Wellington National Series race will also mark the conclusion of the inaugural Contact Energy National Series – the sport’s only national series of events.

The fifth event in the series will take place this weekend at Blue Lake in Rotorua.

“Triathlon is New Zealand’s fastest growing sport with more and more New Zealanders becoming involved in it at all levels,” Beeche said.

“The four events have been a great success, seeing competitors from a wide range of age groups and abilities competing. We’re now almost halfway through the series, and athletes are really beginning to see how they are ranked against their competitors on the series’ points table.

“We’re looking forward to seeing how the series pans out over the next few months.”

For more information on the National Series or to enter an event visit www.triathlon.org.nz

The Contact Energy National Triathlon Series

 The inaugural Triathlon New Zealand National Series aims to provide all New Zealanders over the age of 13 years with the opportunity to take part in a triathlon regardless of their ability or where they live in New Zealand.
 Events have already taken place in New Plymouth, Auckland, Nelson and Christchurch, seeing more than 800 competitors take to the start line.
 Further events will be held in:
o Rotorua 28 January 2007
o Kinloch 3 February 2007
o Napier 17 February 2007
o Whangamata 17 March 2007
o Wellington 31 March 2007
 Each event will feature two races:
o The first race is a participation race catering to the first time triathlete and anyone over the age of 13 years old.
o The second race is the Contact Energy New Zealand Cup race (medium to advanced level) and is open to all age groups over 18 years old. Competitors win prizes and earn points which culminate in the awarding of the Contact Energy New Zealand Cup at the completion of the series.
 Race one (the participation race) of each event costs $55 to enter. The second race as detailed above will cost $75 to enter.
 Prize money is awarded to the first, second and third place winners in each Contact Energy New Zealand Cup Race.
 The principal sponsor of the Series is Contact Energy.

ENDS