to view the 2010 Annual Report - Triathlon New Zealand

youth
development report
Tri NZ’s Youth Development Programme wouldn’t be possible without the
ongoing support of Youthtown. We would once again like to acknowledge
Youthtown’s loyal and generous contribution to the programme. In addition,
we want to acknowledge the contribution of parents, coaches, clubs, teachers,
schools, RSTs, and councils to youth triathlon in New Zealand.
National Schools Championships
Over 760 students from 122 schools participated in the
2010 Contact National Schools Champs at Lake Karapiro
in March. This represented a 37% increase in numbers
over 2009 and ensured a great atmosphere and exciting
day’s racing for participants and spectators alike. Thanks as
always must go to the Tri NZ Event and Technical support
team as well as the many parents and teachers for enabling
the event to happen. Thanks also to St Johns and NZ
Police. The 2011 Contact National Schools Champs are to
be held in Christchurch on 31 March. This will provide a
great opportunity for South Island schools to experience
this exciting event in their own backyard.
Youth Academy
It was another busy year for the Youth Academy, with a
group of 19 athletes attending a couple of training camps
as well as a race in Australia. Youth Academy athletes
Aaron Barclay (1st Contact National Schools Champs,
Lake Karapiro), Sam Osborne (1st Kiwi, Contact National
U19 Champs, Wellington), and Maddie Dillon (1st 2009
World U19 Age Group Champs, Gold Coast) developed
so well over the year that they were selected for the High
Performance Programme in early 2010. Congratulations
must go to the individual coaches of all the athletes as well
as to Tri NZ accredited coaches Silas Cullen and Sheryl
McLay, National Assistant Coach Stephen Sheldrake, and
Youth Development Manager Mel Warmerdam.
Looking ahead to 2010/11, the Youth Academy will be
unashamedly focused on accelerating athletes into the
HP programme. As a consequence, only 9 athletes have
been selected for the Academy. This will enable a far more
individualised approach to support, as well as allowing the
funding to be more targeted on performance outcomes.
RYDO Programme
The Regional Youth Development Officer (RYDO)
programme ran for 10 weeks and resulted in nearly 100
school visits, during which over 3,800 kids were exposed
to triathlon. Thanks must go to the following RYDOs
for bringing their experience and enthusiasm to this
programme: Wally Pritchard, Ben Visser, Errol Newlands,
Cameron Durno, Clare Grenfell, and Kelly Bruce. Of
course, the RYDO programme would not have been
possible without the tremendous support of Youthtown,
who again were prepared to back Tri NZ’s vision for youth
participation in triathlon.
Looking Ahead
Growing youth participation in triathlon will once again
drive the youth programme. In particular, a key goal
is to ensure the Contact National Schools Champs in
Christchurch on 31 March 2011 delivers an overwhelmingly
positive experience to many hundreds of school students
from around the country. There will also be a greater
focus on growing the number of youth participants at the
Contact Tri Series Events over the summer. Lastly, Tri NZ
will continue to look for innovative ways to support the
coaches, parents and teachers who are working with youth
triathletes throughout NZ.
Final thanks
Firstly, thanks to the Youth Advisory Group for helping
steer the youth ship in 2009/10. The guidance and support
of Chris Todd, Peter Ellis, Sean Palmer, Sheryl McLay, Mark
Cornega, and Sid Cummings was greatly valued.
Lastly, this report wouldn’t be complete without
acknowledging the work done by Mel Warmerdam over
the previous 12 months in her role as Youth Development
Manager. Mel’s enthusiasm for youth triathlon was matched
by her sport science knowledge, teaching experience, and
outgoing personality, which in combination meant she was
able to build on the foundation laid by Scott Larsen before
her to make a huge contribution to youth triathlon in NZ.
Thanks Mel – you will be missed!
Year in Review