Triathlon Ireland Talent Spotting Day

Triathlon Ireland Talent Identification Programme 2010

The Triathlon Ireland talent identification programme has the goal of locating talented junior athletes and developing to their full potential in the sport of triathlon. This programme is about high performance sport and developing highly talented athletes who have the potential to compete for their country. It is not a junior participation programme.

We are looking for athletes with the following profile:
 Aged between 11 and 21;
 With a strong swimming background and some running experience (school cross country, community games participation, athletics club);
 Keen to represent Ireland in one of the fastest growing and exciting Olympic sports;
 A willingness to work up to a standard to compete with the rest of the world in our sport;

Standards required
Experience has shown us the times show below should be attainable for someone who has the appropriate level of talent to succeed in our sport. Some athletes maybe particularly strong swimmers, but not have much running experience. If this is the case then please contact us to discuss. Suitable athletes may be able to develop their running within our programme. In general we have found that an athlete with no formal swimming background will find it prohibitively hard to get their swimming up to the required standard.

Format of the talent identification day
The talent identification day is held at a facility where there is a swimming pool and a 400m running track. The schedule for the day generally follows the format below:

10:30am – 11:00pm
Meet & Register

11:00pm – 1:00pm
Swim time trial

1:00pm – 1:30pm
Short break

1:30pm – 3:00pm
Presentation on high performance triathlon. Questions and answers.

3:00pm - 5:00pm
Run time trial and close

Following the close of the day we will discuss with parents and athletes what options are available to them (numbers permitting). We contact all participants by email following the day. Athletes that achieve a high enough standard are invited to join our talent development programme. Athletes that don't achieve the standard are given appropriate advice and everyone is welcome to attend a subsequent talent identification day.

Follow-up talent development programme
Athletes on the talent development pathway are invited to attend a monthly regional camp, these are either one day, or two days at the weekend. There will be a subsidy required for the training camps and for competitions entered. We also hold weekly camps, mainly in the summer. Triathlon Ireland will work with the athletes existing coaches (swimming clubs, running/athletics clubs) to develop athletes to their full potential. Athletes will be given the opportunity to race at an appropriate level for their development and age. We have been running this programme for almost two years now and have already seen a number of juniors competing successfully and achieving results at International level.

The regional junior squads are capably led by TI's accredited Regional Coaches, under the guidance of TI's Assistant Coach Elena Maslova. The Junior Development Program has been developed by TI Performance Director Chris Jones, who still plays a very active role in its operation.

Next Steps – National Talent Identification Day
If you are interested in attending on 31st Oct 2010; please rsvp, completing a separate entry for each athlete, on the following survey link:
To Register: click the monkey survey http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2FXWKXY
Survey Closes on Friday 22nd October at 5pm Triathlon Ireland will be in touch with all respondents by Tuesday 26th October
Date: Sunday 31st October - (10.30am – 5.00pm)
Venue: Shoreline Leisure Centre, Greystones, Co. Wicklow (01 2878180)
(http://www.shorelineleisure.ie/greystones)