Nevis is set to host a mega triathlon event in 2011. This was revealed at a press conference held last week by the President of the St.Kitts and Nevis Triathlon Federation, Winston Crooke. The press conference was held upstairs the Arthur Evelyn Building which houses the Nevis Tourism Authority.
Present at the Press conference were representatives of all of the stakeholders on Nevis who will all seek to ensure that the event is a major success. Some of the agencies represented were: The Police, Customs Dept; The Ministry of Tourism, the Nevis Cultural Foundation; Public Works Dept; Ministry of Sports; Immigration and Dept of Planning, among others.
Mr. Crooke outlined the basic information on the proposed event and the persons present made suggestions as to the logistics of making the event a major success.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, Mr. Alsted Pemberton indicated that the Nevis Island Administration is very much on board and will support the St.Kitts and Nevis Triathlon Federation in its quest of making the event a success, having recognized the tremendous impact it will have on the Tourism product on the island.
According to Crooke, the mega Tri star 111 event will be held on Saturday April 2nd but will involve a full week of activities involving the athletes and their entourage.
The busy week of activities will commence on Sunday 27th March 2011 with the annual cross channel swim from Nevis to St.Kitts which continues to attract more and more swimmers every year. It will also involve tours, hikes, cultural events and smaller biking events that will seek to involve participation from some of Nevis’ young athletes especially some of the young Cyclists who are currently involved in the ‘bikes not bombs program. The visitors will also be exposed to a wide array of Nevis cuisine and general culture.
The main event will involve the following:
• TriStar111 Distance – 1000m Swim - 100km Bike - 10km Run (individual or relay)
• TriStar33.3 Distance - 300m Swim - 30km Bike - 3km Run (individual only)
• TriStar11.1 Distance – 0.1km Swim - 10km Bike - 1km Run (individual only)
Course description Tri Star 111
The swim course
The swim will start in Gallows bay in downtown Charlestown. There will be a Beach start, the course will take the swimmers right around the first bouy past the ferry pier and parallel to Hunkins Drive turning at the second bouy to head back towards the dinghy dock where the swim concludes. Athletes will climb out of the water and collect their 'Bike bag' which contains their helmet, shoes etc, and into which will go their wet gear. The athletes will then run onto Hunkins Drive and into the bike transition area set up in the main car park.
The bike course
Upon leaving the transition area, the bikers will head out along the main road through Charlestown and on up towards Pond hill, riders then continue circumnavigating the 30km lap of the island, coming back into Charlestown to complete the first lap, this is to be repeated 3 times. The last portion of the race is a short loop turning left at the roundabout, up pump road and down the by-pass back onto the main road the riders will turn down Hunkins Drive to finish and collect their 'Run bag' containing shoes, cap etc.
The run course
The run course will head out of town towards Bath Village, past the community centre turning right onto the old outer ring road, back through Bath Village and into Fort Thomas, along the beach at gallows bay to complete one lap, this will be run three times on the last lap the runners head down Hunkins Drive to the finish line, and the cheers of the crowd.
Yesterday, Mr. Crooke, Mr. Pemberton and Mr. Gregg Phillip (the General Secretary of the SKNTA) were guests on the ‘Social Development Outlook’ program aired on Choice Radio and they sought to inform the general public on the event.
The point was made lucidly clear that the event could never be a success unless the general population of Nevis unite forces to make it happen.
Greg Phillip stated emphatically: ‘Yes we can’ as he referred to the fact that much smaller countries would have successfully hosted events involving huge amounts of athletes.
It was noted that some 500 athletes are expected in for the event, including some of the world famous triathletes. Additionally the meet is expected to attract some world renowned stars, including local hero, Kim Collins.
World renowned media personnel are also expected in to cover the event.
Mr. Pemberton also noted that meetings will be held regularly with the key stake holders to ensure that everything is put in place well in advance of the event and he appealed to the business entities to make significant contributions towards making what will be a costly event possible, recognizing the huge potential for profit making for the Nevis economy, in the long run.
