LANTAU CALVES 3RD TRIATHLON CHALLENGE – MAY 23, 2010
with the very welcome support of              NEWSLETTER (MAY 17, 2010)
Dear parents & caretakers, Thank you and congratulations for signing your child up for the 3rd Lantau Calves Triathlon Challenge! No less than 72 Calves have signed up, and we expect to close registration tonight with a full house of 75 participants! At the end of this letter you will find a list of the registered Calves. Please check the data and let us know if there are any mistakes. We sometimes had to make an educated guess, e.g. when one old and wise Calf claimed to be born in 1009, before the advent of interval training. T-shirts: We have to inform you that we might be short of 10 large-size and a few medium-size T-shirts. So if at all possible, it'd be good if you could err on the small side, and downgrade the size of your child's T-shirt. We know that that doesn't make sense, but do try! We are also sorry to say that we do not have 'small adult size’. Please remember that the deadline for pre-race payment is Tuesday May 18 at midnight (online transfer or cash/cheque at SportsWorld), after which a fee of $250 will be charged. SPECIAL REMARKS CONCERNING U08-U10 AGE CATEGORY Some of you have expressed the hope that your child who is born in 2002 but who is still 7 years old, will take part in the U08 group. We regret to tell you that this is not possible. There are a number of reasons why this is so: 1. Sanctioned (i.e. official) triathlon and other sports races work with age groups according to the YEAR OF BIRTH, not the age on race day. The HKTriA races work this way. 2. Quite often a race is part of a series of races, which run through one and the same calendar year. A participant's age cannot change during the series, as otherwise they would end up in another age category in between races. 3. If the age cut-off is on the day of the race, then things become chaotic if the race has to be postponed due to weather or other conditions. Organizers cannot afford to get into that mess. 4. Any cut-off date during the year (e.g. July 1) is always going to be unfair to someone. Which is why we work with calendar years, as this is the standard way of doing things. Instead of allowing Calves born in 2002 into the U08 category, we have shortened the U10 race somewhat. Instead of the 150m swim – 6km bike – 1500m run the U10 Calves will now only have to swim 100m, bike 3km and run 1000m. See our website’s tri challenge page for more details. We believe that this is a good compromise. The most challenging part for the U08 and U10 Calves will be the swim, as many children are not used to swimming in the sea. This is why we will not only have FOUR swim marshals present in the sea to help out Calves in need (the marshals also act as buoys!), but we also expressly allow a caretaker to join his/her U08/U10 Calf during the swim. This is not allowed during the U12/U14 race. If your child wishes to grab hold of you, do allow them to do so. However, you have to stay in a stationary position in the sea while the child is holding onto you. Please also be reminded that flotation devices for safety are allowed (e.g. arm bands), but not those that increase the speed of your child's swim (e.g. fins). Furthermore, children who do not wish to take part in the swim have the option to skip the swim altogether and only do the bike and run. However, they cannot be ranked in the top five of the race as a result of this. Please inform the registration officer at registration if your child is not swimming. Calves not partaking in the swim will start the race inside the Transition Area (TA). At the start of the race they will go to TA, where they can prepare their biking/running gear. However, they can only exit TA with their bike ONE MINUTE AFTER the last child who has done the swim has exited TA. Help your child to pace him/herself (verbally, that is, any assistance during the bike and run leg is forbidden) so that they can finish the race in one piece. RACE DAY 1) Registration: please make sure to be on time for registration, i.e. at 8.00am. The Registration Area is at the north end of the open area in front of the beach playground. You will receive a race bag, which includes the race number & pins, the race T-shirt (to be worn by ALL Calves during the race!), and some vouchers from our sponsors. Your child’s race number will also be written on his/her arms and/or legs. After this has happened, help your child to put the race number on the FRONT side of the T-shirt. 2) Pre-race Preparation/Transition Area: after registration go to the Transition Area (‘TA’) and put your child’s bicycle and running gear in the right spot (each spot is numbered). Your child’s gear should be placed in front of his/her bike, NOT next to it. The transition area for ALL Calves will be closed 10 minutes before the start of the U08 race (i.e. at 9.00am), so make sure that you have everything ready on time. Be aware that you are not allowed into TA during the race, so any guidance that you want to give about the transition(s) should be given before the race. 3) Briefing: we will help your child to go through the different stages of the race mentally by giving them a detailed 30-minute briefing of the complete race course: the swim, the long and tough run up the beach (they have to pace themselves!), entry into TA putting on the shoes, then the T-shirt (mandatory!) and then the helmet, taking the bicycle off the rack, running out of TA with bike in hand, getting on the bike and going up the small slope, turning left then right, doing the whole bike leg (2, 3 or 4 laps), getting off the bike before TA, run into TA with bike in hand, putting the bike on the rack (there will be marshals to help out), taking off the helmet, running out of TA and onto the run course, doing the run leg (1, 2 or 3 laps), finishing. 4) Pacing and hydration: children tend to start very fast in races. After a minute or so they slow down a lot and try to keep a pace that does not quite kill them. Do try to explain to your child that pacing is very important, and that going a bit slower than they think they can is going to make them faster in the end. Also, we suggest that your child drink during the bike leg (put a water bottle in the bottle cage), or at least during the run leg. It will be hot and humid, and any vigorous activity over five minutes is going to make your child very, very hot. 5) Finish: as your child finishes, he/she will be given a finisher’s medal and a delicious, succulent Belgian Conference pear. Your child will be guided to the spectator’s area (out of the way of incoming traffic like cyclists or runners), which is when you can call him/her over. Take your child to the shower area and help them cool off. Give them plenty of water and isotonic fluids (which will be available at the BBQ area). You have a new hero in your family, a real Lantau Calf! 6) Awards Ceremony: the awards ceremony will start about five minutes after the last child finishes the race. We will announce the results of the Buffalos race first, then we move onto the Calves. We start with the U08 female & male categories, and work our way up to the U14 Calves. Only the first three of each race will be called upon the podium and receive a prize. There will also be a special prize for the youngest male and female participant, as well as for the most courageous one (to be decided by the organizing committee). 7) Lucky Draw: we have been blessed with great support from our sponsors. This is why we will give away lots of prizes at the Lucky Draw, which will start RIGHT AFTER the Awards Ceremony. There will be separate prizes for adults and for children, so as to make sure that an adult doesn’t end up with a pacifier, or a child with a beer voucher. 8) Finisher’s Certificate: by the time the Lucky Draw ends, the Finisher’s Certificates will be ready for you to collect at the Registration Area. This certificate will include your child’s name and race time. 9) Barbecue: the BBQ starts RIGHT AFTER the Lucky Draw. We hope you’ll enjoy the good food, drinks and music provided by our chefs Brett and Bruce. Important! --- In order for us to prepare adequate amounts of food for the BBQ, we need to know how many people are participating. Race participants and volunteers can join the BBQ for free, whereas parents, family, friends, dogs, cats, hedgehogs and other such supporters can join by paying 50 HKD at the Registration Area. Please let us know (events@lantaubuffalos.org) how many extra people in your group (i.e. participants and volunteers not included) would like to join the BBQ. Thanks for that! 10) Entry list as of May 17 6.00am: listed according to age group – gender – family name
Do let us know if you have any more questions or comments about the contents of this Newsletter. With healthy regards. Lantau Buffalos Organising Team
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