Bassetlaw Triathlon Club (BTC) has put the pedal to the metal and hit the ground running for a year which has certainly gone swimmingly. The club, based out of Barnsley Premier Leisure’s (BPL) Worksop Leisure Centre, won the event of the year award within the East Midlands region at the British Triathlon Awards, for their summer Sprint Triathlon. They also came runner up in the club of the year category.
Bassetlaw Triathlon Club’s Paddy Ducey said the club, which started in 2012 as a joint venture between BTC, Bassetlaw District Council and BPL, has gone from strength to strength and is now an entirely independent organisation. It specialises in training people up for triathlons, which require them to run, cycle and swim across a three-stage challenge.
BTC’s Sprint event comprised of 16 lengths in the pool, a 20k bike ride and a 5k run.
Paddy said: “It was fantastic to win the award. The club had some feedback that our Sprint was well organised and well marshalled. We always have a great turnout of volunteers on the day looking to help out and while we are never looking to make a profit from it, this year was the first which we did make some money from. There is an atmosphere of inclusion and we are very open to newcomers.”
The club meets weekly at Worksop Leisure Centre, with a minimum of four coaching sessions taking full advantage of the BPL facilities to help people train in cycling and swimming.
Twice a year, the club runs a six-week ‘Beginners to Freestyle’ swimming course to help develop members’ and newcomers’ ability in the water. It was this course which saw Paddy join the club back in February this year.
“From not being able to swim two lengths, now I can swim 2.5k and that is because of the very friendly, very structured approach from the club,” Paddy said. “There is no macho behaviour and I think the sport is appealing to people as it has that element of variety to it.
“During the summer months, the club have ride and run training sessions in Clumber Park. In the winter, we used to run spin sessions but since the centre upgraded to smartbikes, we now have cycle performance sessions. And if more people turn up than we have bikes, then we will do a coached running session instead. Alongside all this, there is an active social calendar too.”
The club now has more than 120 members, with that number steadily increasing every year.
BTC head coach Steve Chambers said: “Many of the Beginners to Freestyle participants decide to join the club as they have had a positive and supportive experience. We pride ourselves on catering for all levels of abilities and to see anyone take their first tentative strokes and strides in a new sport is very rewarding.”
For more information visit www.bassetawtriclub.co.uk or their Facebook page or email bassetlawtriclub@hotmail.com.