Full Width Page

BQA Points -1 Race Left! Plus Final WQF Results 2024

Jean Ashley

The Final Race of our Quad Season is ‘The Keyo Brigg Sprint distance Quadrathlon – organised by our wonderful ‘LincsQuad’ and consists of a 750m swim in the river Ancholme (or pool swim depending on the river temperature) followed by a 4km Kayak, 19km road cycle and finishing with a 5km road run. The course is flat, fast and ideal for both experienced quadrathletes and those wanting to race the shorter distance. There is also a Team event, and each person will complete at least 1 leg of the event.

The National Trophies will be given out at this race, sadly due to our Race cancellations this year, we only have a couple of contenders who have done 3 races, but all will be to play for on the day so get your entries in now!

Sept- Keyo Brigg Sprint Distance Quadrathlon 2024.

BQA TROPHY RESULTS after 2 RACES  BQA trophy race after 2

The BQA started a National Trophy Series in 2005 this is a series of events which are generally spread throughout the country. Each event contributes points towards finding a National Champion, with the best three results for each individual to count. This is our Hall of Fame: Winners since the Series started in 2005 BQA-Hall-of-Fame-2023

Trophies are awarded each year, provided each winner has done 3 races in the series, and must be a current BQA Member. (In the event of a tie the 4th race points will count to decide the winner). Overall Winners Perpetual Trophy for Male and Female. BQA Kit vouchers for winners Male and Female in each age category, Juniors (u23), Seniors, V40+ V50+ V60+ Vet 70+

WQF FINAL RESULTS Final World Cup 2024 Results

Congratulations to our overall World Champions Ferenc Csima (HUN) and Susanne Walter (GER). Our best GB Result is Jules Taylor (after 2 races) was 8th Overall. All participants of a world cup event are automatically listed for the world cup results if they fulfill the national terms and conditions. The number of competitions for one athlete is not limited. The best three races are counted (up to two results from one country).The winners get a high-quality glass cup (overall and agegroups), the podium place winners will receive medals. ( An Athlete get trophies/medals only when he  has completed a minimum of 3 races.

National Quadrathlon Trophy

National Quadrathlon Trophy: WQF National Trophy FINAL

Congratulations to POLAND who Won The National Quadrathlon Trophy (11280 pts) with SPAIN in second (10200pts) with GREAT BRITAIN in third (7722pts)

This Trophy is will be awarded annually by the WQF. For each Nation, the highest number of points scored in the each of the 16 WQF age and gender categories by an individual national in any one World Cup race during the season will be totaled. If no individual from a nation is represented in an age/gender group, then zero points will be scored for that category.
The trophy will be held by the winning nation for one year. It will be that nation’s responsibility to ensure the trophy is available to be presented at the last race of the following season.

 

Hungary World Championship Long Course

Jean Ashley
Race start

Julian Taylor has being Flying the BQA Flag in Europe this Summer, this is his report from the Long Course World Championships held in Nagyatad, Hungary. Congratulations Julian sounds like a Fantastic but tough Event and thanks for a  GREAT race report, its always good to read your stories thank you for sharing it with us all!  

We already had our holidays booked , 4 weeks away around Europe , but after the Brigg Bomber race earlier in the year I decided to see if there was a possible race somewhere whilst we were away on holiday. And…there it was I have always wanted to do a Long Course Quadrathlon, so Nagyatad in Hungary was the goal destination and just having had a solid result at Dearne Valley Nationals , I was feeling good , but very aware of the massive distance increases.

I was very good, and didn’t let excessive training get in the way of holidaying and drinking and having fun in fact, I think I did 3 rides, longest 50km , three kayak session longest of which was 8k , and a handful of runs up to 12k  but no swimming! I did have a goal of being 1st in my age group and was fairly confidant I would be able to do that after looking at results of past events .

Two weeks before the race my Garmin gave up finally, and just became something to look at and reminisce about all the previous trainings we had done together so it went in the bin! This would be interesting with absolutely no way of checking time or distance for  the whole race, nor training beforehand . Quite liked the thought of racing how I felt which I do in a lot of in my training, never checking my watch till the end of a session .

Our travels down through Europe were fun, Netherlands Germany Switzerland Austria Italy Slovenia Croatia , and finally we ended up at the campsite in Nagyatad in Hungary, from where we could actually see the race center and finish arena! Plus next door there was a great swimming, thermal, fun pools all free for athletes .
A 50m outdoor pool , never with more than 4/5 swimmers !
Day 1 managed two lengths, then two more, then 6 more a grand total of 500m not too good. Day 2 in the morning, managed 10 twice for 1000m and same again in the evening. Day 3 day before the race, managed 20 then 10 for a nice 1500m, that would have to do!

We had also been to the race start 40km away where the swim and kayak would be,  and did a couple of kayak laps of the Island, a little swim, it was a great venue!

Registration done Friday afternoon, not a lot of English was spoken, but was assured that at race briefing in the evening, an English version would be done as it turned out I sat through 90 minutes of presentation and explanation, in mostly Hungarian, German and French I think, asked when we would have the Quadrathlon briefing to be told it would be at 7am tomorrow morning, just before we started ….Hey ho.

Just a couple of stats about the race – Only 11 of us in the Quadrathlon, it was being run alongside the eXtremeMan iron-distance triathlon, half-distance, and relays, so a few hundred athletes taking part!

Original distance was to be – 3.8km swim, 20km kayak, 92km bike and 21.1km run. However, and no one quite knew why , the swim was reduced to 2.6km, and the bike to 62km. I was massively disappointed by this, but only for around a fraction of a nano second, then was massively happy as my two main concerns were now not going to kill me off!

Race Briefing

RACE DAY – So it was that our alarms went off at 5am Saturday, up and off to the lake 40km away.
Everything easily set up , and then waited for race briefing, which went ok with a lot of pointing, gesturing, and nodding. Long and short of it all was our swim would be starting with the all the eXtremeMan athletes ( …aarrgghhh! )two laps for 2.6km, then through transition and a shallow water start for the kayak and 12 laps of the island for 20km.

We had to count our kayak laps ourself, which was ok but the potential was there for mis counting as there was no official monitoring.

Swim start

The swim start was horrible, it was a no- wetsuit swim as too warm, but it was chaotic , a genuine fight in the water, usual panic for lap one, and settled down for lap two .
Third place out of the swim in around 53minutes, and onto the kayak. Sore shoulders and a pain in the right one soon faded and I settled into a good rhythm and counted the laps off, 4-5-6 laps ok then some fatigue came and went, caught a few others, and soon 10-11-12 and headed for the shore . Out again in third place, I think around 1:57 hrs, but Ferenc Csima and Laurent Martinou were out in front by a long way .

Kayak Transition

On to the bike, and settled down into a very flat, fast, sunny and lonely ride. It took roughly a good 25-30km before catching the end of the triathletes then had company throughout to the end. I sort of knew the course from memory, basically straight back to Nagyatad via a sideways out and back route. I was feeling good, spinning rather than pushing big gears, closed in on the finish of the bike, then realized I had forgotten about another, longer out and back to do before the finish. I had got through 4 bottles of drink already and the heat was getting to everyone now 35degrees. This bit was a real struggle mentally I didn’t expect it, didn’t want it , and was hanging in to say the least. As always, everything comes to an end and into the finish arena in Nagyatad, bike racked , change tent , and out onto the run .

Sticking to my Race Plan

Jeez…no shade on the run which was x 4 laps around the town, back through the arena and eXtremeMan square each lap .

Lap 1 – no, we’ve come all this way so no, I’m not going to walk or give up. Lap 2 – feel absolutely grim, decision made to focus just on the next aid station. 4 stations per lap with hosepipes, drinks, gels etc . I ran to the next station, as soon as you can see it start walking, get as much fluid in and over you as possible , then run to the next! Everything felt just that bit easier, Michelle and Amelia were awesome throughout the whole day, I had to keep going for them. Lap 3 – a couple of km age group rival Karsten Mielke was walking, so I passed and kept going. Towards the end I felt rubbish, lightheaded, tank empty but the aid station strategy kept me on track. Lap 4 – out onto the last lap and barring anything drastic, I knew it was in the bag. Karsten was still walking it was going to be a long walk to the finish for him, but finish he did and well done to him.
The temptation was to go as strong as possible, maybe miss a couple of aid stations as the end was in sight, the problem was I was going as strong as I could, and already this was no faster than an easy jog, so keeping my plan together.

 

Vet 60 World Champions

I came over the finish line in 6:59 hours ……. Another World Championship Age Group 1st place, so elated! It had been years since I did a long event over 3-4 hours, and it’s so much more in all aspects. I really did enjoy it, but with the heat it was a very hard , but very proud of my day out!

Getting to spend some time with athletes I’ve seen on results pages was great, everyone very friendly and supportive throughout and afterwards. It’s not easy to compete abroad, kayak, bike, kit and expense, but I as we were on holiday and already over there everyone really appreciated the fact that we had made the effort to do one of their WQF races .

World Long Couse Athletes

I must say a big thanks to St Monica Trust in Bristol where I work, for their help towards expenses, and for supplying me with a new race outfit which was great !Also Alan Hunter, supplier of all things Carbonology Sport, for a great set of paddles C3, lovely to use, stiff, comfortable and perfect for a long event.

Jules looking good in his new Tri suit!

As always without my amazing family supporting me and putting up with my constantly changing sport choices, new goals, events and venues it would all be so much harder so a HUGE thank you ❤️.

Looking forward to the last two races of the season … Bude , and Brigg Sprint.
See you all soon, making the most of our holiday still got three days of sun and beer before back to the UK!

Jules

Long Course World Championship RESULTS

 

Top 5 Results

 

Bude Cancelled

Jean Ashley
I’m really sorry to have to inform you that this years Awesome Foursome Quadrathlon has had to be cancelled.
I have had this note from organizer ‘Simon Hammond’

We have been doing our best to keep the event alive this year but for reasons that we hope to figure out, we have had just 12 entrants so far and with only 3 weeks to go the event isn’t viable. We do hope to get this event back on its feet for next year, the date would probably be Saturday 27th September. Can you spread the word – simple lack of entries is the reason for the cancellation.

If any Quadrathletes out there have any thoughts or suggestions about keeping this event going and making this it the iconic race it used to be, any comments or suggestions would be most appreciated. Simon has put together a few questions, as we all feel its very important he gets this race back on track, please email him your thoughts, he’d love to hear from you …. THANKS 

Getting the Awesome Foursome back on Track

Please email Simon on info@shorelineactivities.co.uk with any thoughts provoked by these questions, Thanks.

1. We choose an early September date in 2024, maybe it was too early. We are looking at early October dates for 2025 to re-set this as an Autumn event.
2. We are stuck with the tides and 2025 looks like any good date will be a morning start. Does this cause any problems for a Saturday event?
3. Prices this year were £52 individual, £76 pair and £102 relay team. We think these are reasonable but what do you think? Can we use a variable price scheme to encourage early entries?
4. We are going to run a shorter course event ‘The Wallaby’ at the same time which is roughly half the distance and avoids the worst cycle hills. Is this something you would be interested in?
5. We think getting fresh competitors in via Relay Teams and Pairs is a good idea but what sort of groups and clubs would you be contacting for these?

Many Thanks Simon

 

 

 

Sadly that is 2 races gone from our BQA Calendar this year, the final Race of our BQA Trophy Series will now be The Brigg Sprint on 29th September …. please help keep our small sport ALIVE and support this race and please get your Entries in NOW!!!                Brigg Sprint Tri/Quad

Deva Divas Quadrathlon 2024

Jean Ashley
Chester Deva Divas Kayak Team

It was our 7th Deva Divas Quadrathlon, and once again the weather was kind despite a few clouds …. but whatever the weather there was always going to be sunshine in everyone’s heart and as always plenty of very happy ladies!

I’m very proud to be part of Chester Triathlon Club, and Sailing & Canoeing Chester Chester Canoeing and the ‘Special Team’ who gave up so much time to make this event ‘just one of the best!’ Big Thanks to John Hatton and Carol Hatton who played a huge part in coaching the Deva kayakers, and helped out all weekend to! Along with Dave Ashley, Lance Ball and David Jones. As always there are a long list of volunteers, and a Key Team who give so much to make the Deva Divas so special, especially Sally Napthen … your Legacy will live on and on!

18 years on and 7 years of Quadrathlon it’s been yet another memorable Race Day! Thank you to all you Deva Quad Girls for giving it your all, you pushed hard, smiled all the way and inspired many onlookers with your enthusiasm to take on 4 disciplines, it’s been a great pleasure to be part of your journey … and I’ll say it again, I’m so proud of you all … wear your T-Shirt & your medal – Bask in Your Glory … You did it!!✊

Don’t Cry because its over, Smile because it Happened!

Winner Adele Samuel

There was some great competitive racing in the top half of the field, most have their own goals, agendas and ambitions, many race for charities but one thing is fore sure …. there are smiles all the way and every single one of those Devas are Winners! But Congratulations also must go to our Winner Adele Samuel, with Pauline Percy in 2nd Place,  and Liz Dawson in 3rd place.

1st Adele Samuel Vet 50 – 2.01.35 
2nd Pauline Percy Vet 60 – 2.04.28
3rd Liz Dawson – Vet 50 2.08.14

Team Manvers

Special Mention to our BQA Members that flew the flag for the BQA, a Big thanks for supporting and inspiring many of our Deva Divas along the way! Also special thanks to our Male BQA Members that helped out in Kayak transition and on the water … Dave Ashley, David Jones, and Lance Ball  you help was much appreciated!

BQA Members

4th Helen Adams – 2.08.59
5th Tora Oetgen – 2.11.45
24th Geraldine Richards – 2.36.51
25th Caz Jones 2.40.09
34th Elaine Oliver 3.02.24

Full Results Deva-Divas-2024 Quadrathlon

Take a look at our amazing Film of the Race Day Deva Divas  Film 2024

Also an amazing amount of SMILEY PHOTOS mickhallphotos – deva-divas-2024

 

Fantastic News from Awesome Foursome in Bude

Jean Ashley

Our next British Quadrathlon Trophy Race is ‘The Awesome Foursome’ on Saturday 7th September. Every September since 2002 Simon Hammond and his Team have run the ‘Awesome Foursome Quadrathlon’, an extreme multi-sport race for individuals, pairs and relay teams to enter. This is an established event in the British and European Quadrathlon calendar regularly being a World Cup ranking event or the European Short Course Championships. This Year it is part of the World Cup Series!

The race makes the very most of Bude’s geography and features. The open water swim takes place within the shelter of Bude’s breakwater. The cycle ride includes some amazing coastal hills (including the 1 in 3 climb at Millook). The kayak leg takes place on the tranquil Bude canal. And the final run follows the canal towpath onto the coastal path and back to Bude. The fastest athletes will take around 3 hours to complete the course with most finished within 4 hours.

Route Description on YouTube

BUT THE EXCITING NEWS for 2024 is the New Shorter Course:

‘The Wallaby’

“A little smaller but just as Awesome”

Organizer ‘Simon Hammond’ has had a demand for a smaller quadrathlon to be run within the existing Awesome Foursome Quadrathlon. So ‘The Wallaby’ race will be run at the same time as the main event and we have just an Open Men’s and Open Women’s class. Prizes for 1st 2nd 3rd Mens and Ladies only, both events will be priced at the same £52. Details are:-

This shorter-course quadrathlon will be run at the same time as the full Awesome Foursome but will be roughly half the distance. It will start with the main event and be based at the Canal Wharf but will follow similar routes for the swim, cycle, and run as the Shoreline Triathlon, therefore eliminating the severe cycling hills around Millook. The kayak leg will still be the canal but half the distance of the full quadrathlon.

The swim will be one lap of the Bay, the cycle ride will only go as far as the Widemouth Manor before returning to Bude on the A39, the Kayaking will be one lap of the canal and the Run will only go as far as Rodds Bridge before returning to Bude via Lynstone Road.

Huge Thanks to Organizer ‘Simon Hammond’ for instigating this shorter event for our Quadrathlon Community, we really do appreciate your extra work!  Entries for either event must be received in advance and you can register using this link .The-awesome-foursome-quadrathlon

IMPORTANT INFORMATION. For the WORLD CUP SERIES you will only get allocated World Cup Points for the Full Distance Event. (No points for ‘The Wallaby’).

For the BRITISH QUADRATHLON TROPHY SERIES for the Full Distance Event you will be rewarded with FULL points – and we will also be giving ‘The Wallaby’ National Trophy Points. These will be reduced by 20 points for the shorter distance, we feel this is the FAIR option, but this will allow all the BQA Quadrathletes to claim those valid points! We hope this may encourage many more athletes to take part as ‘Shrewsbury Quad’ has been cancelled, this is a fantastic opportunity as it enables athletes to still get 3 Races in for the BQA National Trophy Series! 

Norfolk Superhero 2024

Jean Ashley

The Norfolk Superhero is a charity quadrathlon for those who relish an endurance challenge. Participants take part in teams of two and together cover a course that includes a 1 mile swim, a 4 mile kayak through the creeks, a 45 mile circular cycle route and an 8 mile run across the beach finishing with the last mile over the marsh. Teams must stick together and help each other out although there is a good mix of competition on show as well.

This is a charity quadrathlon event held annually in June when the tides are right, at Burnham Overy Staithe on the beautiful North Norfolk coast. Over the years the Norfolk Superhero has grown from a small band of friends taking on a fun, annual challenge to more than 200 competitors coming together to put themselves to the test. While the challenge is undoubtedly a serious one, nobody takes themselves too seriously. Everyone has their own reasons for taking part, whether that be for fitness, fun, or friendship. What’s more, every year all the participants pledge to raise money to support Norfolk based charities, raising over £600k to date. 

The BQA support this event each year, we are so proud of ‘The Team’ that make this event happen and the amazing amount they raise for their chosen charities each year. These are some kind words from their Race Director …..Thank You Carlotta!

Participants have raised over £165k for our two charities so far, which we are delighted about. This is our second highest raise and we are expecting a little more to come in still. It gives us particular pleasure this year to be raising substantial amounts of funds for two charities which are so close to the Superhero, the Burnham Overy Harbour Trust and Norfolk Lowland Search & Rescue, who are also part of our safety team. We’ve received so many amazing emails and letters, as we always do. Many participants this year have said how we make a lot of people happy by doing what we do. We wanted to share this with you because you are an important part of that. The Superhero simply wouldn’t happen without your wonderful support from the BQA and we cannot thank you enough. Attached is our Report which is a gallop through the event trying to pick out a handful of moments that help make the Superhero what it is!. 

2024 Norfolk superhero Challenge Report

For more details visit the website https://www.norfolksuperhero.co.uk/

2024 FILM 

Many of you have been asking when the film is coming out. The wait is officially over – click here to view the 2024 film. This year, we had a team of MA Film Production students from the University of East Anglia, out and about filming away, all under the watchful gaze of their tutor, Christabelle Dilks. Christabelle and her students have poured countless hours into this project and we are delighted with the outcome. The gloomy weather didn’t help the cinematography but we hope you’ll agree that the UEA students have done a great job. 
 
RECORD CHARITY RAISE
We are still waiting on a few final promised additions to the pot, mostly from those who raise via their companies in matched donations. But, we are now confident where the charity total will end up. For the third year running, we have hit a new record with £226k raised, split £176k to BOHT (£120k target) and £50k to NORLSAR (£35k target). We know it is a pain when we hassle you but we hope you will agree that, with news like that, the hassling is worth every second.

Norfolk Lowland Search & Rescue have already been able to buy the equipment they were looking for, and more: two new boats and specialist equipment for flood and emergency response. We love that the new boats will be called the Pink Lady and the Norfolk Superhero  💖 Burnham Overy Harbour Trust maintains and cares for the Overy creek and salt marshes and your incredible generosity will fast track the much needed creek restoration project which will preserve its unique biodiversity and beauty for generations to come. Thank you all so very much.

One last positive thought as you head into the Summer. With this year’s record £226k raise, the Norfolk Superhero has passed the £1million mark in total funds raised, with a staggering £564k raised in the three years since Covid alone. The generous Superhero spirit is alive and well. So, as you step on to the next endurance challenge or crack open the next bottle of Summer rose, and whether you’re drowning your sorrows or celebrating the election result, remember how much you have done and sleep easy knowing that more than £1million has been put to amazing use with some incredible charities in our beautiful county of Norfolk.

National Championships at Manvers 2024

Jean Ashley

The BQA were so pleased that Dearne Valley and the Team at Manvers Lake took on the task, of hosting the BQA National Championships, and what a fabulous event it turned out to be! They upped the event this year and made it even better, less laps on the swim course and on the kayak course made it much easy for the athletes, and with the use of chip timing for the first time it was so much better for the marshals and organizers! We were also blessed with gorgeous weather for the 2nd Race in the BQA Series,  congratulations to everyone who raced and to everyone who gave up their time to help this event run extremely smoothly!

Special thanks to Mark Benton, David Jones and there Manvers Team for organising this great quad, you are a wonderful ‘Team’ of people thank you for your enthusiasm and for inspiring so many to take to the water and embrace the challenge, you have put so many smiles on peoples faces at Manvers. Without a doubt it’s such a fabulous feel good event, enjoyed by everyone, from seasoned athletes to first timers it was so good to see everyone just loving the day

Also huge thanks to ‘David and Caz Jones’ who have been organizing Quad Training Days throughout the year and encouraging newcomers to our sport, they do a fantastic job to introducing people into our sport!

We started the morning at 8.30 with the QuadKidz Tri and Quad race a huge well done to them, they were all amazing all finished their races in fantastic style , most certainly our stars of the future!

Boys 9-11
1st Sam Docherty 23.40
2nd Guy Hebdon 26.59
Boys 16-18 (full distance)
Joseph Dsilva 2.248
Girls 12-15
1st Charlotte Docherty 36.15
2nd Isabelle Moorhouse 44.36

The main race started at 9.30. It was 1 800m lap in the swim, followed by an out and back 15km gravel bike ride on the Trans Pennine Route. Then back to the lake for the 4km kayak, 4 laps (approx. 1 km per lap), and finally a 5 km off road run around the whole lake. A great course and inclusive to all standards of athletes. We had our strongest quadrathletes competing at the front end of the race for the National Overall and Age Group Titles, but as always its so good to see our year in year out athletes and the first timers who always give it their all! The BQA want to thank every single one of you for taking part and supporting our small but wonderful sport, we do really apricate your commitment …. Thank -You! 

OUR 2024 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS including Age Groups, plus a special mention to all our BQA members taking part! 

MENS
BQA NATIONAL CHAMPION – 1st Vet 60 Jules Taylor 1.37.16
BQA 2nd overall – 1st Senior Oli Fairbairn 1.38.33
BQA 3rd overall – Nicholas Farnell 1.45.32
BQA 4th overall – Phillipe Jumeau 1:49:25
BQA 5th overall – 1st Vet 50 Jeff Chappill 1.51.34
BQA 6th overall – John McAdam 1:53:39
BQA 8th overall – 1st U23 Blake Mawson-Burren 1.57.23
         11th overall – 1st Vet 40 Adam Draup 2.03.20
BQA 12th overall – Andrew Lawson 2.26.25

 

Jules Taylor National Champion & Vet 60
Oli Fairbairn Senior Champion
Jeff Chappill Vet 50 Champion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blake Mawson-Burren U23 Champion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LADIES
BQA National Champion – 1st Vet 40 Helen Russell 1.48.24
BQA 2nd overall – Tora Oetgen 2.08.12
    3rd overall – Clare Addy 2.14.15
BQA 4th overall – 1st Vet 60 Helen Recchia 2.15.06
BQA 5th overall – Janet Green 2.20.26   
BQA 6th overall – 1st Vet 50 Caz Jones 2.29.49
BQA 7th overall – Geraldine Richards 2.31.59
BQA 16th overall – Amanda Lord 3.06.48

Helen Russell National Champion & Vet 40
Helen Recchia Vet 60 Champion
Caz Jones Vet 50 Champion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FULL MANVERS RESULTS

NATIONAL TROPHY STANDINGS after 2 RACES BQA trophy Series after 2 Races

WORLD CUP STANDINGS WQF and BQA Race 5

The BQA love to hear about your Race experiences, so we can share them and inspire others to have a go at our sport, so please dont hesitate to send me your story … we’d love to share it! SEND malpasashleys@btinternet.com

Big Thanks to ‘Jules Taylor’ ‘Our Men’s National Champion for writing us his Race Report

Plans are made to be changed I think someone once said !
Brigg was going to be my only Quadrathlon originally this year , but having enjoyed it so much now have a full season of racing .
National Championships here at Dearne Valley
World Long Course Quad in Hungary
Awesome Foursome at Bude
Brigg Sprint distance

I hadn’t raced at Manvers home ground before, but on arrival I was blown away by the lake and the whole setting . The lake looked really inviting, and was a great for the swim and kayak. With Amelia (13 yr old daughter) as my support crew we pitched up Saturday evening and had a good night’s sleep .

Sunday morning was lovely, warm, just a little breeze, perfect. Kit sorted, gravel bike racked, and straight into the swim . It was such a relief to have the space to swim in, not getting kicked, grabbed, or swim over, it felt like it went ok , with no issues at all .

Into T1, and Helen (Women’s Champion ) was already getting her bike kit sorted so she must have had a storming swim, it was a rapid transition and of on the bike. Within a short while a few of us found ourselves on the golf course having followed the wrong path, quickly we got back on the right one and I put the effort in and was pulling away. Before the turnaround , the eventual winner of the Triathlon event passed me , but I managed to keep him in sight to the finish of the bike. Having seen where the other Quad competitors were after the turnaround I knew I couldn’t let up!

This was always going to be a hard race between Oli and myself, having never beaten him yet, I was vaguely pleased to be ahead at this stage , but knew he would be putting in maximum effort .

First onto the kayak, and this I felt should be my ace card, confident with some solid training the past couple of weeks. It was a great feeling to have the lake to myself  and got stuck in to a strong smooth rhythm. First lap rounding the islands , and then I could see others now on the water , but not till the start of the second lap could I figure out where the other competitors actually were. At the start of each lap after, I saw I was making time on Oli which as it ended up , I badly needed.

Onto the run, and realised I really had been pushing it on the kayak as I struggled to bring my breathing down. I had around 3 minutes I reckoned on Oli, but knew his running was stronger so just had to zone out and work as hard as I could. I had a few of the Triathletes to use as targets to run down, using this to keep my pace up as much as I could, eventually I could see the finish line on the other side of the lake , so with about 1.5 km left I started to empty the tank! I kept looking back but no sign of anyone, so it ended up a really satisfying victory for me. As it turned out Oli had pulled back a couple of minutes and was only a minute behind me …. it was a great race !

On paper, it looked a really nice fun race and it was , but also one of the hardest I’d done. A very deceptive course …underestimate it at your peril! Many thanks to all involved it was brilliantly organised, awesome atmosphere, once again another fabulous Quadrathlon hear in Great Britain!

For me …. Next stop World Long Course Championship in Hungary!

Thanks Jules, and we wish him Luck at the Long Course World Championships flying the GB Flag!

Once again a Big Thanks to Everyone, and a special mention to the Manvers Team for there non stoppable enthusiasm and to the BQA who keep our sport going for us all to enjoy! I look forwards to seeing many of you girls at the Deva Divas Quad (and your Team Coach David too) … you will have an absolute Blast!!

The Awesome Manvers Divas!
The BQA Team keeping our sport alive! Any help is always appreciated!

Brigg Bomber World Championships 2024

Jean Ashley

A great day was had by all in Brigg at the World Championships, we were blessed with warm sunshine and blue skies! The numbers were on the low side but it was good too see Quadrathletes coming over from Hungary, CZ Republic and France!

Lincsquad organized the race in great style, and  huge thanks must go to Jeff and Donna Chappill who worked so hard to get together a Team of Marshalls and Helpers to get this race on the circuit for yet another year! Considering they are a small Club these days they really did us Proud so a big thanks must go to them for hosting the Championships, and giving our Quadrathletes a fabulous day out! 

Congratulations to all the competitors and to the Overall and Age Group Winners, and to our BQA Members for Flying the Flag!
RESULTS
LADIES
1st Susanne Walter GER 03:01:55 Masters 50 Female
2nd Natalie Abbott GBR 03:27:29 Masters 60 Female BQA
3rd Helen Recchia GBR 04:09:51 Masters 60 Female BQA
4th Caz Jones GBR 04:29:02 Masters 50 Female BQA
 
Leoš – Ferenc – Laurent
MENS
1st Ferenc Csima HUN 02:30:56 Masters 50 
2nd Leoš Roušavý CZE 02:41:07 Masters 40 
3rd Laurent Martinou FRA 02:43:08 Masters 40 
4th Oliver Fairbairn GBR 02:47:25 Elite BQA
5th Jules Taylor GBR 02:51:33 Masters 60 BQA
6th Jason Frary GBR 02:58:16 Masters 50 
7th Nigel Unwin GBR 03:04:51 Masters 60 
8th Philippe Jumeau GBR 03:09:03 Masters 60 BQA
9th Lance Ball GBR 03:14:55 Masters 50 Open BQA
10th Jeff Chappill GBR 03:20:30 Masters 50 BQA
11th Mark Chryssanthou GBR 03:21:36 Masters 40 
12th John MacAdam GBR 03:23:49 Masters 60 BQA
13th Richard Wakeford GBR 03:23:54 Elite 
14th Paul Belcher GBR 03:26:50 Masters 70 BQA
15th Petr Mejzlik CZE 03:30:12 Masters 60 
16th Jason Scatcherd GBR 03:30:27 Masters 40 
 

BQA Trophy after 1st race 

 
Big Thanks to Jules Taylor Winner Vet 60 for his Race Report below:

Having entered the Brigg Bomber Quadrathlon last year , it was an awesome surprise to hear to was going to be  the World Middle Distance Championships this year .

The weather was so grim for the early part of this year , that I spent most of the winter and spring just running…I couldn’t  get motivated to go kayaking or cycling outside. So with about 7 weeks to go finally got things into gear. Kayak training went well , and my cycling training has consisted of 10 hard turbo trainer sessions, having not ridden outside since the Bomber last year!

Quick look through the start list and plenty of familiar names, Nigel, Oli, Phillipe, John and quite a few from Europe including the dominant Ferenc.

Last year Nigel , Oli and myself were separated by only 50 seconds so I knew it could be a hard race, and Petr Majzlik from the Czech Republic who is up there on the European race circuit was also racing

I parked up at Brigg Leisure centre Saturday night , and a decent sleep in the van. Usual race breakfast of cocoa pops , registration done , and minimal faffing and suddenly the river was full of athletes and we were off.

Jules, happy after his swim!

I hate open water swim starts, they dont suit me, so it  wasn’t until the half way turn around I felt vaguely comfortable and was able to settle down and swim strong to the get out.

Run to the bike, Nigel was also in T1 ,and checking whose bike was or wasn’t there , had a quick idea of where I was and it looked good , after a decent swim in the end.

Out on the bike, nearly a year since I had ridden on the road I settled down and was feeling ok. A lot warmer than last year and not so windy so pretty pleasant really.

Nigel was just ahead of me , and we were soon joined by a few of the triathletes , and it was proving difficult to stay away from each other, but its fair to say we all raced pretty fairly I reckon. A decent pace throughout,  with about 4km to go Oli came storming past me not to be seen until the end, and back into transition . A swift T2, noting that Petr’s bike was not on the rack , and onto the kayak .

I had been lent a new K1 from Carbonology sport , and it was awesome. Seven kilos my kayak last year was 14kilos it is super comfortable, the Ultra K1 ticked all the boxes. Settled down into a good pace, with no dramas at all. I was unable to make any ground on Oli, but had managed to gain a few minutes on Nigel.

Into T3 , shoes on and my favorite discipline, the run.  It took a few minutes to wake the legs up but was soon moving ok , and it was HOT! I ran well to the turnaround , losing some time to Oli , the run back was a constant look out for others in my age group. Once I had seen all the ones I’d been concerned about, I eased back a bit as I was really suffering from the heat now. A few times in the last kilometre I walked for a couple of seconds as was a bit lightheaded it was a relief to finally run into the finish straight and across the line first in my age group.  Very Happy!

Coming to Brigg for their races is like coming home. So well organised, such a friendly club Lincsquad , and an amazing group of volunteers all come together to produce slick enjoyable events time and again, thank you to all of you!

Such strong efforts from everyone on the day the cloudless skies and heat made it a tough one, for those out there longer than others it must have really been hard going, well done to all.

Back home , and browsing through the Quadrathlon 4 You website , came across the World Long Distance Quadrathlon Championships in Hungary on August 10th just so happens we are on a bit of a road trip for 3 weeks , guess where we are going to head to for August 9th  Yep…all entered!!  Anyone else going to join us ..?

 

A Big Shout out must go to ‘TEAM MANVERS’ who had a fantastic team of athletes racing. Huge credit to David and Caz Jones who motivate, organize training sessions and do so much to keep our small sport Alive! Your are an amazing Team Thank You!

Their Quadrathlon is the next race in the BQA Series, it is also the British Championships, please support them, you’ll enjoy a fantastic day out!  Enter Here Manvers Quad

If anyone wishes to do Race Reports or contribute to the BQA please do not hesitate to contact me, we are a small sport and it does get more and more difficult trying to recruit members, and enthusiasts, so please keep spreading your love for our sport! Thanks Jean  

 

 

A Sad Day for Shrewsbury Quadrathlon

Jean Ashley

Phil Holden organizer (along with SYTri) of the Shrewsbury Quadrathlon sent us this sad news today –

It is with much regret that I pass on the news that the Shrewsbury Quadrathlon has been cancelled. For the second year running, this is due to low numbers of entries and insufficient volunteer helpers, mostly in the triathlon to which the quad is attached, and on which the quad is completely dependent.

This is part of a wider trend of contraction in triathlon clubs and non commercial events, which many of you may have seen elsewhere. SYTri continues as a club and with some other smaller events, but there are unfortunately no plans to try to organize a further Shrewsbury tri or quad event. So this brings to a rather sad end the 12 year history of this popular and enjoyable race. For me, and I know some others, discovering quadrathlon through this race was life changing. I’d like to thank all those who helped over the years, and all those who raced and who supported across all those races and made them such memorable and great occasions. The club committee is gearing up to do the admin of refunds etc. I’m not involved in this. As with marshals’ on race day, they are all volunteers, so please be nice to them! I hope to see some or many of you at other races and good luck with your events. All the best, Phil.

On behalf of the BQA I would like to Thank Phil for his heartfelt words, we all have so many wonderful memories of this great event. It was so inclusive to all standards of quadrathletes and sold out year in year out for its first 9 years! It was organized brilliantly by SYTri and its volunteer team. It was instigated by Gill Otto who put in an enormous amount of ground work to set it up 12 years ago, Phil was her deputy for many years, before he took it over around 6 years ago. He continued to put so much effort in to keep the Quad going, we held the British Championships there, and it had World Cup Status many times! Once again a Huge Thanks to these 2 BQA members Gill and Phil, who have give us such a great event and put smiles on peoples faces for so many years … THANK -YOU

Sadly Shrewsbury has come to an end, but like all our BQA Quad events they are organized by a few volunteers who work tirelessly with very little support and finance. This isn’t the only BQA event that is struggling, we have very few volunteers and no younger members coming into our sport, it is getting more and more difficult to keep momentum going in a world of so many other commercial events. So if you can help in any way, please get in touch with our event Organizers, help is always appreciated so much.

Thank You Jean Ashley 

 

BQA National Championships 2024 at Manvers!

Jean Ashley

BQA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (BQA Trophy RACE 2) 23rd June Dearne Valley Sprint Quad & QuadKidz 

British Quadrathlon (BQA) and Team Manvers have joined forces to bring ‘The National Championships’ Dearne Valley and Manvers Lake. The aim is to deliver a Quadrathlon where people from all walks of life can participate. This is going to be a fabulous event, organized by a very enthuiastic team, who are passionate about their sport and their brilliant venue where it all takes place. Its a Race not to be missed, so put your entry in and spread the news!

Team Manvers are offering training sessions throughout 2024, these will be held at the lake so please get in touch for details. If you are worried about any part of the event then please contact us and we will sort an alternative activity for that section.This race takes place around the Manvers Waterpark and its surrounding area, all the racing takes place within this lovely venue. The aim is to deliver, a Quadrathon where people from all walks of life can participate. Mark Benton (organizer) quotes ‘All that we ask is that you enjoy your training towards it and feel a great sense of achievement afterwards’.

The Junior Quadrathlon will run along side the sprint event, the first ‘QuadKidz’ race of the season, with various distances for the 3 age groups … it will be time for our Quadkidz to Shine! 

​Team Manvers are offering training sessions through 2024 at the lake please see details below ‘Introduction to Quadrathlon – Training Days. If you are worried about any part of the event then please join us on one or more of these training days.

​Sprint Quadrathon – Swim, Bike, Paddle and Run

Sprint 800m Swim, 15k Bike, 4k Paddle, 5k Run – Start Time 9.30am Price £15
Quadkidz (ages 9-12): 100m Swim, 2k Bike, 400m Paddle, 2k Run – Start Time 8.30 Price £5
Quadkidz (ages 13-15): 200m Swim, 4k Bike, 800m paddle, 2k – Run – Start Time 8.30 Price £5
Quadkidz (ages 16-18): 800m Swim 15k Bike 4k paddle, 5k Run – Start Time 9.30am Price £5

​Showers, changing rooms available, on site café. Commemorative medal to all finishers. Limited number of kayaks available to use/hire

Enter Race – ENTER Dearne-valley-triathlon-quadrathon-2024

Introduction to Quadrathlon – Training Days

There are Quadrathlon Trainig Days through out the year – No experience is needed, and they are suitable for all standards. Come along and try Quadrathlon, we have plenty of  Helpers and Coaches who are very motivating and will be available to give you advice.

 

You will need to book a Space on the Training Day follow link  Training Days

These include use of kayak, BA, Paddle and swim wetsuit. You will need to bring a gravel, hybrid or mountain bike (we may be able to loan you a bike) and running shoes, change of clothes etc. Open to all – suitable for all ages. Hot showers and cafe on site. Suitable for aspiring Quadkidz.

Manvers Waterfront Boat Club was formed in 2011 and is based at Manvers Lake near Wath-upon-Dearne, South Yorkshire. The club has the use of a purpose built boathouse which is owned and operated by Manvers Lake & Dearne Valley Trust Ltd, a charitable company formed in 2011 to look after the lake and surrounding area.

Since its formation the club has grown rapidly to its current size of over 600 members participating in a wide range of activities. The club currently has sections dedicated to paddlesports (canoeing and kayaking), triathlon, running, angling, open water swimming, windsurfing and model boating. The lake is also regularly used by our partners such as Dearne Valley College and other affiliated organisations.