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BQA 2013 Annual Report

Admin

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

 

 

 

BQA 2013 Chairman’sReport

Admin

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]

 

BQA 2014 National Trophy Series

Admin

The BQA have confirmed Trophy Races for 2014, we may have 2 more to come I am awaiting news from West Wight Quad, and Manvers Waterfront Boat Club. But these are the dates so far –

25th May Brigg Bomber Quad – Nationals/World Cup Race

13th July Box End Sprint Quad

10th August Fabian 4 Conwy Mountain Triathlon –

A great video of this years Fabian4 Race Fabian4 Conwy Mountain Triathlon

31st August Shrewsbury Sprint Quad

20th September Awesome Foursome Bude Quad – World Cup Race

The World Cup Races, including venues for the Europeans and the World Championships are almost confirmed, we are just waiting on the Middle Distance World Championships! The information about these races can be found on our EVENTS page.

It would be great to get lots of support at our British races and get a Team of enthuiastic Quadrathletes to Europe for the World Championships!

So get the dates in your diary ….. its time to start training for the 2014 Quad Season ….. lets make it a good one! 

Roots of BQA

Admin

Although the roots of Quadrathlon go back many years, things really took off again in early 2000, with the announcement by the British Quadrathlon Association of a five race National Trophy series. The series included the British Championships and two other national Championships, along with a variety of other races in various formats. Some of the races were real tests of endurance, whilst others offered a manageable new challenge for multi-sport athletes looking for something a bit different.

The sport of Quadrathlon has been going for approximately 20 years and has recently undergone a significant upsurge in interest in the UK, with many more people finding the attraction of the four sporting disciplines, (swimming, kayaking, cycling, running), too much to resist! Race organisers have reported increased entries and interest in general. The British Quadrathlon Association (The BQA) is actively promoting and supporting these interests and details of where you can enter races and generally get more information can be found on these pages.

Races on the National calendar are of varying distances and a mixture of the four disciplines. Some are kayak triathlons (without the swim section) and some have off road bike sections. Some races are technically demanding, others are better for beginners. Everyone is catered for!

Quadrathletes on the whole are a very friendly bunch, who are happy to help and support each other, training events are occasionally run to help each other improve skills and camaraderie is a positive aspect of this small but ever growing sport. The team atmosphere at the World Championships in Europe is something not to be missed, and all are welcome to participate.

 

‘Our QuadMaster’ Eric Hatliff

Eric Hatliff, the founding father of Quadrathlon in Britain, known as the Quad Father, sadly died in April 2007 at the age of 75. Eric inspired many, many people young and old to participate in the sport of Quadrathlon. Amongst many of his great feats he was still competing in the World Long Distant Quadrathlon past the age of 65!

To commemorate his contribution to the sport ‘The Eric Hatliff Memorial Trophy’ is presented each year ‘For Endeavor’ given to an athlete showing his enthusiasm and commitment to the sport of Quadrathlon.

Quadrathletes Race Kona 2013!

Admin
Steve Clark

Congratulations to Steve Clark from Lincsquad and Mat Stephenson, 2 of our top Quadrathletes who have raced in the the World Ironman Championships in KONA, Hawaii on 12th October 2013. Steve is currently the British and European Quadrathlon Champion, he came home in a fantastic time of 9hrs 40mins 10 secs (swim 1.04.05, bike 4.49.15, run 3.38.42) 375 overall!

Mat Stephenson

Mat was last years Overall National Trophy Winner, he came home in 11hrs 16 mins 1 sec (swim 1.03.29, bike 4.59.23, run 4.54.41) 1304 overall.

Well done to them both, and we look forward to reading their Ironman race reports!

 

 

 

 

 

World Cup Series 2013

Admin

The World Cup wasn’t to be decided until the final race of this year …. Bude! The Race would decided whether the World Cup went back to the Czech Leoš Roušavý or go for the first time to German Stefan Teichert. Michal Hasa had also been in the lead and veteran Miroslav Poborský had won two championship races a third win may well of put him in the lead too. Overall, the Czech athletes were strong and on form, four of the first six places went to them. Finally, however, Stefan Teichert won the last two World Cup races and took the Championship from Leoš Roušavý.

In the women, the Germans were again very strong and took five of the first six places. Lisa Hirschfelder secured numerous victories and podium finishes with the most points. Second place went to the repeated Cup winner Ellen Mielke, who also collected points through numerous top rankings. In third Katrin Burow, the Berliner with two champion titles. The best non-German was the young talented Natália Paulik from Hungary in fourth place.

New this year, the points have been modified for the International Championship Race and the last World Cup race, there were 20 points more for each place (ie instead of 100 for a win, there were 120 points). The objective was to upgrade the championship race, ie where the best athletes race, and to keep the tension in the cup until the last race of the season.

A total of 10 races were scheduled, one of which had to be canceled because of the withdrawal of a sponsor. The best four results count, so that gives equality of opportunity, as Quadrathlon is not a professional sport and athletes with less budget, cannot afford to travel far.

On the Spanish island of Ibiza, the first World Cup event was held and won by the two Spaniards Vicente Roig Riera and María José Morell Salguero. The next race was Brigg England, The Middle Distance European Championships – this was won by our GB Athlete Steve Clark (GBR) and Lisa Hirschfelder.

Steinberg Germany, was hit by bad weather, the swimming had to be canceled and the paddling route was shortened. In the harsh conditions Leoš Roušavý and Lisa Hirschfelder took the top podium places. A week later at Lake Balaton Hungary, this time with high temperatures Leoš Roušavý won and in the women Natália Paulik.

The first major highlight of the World Cup over the sprint distance was in Tyn nad Vltavou Czech Republic this showed that Mr. Miroslav Quadrathlon Podborský, is still very hard to beat, even though he is over 40! Zuzana Kocumová (CZE) secured the title in the ladies. Also in early August Podborský won the Sprint Championships in Slovakia Šamorín and Diana Tešovicová (SVK) took the Ladies title. The town of Wolsztyn Poland held its first World Cup race, the winners were Leoš Roušavý and Lisa Hirschfelder.

The second major highlight – over the middle distance was the World Championships they were held at Ratscher Germany, a beautiful course on mountain lake. After a hard fort battle the two Germans Stefan Teichert and Antje Fiebig won the Championships. Finally  the last World Cup Race was in Bude, where Stefan Teichert and Lisa Hirschfelder took well deserved wins! , These victories in the last race gave them the World Cup Overall Trophies.

There were also great performances in the age groups,  two German athletes stood out here: First, Stefan Barthel, 70 years old took part in three World Cup races leaving many a young athlete behind. Secondly, Peter Appelt, 64 years compared to Barthel as a youngster, took part in seven races!

A total of 209 athletes raced in the World Cup Series. The most athletes on the start line were Great Britain with 50 starters, followed by the Germans (38) and Slovaks (37). A total of 13 nations were represented in the World Cup Series, with the 72 Germans, 55 British and 43 Slovaks.

A Great Season … hears hopeing for an even better 2014, and lets see if we can get a super strong succesfull GB Team visiting Europe for two of those World Cup Races … were good enough to be up there with the best Quadrathletes in the World!

Men

1 Stefan Teichert (GER) -450
2 Leoš Roušavý (CZE) – 420
3 Michal Hasa (CZE) – 400
4 Ian Smith (GBR) -250
5 Podborský Miroslav (CZE) -240

Women

1 Lisa Hirschfelder (GER) – 440
2 Ellen Mielke (GER) – 350
3 Katrin Burow (GER) – 220
4 Natália Paulik (HUN) – 210
5 Undine Harrier (GER) – 170

2013 World Cup Series Results

http://www.quadrathlon-online.de/ergebnisse/2013/13-w-cup.pdf

 

2013 National Trophy Champions

Admin

Once again Bude Awesome Foursome was a fitting end to our 2013 National Trophy Series, which has been made up of 6 races, unfortunately West Wight Quad had to be cancelled so Trophy Points were taken from the 5 races below.

◾The Brigg Bomber

◾Box End Quadrathlon

◾Shrewsbury Quadrathlon

◾Fabian4 Dyffryn Conwy Mountain Triathlon

◾The Awesome Foursome

This season 92 males and 16 female athletes took part in the series. It was great to see plenty of first timers and some of them doing really well, special mention to John Kavanagh in his first year of Quadrathlon, and to Adam Norfolk and Phil Holden who both started last year and have very well in their first full season! We hope everyone enjoyed their quad season and will be back for more next year!

We have been a little low on athletes joining the BQA this season, with only 18 members, but we do have 8 Race Organizers/Clubs affiliated to us, which we are very grateful to for their support, they provide us with the opportunity to race and enjoy our sport. All 5 of our Quad Races this year have been superbly organized by enthusiastic ‘Teams’ of like minded people and athletes, all enjoyed by the competitors with the aim to Keep our Small Friendly Sport ALIVE!

The BQA help to promote their races and supply the Race insurance so its vital we have YOUR support and memberships to keep these races going. So a Big THANK-YOU to all our 2013 members!

Trophies are awarded each year, provided each winner has done 3 races in the series, and must be a current BQA Member. Congratulations to the 2013 Winners

Overall Winners Perpetual Trophy Male Ian Smith (First BQA Member)

Overall Winners Perpetual Trophy Female Sharon Colley

Vet 40 Male Nigel Unwin

Vet 50 Male John Kavanagh (role down as Ian Smith won Overall Trophy)

Mark Pryor has been presented with the Eric Hatliff Memorial Trophy awarded each year ‘For Endeavor’ given to an athlete showing his enthusiasm and commitment to the sport of Quadrathlon. Mark has been our Chairman for 3 years, he has raced, and organizes a Winter Quad Series and the Boxend Quadrathlon each year the BQA have been very grateful for all his hard work and commitment to the sport and he has more than earned ‘Eric’s Trophy’

A BIG THANK-YOU MARK …. and I hope your going to still help me out next year!

2013 Final Trophy Results

 

Fabian4 Dyffrn Conwy Mountain Triathlon 2013

Admin

Congratulations to all athletes that did the Fabian4 on 8th September 20013, the 4th race in the BQA Trophy Series! I have just had this report from Jackie Keasley, it was Jackie’s first time at an event like this and she had only been paddling a couple of weeks, she had a fantastic time and did very well …. this is her report!

The Dyffrn Conwy Mountain Triathlon is a brilliant race organised by a very enthusiastic team of dedicated kayakers, runners & mountain bikers. The organiser, Ellie Salisbury who is part of Fabian and processes our Four Villages entries, encouraged me to take part despite me not having been in a kayak for 20 years. Ellie put me in touch with Chester & Conwy Canoe clubs and over the last month I have been encouraged all along the way by the most friendly club members who have taught me the basics over 6 sessions on the Dee (thanks to Jean & John etc), River Conwy (thanks to Penny & James et al) and Manley Mere.

On Saturday tea time, Bill & I met up with Penny from Conwy Canoe club who had kindly arranged for us to pick up a 5.2m Kirton Tempest kayak. It didn’t fit in the camper van so 3 other competitors, who were also there picking up their kayaks, helped us attach it safely to the high roof of our camper van. We overnighted at the race base, Trefriw Rugby Club. Following a team brief at 9:30 there was a mad dash to the RSPB reserve at Conwy. After launching the kayaks we lined up on the start line at the bridge embankment with the iconic Conwy Castle looking down on us.

Weather was mixed with sunshine and showers with a southerly wind. The start was 1 hour before high tide.  A 13K open water estuary paddle followed. I could not believe the different conditions met en-route; choppy wind blown waves, made worse by a passing motor boat, whirl pools, faster flowing currents, interspersed by tranquil patches. The notes said follow the scum for the best current!  This was a good tactic but in that scum was a lot of debris including seaweed and floating logs, which caused a wobble when the paddle caught. All this was a bit nervy for me who was paranoid about capsizing – I have not got the greatest affinity for water !  Under the Tal y Cafn bridge for a photo shot and onto the finish at Dolgarrog. The river was quite narrow and it was the most amazing feeling paddling, alone by this time, but not quite at the rear. The silence was amazing, alongside the most gigantic reed beds (SSSI) wafting in the breeze. A muddy reception team dragged me up the slippery bank and took care of the kayak.

A quick stretch, then off on a 13K fell run. There was an early steep climb up to the Llyn Cowlyd Reservoir following the hydro pipeline (yes it’s got to be steep). Lots of encouraging marshals along the way, and the provision of drinks & jelly babies at the dam before a further climb to 500m (in heavy rain). Despite the rain and drinks I could not get rid of the dry salty taste from the kayaking. Bog and slippery paths down through bracken and bramble in parts followed. Yes summer is over and the ground is now back to normal after the dry spell!  Finally crossed the Crafnant road for the final steep drop down to the Rugby Club.

A quick changeover, more jelly babies & a banana, and a thankful sit down on the bike. Then up the steep tarmac road to the Marin Trail Carpark for an 18K ride, dodging on and off the Marin Trail. A figure of 8 route around Lynn y Park. A mixture of forest tracks and narrow single track, current forestry operations making some of the wide tracks very muddy and hard work especially as by now it was pouring down. Managed to ride more of the Marin than I imagined, and have now got over my phobia of riding through deep puddles you can’t see the bottom of. An enforced rest to release a jammed chain, before a final series of slippery slate drops defeated me and I ran with the bike instead. A muddy track with fords and finally down to a waiting crowd at the muddy finish. A fabulous quick hot shower at the Rugby Club made me look more respectable; rugby showers are obviously designed for mud ! Into the bar, just in time for the presentation, a delicious veggie curry and cuppa + pint of shandy.

All in all a brilliant experience in an amazing location, just 1 hour from here. A very well organised complex event with a incredible number of marshals and helpers on the day + it must have taken many hours to plan. So a big thankyou to the Ellie and the organisers, marshalls & helpers at Map17 events + a very big thankyou to all those friendly paddlers at Chester & Conwy for all the encouragement and help along the way this last month.

Results

Mens solo winner   3:28 Adam Norfolk         London Fire Brigade Tri

Ladies solo  winner 4:47 Caroline Dallimore  Mynyddwyr De Cymru

Team winner          3:14 Team C T & C        * There was also a team event with individuals competing each leg, to include one lady per team

My time ‘Jackie’                 5:37   Kayak  1:34   Run 1:55   Bike 2:07. Only 4 solo ladies and 3 of those were V50+ !!! Well Done Girls!

Jackie Keasley

Full Results http://www.map17events.org.uk/

If Any of the BQA Athletes have a Race Report we would love to hear all about it .. Thanks.

 

 

 

 

Ratscher World Sprint Championships 2013

Admin

The World Championships ‘Bergsee Quadrathlon’  Ratscher were held on Saturday 31st August. We only had 2 representatives from GB this year, which was a great shame our smallest ‘Team for 8 years! However both GB athletes came back with medals!

Congratulations to Ian Smith (bike photo) who finshed 6th overall winning V50 Gold in 3.08.10.Keith Longney took the Bronze also in Vet50 came 11th overall in 3.13.05. (kayak photo) It is good to see Keith back racing after a few years off the Quad race circuit. Well done Team GB!

The World Champions for 2013 are Mens – GOLD Stefan Teichert (GER) 2.58.36. SILVER Leous Rousavy (CZ) 2.59.04. BRONZE Michael Hasa (CZ) 3.00.12

The Ladies GOLD Antje Fiebig (GER)3.15.22. SILVER Katrin Burrow (GER) 3.24.20. BRONZE Lisa Maria Hirschifelder (GER) 3.32.21

It would be great to see a strong GB Team back at the World Championships in 2014 … maybe we ‘orgt’ to think about this for next season, it has always been a great trip out there, very friendly, good safe racing, beautiful scenery and rather nice beer too ….. am I selling it YET???

World Championship Ratscher Results 2013 World Sprint Results

Norfolk Super Heros 2013

Admin

Can we just get one thing out of the way first, after that race…. We are definitely organising the Norfolk Superhero Challenge again in 2014!

Thank you to everyone for another simply amazing year, the best bit of all was that the conditions were so very, very perfect on race day and so very sunny in all the photos and so very good for all our tan lines that there is no question that the Superhero Challenge won’t happen again.

After a showery but happy safety briefing (thank you for your tranquillity Martyn) on the Friday night, the long awaited day was upon us, with a much more civilised start time. Our favourite new competitor was the sun, a first timer I think, and our least favourite from previous years, the wind, forgot to enter or it’s cheque got lost in the post this year, and did not take part, which was very pleasing.

When all were assembled on the beach the great excitement was that the sea was calm, flat and really quite warm. After a quick photocall from Harry Cory-Wright and a head count for the record, the gun went off at 10.00. A rather lovely ritual was noted to have resurfaced, someone… (we don’t know who) had bought a nip of Nelson’s Blood (was it you Bruce?) to toast the challenge, as had been done in previous years. Whoever you were, thank you – let’s bring it back! Our swim sponsor, Fenmarc’s MD, Richard Anderson even took to the water to really submerge himself in the event and for that we applaud him. Good luck in your 1st Ironman this week.

That lovely, flat sea soon turned in to a frenzy of thrashing limbs as large middle aged rubber clad people desperately clawed themselves off the beach in order to follow that smooth arrow head to the first buoy. The tip of that arrow head turned out to be last year’s swim champion again, Abbie Thorrington with an improved time of 15.17! That amazing time however, was less than a minute ahead of the men’s winner, Rob Lines who had a time of 16.09.

The field slowly emptied of kayaks with some partners waiting almost 9 minutes for their partners. We were less bunched than in previous years and the long string of kayaks seemed to surge like an eager parade of rubber ducks along the creek, over and up the bank, and re-entering the sea with varying degrees of success. Yet again the splendid floating office of David and Pixie was marshalling the point of the ladies turn, this year not wafting bacon sandwich smells across the marsh as breakfast was obviously earlier. There, from an oystercatcher’s view you would have seen a lovely peel off for all rubber ducks with ladies steering them to the right, whilst those poor boys took the left turn round the long course. A special mention to Lisa Hurrell and Chris Ford, who were one of the teams representing Paragon Print and Packaging (Britain’s premier packaging company), who have always been our wonderful kayak sponsor, who didn’t realise there is a front end and a back end to a kayak.

The winners of the short course kayak, were David Horton-Fawkes and Paula Lawn who swept round beautifully in a sweet time of 35.58. The winners of the long course…… and this is quite contentious, but looking through photographic evidence – we got the result wrong! Whilst our timing systems shows one result, visual recall shows another. Duncan Backus and his West Country based new ringer partner who has recently kayaked around Britain (very fast) Andy Mullins are our official winners! For some reason, Duncan and Andy’s time is wrong and they beat Mark and James Lapping by 45 seconds. Apologies for this. Mark is donating a kayak trophy – up for grabs next year. I feel a great kayak race coming on next year for the mens.

Happily this year, this previously stressful transition from kayak to bike was not marred by hyperthermia or exhaustion, as the conditions were by now calm and getting warmer with the sun burning through.

On to the bike, how much more fun it is doing a 45 mile course with a full field of competitors than training through that boring, wet, cold Spring we had! Our thanks go to Barratt and Cooke – Norwich Stockbrokers, our new sponsor of the cycle with William Barratt taking part in his first excellent attempt. Fat Birds were luckily with us again in the field and on the course this year for all bike mishaps however big or small. I, in particular, thank the F1 style maintenance dudes, for refitting a spare bike of theirs with the pedals and bottle holders off mine which were about the only thing I hadn’t broken in a foolish slip on the road at the start. Peter Flett, of Fat Birds, having pointed out the exciting new double click paddles for gear changes (still not sure about that, was it 1 for up and 2 for down?) went off round the course to mend a puncture for our rivals in the Lady Hamilton as well, not so pleased about that!

We had a new amazing race record, fastest ever P.B.s from most of our ‘elite’ crew. Will Burnham Overy Staithe be given a new status and reclassified as part of the top 3 racing locations in the world – to the list of those volcanic, tropical climes of Hawaii and Lanzarote with perfect conditions, let us add, Burham Overy Staithe? 2012 Lord Nelson winners, Dan Pilling and Nick Toolan reckon they took 10 minutes of their bike time and still didn’t win! WHAT?

Simon Thompson’s well researched enormous pothole had been filled in by the unsung hero Phil Ellis in the pre race build up – thank you both of you. The Norfolk and Suffolk 4×4 response team led by Jim Whiteside were ever present. The whole bike ride, was beautiful, with the dog roses flowering in the hedgerow, the smell of elderflower on the air and Robert Gurney shouting out split times from the verge. Holkham looked gorgeous, beautifully mown and visibility was excellent at the obelisk turn which did not claim any riders thanks to the excellent marshalling by 2 former competitors, Thomas Courthauld, and Matt Moxon and last years winning marshalls pair, Jerry Phillipi and Alge Williams. However all could not be perfect and we sadly had one bad accident with Robert Miller suffering a broken collar bone after a fall off his bike. All our love goes out to you Robert. Also a race losing puncture for one team, Mark Harrod and Abbie Thorrington, who showed great grace and joined the party as VIP medal distributers – having never suffered any such upsets through several Ironmen and other triathlons.

So the winners of the bike with an outrageously fast, surely never to be beaten time, were Niall McCallum and Iain Wilson with a time of 2.07.05. Second were last years winners, 50 seconds behind! All our previous champions were up there within a couple of minutes of each other. The bike is where this race is won.

Finally, the run. Could there have been a more stunning spot to have been in the whole world? Maddy, our mermaid haired marshall who normally defies rain and wind, was embracing the rays of the sun amongst the nudists. Thank you again to Holkham who have once again sponsored our run leg. A special mention to Paul Fletcher, one of our Zimmer crew who overtook his way along the beach picking off his rivals from the bike, how very satisfying that must have been.

Frozen ribena and champagne was available at the mouth of the marsh from the popular marshall crew of Rachel, Matt and Matthew. Special mention from the marshalls goes to Barney Kauffman’s butt cheeks, we do not have the exact details presently behind this story, but Barney, it is a pleasure to have you onboard. The sea was glinting and the sand was harder than usual thanks to Friday’s rain. Even Jess was not panic-ing about the height of the water. The day was perfect. Obviously a few knees blew up, they always do. Some people had very little energy left but the smiles as you came over the line said it all. The fastest run time was achieved by Roger Canhan and Johnny Bland, 1.08.35, an astounding time from Johnny who was apparently the last man in the field on the Friday night drinking beer and playing football with his boys.

Only one more injury occurred on the day, Jess twisted her ankle in a rabbit hole dance floor injury. Thank you to Richard Shaw of Tapping House for his excellent description of the wonderful work that they do and to Simon Wilson-Stephens and Mark Lapping for steering us through the highs and the lows of the day during the speeches, and of course for coming up with this lunatic riddled event.

And so to the overall winners – which were all of us for being a part of it.

For full results