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The Annual Report from 2013 and our focus moving into 2014.

We hope this year you have had a great Season and you enjoyed training, racing and meeting like minded athletes, and will be coming back for more next year! We have some fantastic news, which will hopefully move us into 2014 season with lots of enthusiasm and excitement, and it will give us a reason to get out training this winter!

For the first time ever in the history of Quadrathlon Great Britain will be hosting ‘The World Championships’ After the success of Brigg holding the Europeans in 2013, the WQF committee have asked Lincsquad to host the 2014 World Championships at ‘The Brigg Bomber’ on 25th May.

‘Lincsquad are all very much excited that they will be hosting the first ever Quadrathlon World Championships in Great Britain. We are honored, its Brilliant News for British Quadrathlon!

So 2014, not only, are we running the National Trophy Series again with at least 5 quadrathlons, but we are hosting the World Championships and we also have two World Cup Races! So plenty of races to look forward too and it will be great to see a GB Team in full force at the World Championships!

 

Election of officers

Chairman – VACANT
Membership Secretary – Jean Ashley
Secretary/Treasurer – Jean Ashley
Event Co-ordinator – Mark Pryor
GB Team Coordinator – Ian Smith
WQF Representative – Steve Hook
BQA Kit – Steve Dolby
Website – Paul Carvil

 

Trophy Races 2014

25th May – Brigg Bomber Quad – National Championships/WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS/World Cup
Provisional ?15th June – Manvers WaterFront Boat Club Quad
13th July – Box End Sprint Quad
31st August – Shrewsbury Sprint Quad 
10th August – Fabian 4 Mountain Tri 
20th September Awesome Foursome Quad/World Cup

West Wight Tri – no date as yet.

The National Championships are to be selected yearly. BQA affiliates and members suggested other races should be asked and given the opportunity to run the Nationals if they wish – Shrewsbury and Bude will be asked in 2015.
2014 has been awarded to Brigg Bomber.

BQA members are very keen to continue with our Trophy Series in 2014
Trophy Prizes and Rules will remain the same
1. Perpetual trophies for Overall National Trophy Winners/plus Hoody’s
2. T-shirts for Senior, Vet 40, Vet 50, under 23.
3. Eric Hatliff Endeavour Prize – plus Hoody or Tech T
4. Only give prizes to winners who’ve done 3 races and are currant BQA Members.
5. Only British Athletes will get allocated Trophy points for 2014.
6. Juniors will only get Overall Trophy points if they do a full Trophy Race,
less laps do not count). However we will have a separate Junior league to cover the junior/sprint races for the junior prize if they have done 3 races.

Race Affiliation 

Thank -you to the 7 Races that Affiliated to us in 2013 and to the races that used BQA Insurance we hope they continue to join us in 2014.

1. Lincsquad ( Bomber) – Insurance
2. Quadrac Racing (Boxend, Wadenhoe Series) – Insurance
3. Norfolk Superheroes – Insurance
4. West Wight Quad, Race
5. Shrewsbury Quad – Insurance
6. Fabian4 Mountain Tri – Insurance
7. Awesome Foursome

8. Manvers Waterfront Boatclub have affiliated for 2014

Race Affiliation and BQA Membership is to remain the same for 2014 – £15

BQA Insurance also remains the same- Cost per athlete – £1.50 this also applies to Team members.

World Cup Affiliation 

The BQA pay 100 euros each year to affiliate to World Quadrathlon Federation
in 2013 on top of our fee, the BQA paid the 50 euros to cover the World Cup
Fees for GB Races that were part of the World Series – The Bomber and Awesome Foursome.

Due to lack of members in 2013 and the consequential drop in income the BQA has to reduce its expenditure to remain stable. However the BQA have agreed to pay the WQF fee of 100 euros, but cannot afford to pay the World Cup Fees for the race organizers in 2014. So if race organizers wish to retain WQF World Cup Status they will have to pay the 50 euros fee themselves. If circumstances change the BQA will reconsider its decision.

Lincsquad and Shoreline Pursuits have both agreed to pay the WC Fee for 2014.
BQA Rules – BTF and World Cup Rules 

At Shrewsbury Quadrathlon (which ran on the back of a Triathlon under BTF Rules) we had a Quadrathlete disqualified for dropping litter (a gel wrapper) we were also told we had to keep our Tri suits Zipped up as this is also a DQ offence.

The BQA should recognize the principal behind this issue rather than risk getting involved in the detail of the this particular incident. We will add the following to our rules. These can be found on the BQA website.

‘The BQA would like to remind Quadrathletes that when a Quadrathlon is run in parallel to a Triathlon, the BTF Rules apply to the whole race’.

 

Race Affiliation Co-ordinator – Mark Pryor

Thank-you to Mark for taking on this role for 2014.
At the beginning of 2014 he will send out The Race Affiliation pack to our BQA Race organisers containing,
1. Race Agreement Contract,
2. Affiliation Form,
3. Risk Assessment Form,
4. Race Calendar 2014.

The contract will include: fixing a date, risk assessments, insurance, first aid cover, marshals and trophy requirements. This worked very well in 2012/13 and we have had no clashes of dates.

GB Team Coordinator – Ian Smith

A Big Thank-you to Ian Smith who has taken on a new role as GB Team Coordinator.
Ian has travelled to European World Cup races over the past couple of years and he also raced at most of our British Quadrathlons. He will be able to give some help and guidance to members that want to go to WQF races in Europe, part of his role will be to bring together quadrathletes who wish to race in Europe. Ian will also be able to offer guidance on the interpretation of the GB selection criteria, and will be looking at putting together a strong enthusiastic GB team for the World Championships in Brigg. Please feel free to email Ian if you are interested in racing in WQF races .
His email is on our contacts page.

WQF Representative – Steve Hook 

The BQA would like to thank Steve who has been the GB Team manager for the last few years, he is now standing down from this role, but he is continuing to support Quadrathlon as vice chairman of the WQF committee. This will be a very important year for us, as GB are to host the World Championships for the very first time, I am quite sure Lincsquad will put on a superb event and it will live up to the expectations of the WQF.

The World Quadrathlon Federation is the international sport governing body for Quadrathlon. It was established in 1990 by Sergio Ferrero, in 1997 it was developed under the guidance of Czech’s Václav Marek as the European Quadrathlon Federation. Then in 2001 converted to the WQF. Stefan Teichert is the General Secretary/Treasurer and the main point of contact.
The biggest Quadrathlon communities are currently present in Czech Republic, Great Britain and Germany.

The WQF decide which races are World and European Championships and World Cup Races. The 2014 Championships are

3.May.14 Ibiza, Spain – Middle Distance EUROPEAN Championships
25.May.14 Brigg Bomber, GB – Middle Distance WORLD Championships
21.June.14 Týn nad Vltavou, Czech – Sprint Distance EUROPEAN Championships
30.Aug.14 Berlin Man, Germany – Sprint Distance WORLD Championships

BQA Kit – Steve Dolby

Leisure Kit
A big thank – you to Steve (from Lincsquad) who is going to continue this service for us.
Athletes can order ‘one-offs’ and pay direct to the company via Steve -Tech T-shirts,Hoodys are available.
All information/order forms can be found on the Web page.
Matching Team Kit does help raise the profile of the BQA, the new Hoodies and Tech T-shirts look really good, so please feel free to purchase these.

Tri Suits – we have 3 (small) Tri suits in stock, there is a minimum order of
10, I have 3 orders on a waiting list. It will be fantastic to see a GB Team in BQA Tri suits at the
World Championships in Brigg! So if you are interested please let me know, hopefully we may to be able to get an order together for this year.

It’s great to see athletes racing in GB Tri suits, the new suits will have an option of a rear zip now and will cost about £65 but payment will be needed upfront. I have found another company that will do single suits (with our same design) but they would cost £100.
Please let Jean know if you are interested in either option.

Website & Newsletter & Facebook page – Paul Carvil & Jean Ashley

They are both up and running very well, the facebook page now has 107 members, so we are spreading the word … keep posting news!
We would like to encourage more members to send us race reports, photographs or articles linked to quadrathlon or Multi-sports, it’s always good to share your news, reports and race experiences with us …… please email to Jean.

We need to change Header Photo as we no longer have Thule Sponsorship. If anyone has any good Quadrathlon photos that they would like to see on the website ….. please email to Jean.
2014 Membership is available now forms are on the ‘membership & kit page’ Fees to remain the same £15 per year

Final Round up – Results of 2013 Trophy Series

Congratulations to all our 2013 Athletes, and prize winners.
Winners 2013
Overall Men Ian Smith – Overall Lady Sharon Colley
Vet 40 Nigel Unwin
Vet 50 John Kavanagh
Endevor Trophy Mark Pryor

For the first time ever our overall winner was not a BQA member ‘Adam Norfolk’ so the Trophy was handed down to Ian Smith.

Numbers racing in the Trophy Series were UP on last year –
Male Participants 2012 – 70  2013 – 92
Female Participants 2013 – 14  2013 – 16

We are a small sport, and we do need your support, so please help spread the word and help push the BQA forwards into 2014. Have a good safe winters training and see you next season.

‘Never Stop the Adventure’ Jean Ashley

 

 

 

As another race season draws to a close and those Winter nights descend it is time to reflect on our past season and plan/ train for the next.

The National Trophy Series kicked off this year with the Brigg Bomber in May. The race was to host the National Championships, European Championships and was also a World Cup Race [so it had a lot at stake]. Steve Clark was the overall winner [this was to be Steve’s only Quad this year as he concentrated on Kona Ironman with Phil Westoby coming second and Adam Norfolk taking third. Sharon Colley [who was too destined to dominate the Ladies Quad scene this season] was the first lady home, with Lisa Dunne coming home second. A big thanks must be said to the Lincsquad team who organised a quality race worthy of its championship status.

Unfortunately the second planned Quad race on the Isle of Wight had to be cancelled due to lack of numbers; a shame as we heard that it was a fantastic race last year. This meant that the second race of the year would be the sprint Off Road Quad at Box End. Box End was also suffering from reduced numbers and the race had to be re-structured to make it a viable proposition. At the race Sharon Colley was to pick up her second win of the season, with Jean Ashley coming second. In the men’s race Adam Norfolk came first with Steve King taking second.

The Shrewsbury Sprint Quad in only its second season was to be a very popular race with a good turn out of athletes [many of them trying the sport for the first time]. At least this year the river was slower and warmer then last years conditions. Steve King was the fist male across the line with Nigel Unwin coming in second. Sharon Colley took her third straight win to sow up the ladies National Trophy Series, with Jean in second place.

The fourth race of the year was that extreme event, the Fabian 4, which this year was blessed with much kinder weather then last years storm. This is a very hard race and not for the faint hearted. Adam Norfolk showed his strength and stamina by taking first position, with Ian Smith coming second. The first lady [surprisingly, not Sharon as she did not enter] was Caroline Dallimore, with Caroline Wilson coming second.

The fifth and last race in the trophy Series was the Awsome4some held in Bude, which was also our second World Cup Race to be held in the UK this year. This is another hard race with a very testing sea swim and near vertical bike route straight from the word go. Ian Smith was to triumph on the day and also confirmed himself the winner of the Men’s National Trophy Series 2013. Nigel Unwin took another well deserved second place and Jess Lynes was the first and only lady to take up this challenging race.

This year we only had 2 GB athletes at the World Championships at Ratscher-GBR. However, small though our numbers were, both athletes came back with medals. Ian Smith came 6th overall and took 1st [gold] place in V50 and Keith Longney came 11th and took Bronze in the V50 category. Congratulations to both athletes for doing a great job representing the BQA.

This year the BQA has seen a slump in personal membership, but a large increase in the numbers signing up to our Face book page! Membership fee’s and race affiliation are the BQA’s only source of income! If we do not have the membership we will not be able to function! There will be no National Trophy series and no National Body and no race insurance for some event organisers! If the sport of Quadrathlon is going to continue in its present form then we need your support! Please become a member in 2014 by downloading the form from the BQA website and it will only cost you £15.00.

The fate of the BQA and Quadrathlon in the UK rests in your hands!

Just to remind you that you need to be a member of the BQA to qualify for the National Trophy series.

This is my last year as Chairman as I will be stepping down for a new person to take the helm [if you feel you can take on the roll then please let Jean know]. Jean Ashley will continue to handle the day to day running of the BQA. We all owe a big thanks to Jean and her family as they are the backbone of the BQA, without their input we would not exist. I would also like to thank all the event organisers and their teams for all their hard work putting on some extremely varied and brilliant races this year.

I wish you all best in your future Quadrathlon Seasons!

Mark Pryor
BQA CHAIRMAN [out going]