The Canberra Kids Triathlon was a raging success with 300 kids hitting the course at the AIS to swim, bike and run over the weekend.
It was a fantastic showing of commitment and excitement to try something new, get outside with friends and push to new limits.
Mov3 coach, Cheryl has been working with many of the kids who competed in the Canberra Kids Triathlon, helping to increase their knowledge and skills around triathlon.
“I love the fact that these kids love learning new skills and also have gotten to love triathlon. I love seeing them learn something or challenge themselves a little bit while also having fun. Sometimes they don’t even realise that they’re learning a skill because they’re having fun.”
And while there’s plenty of physical benefits it’s also about the social connection and creating an environment where the kids can thrive to the best of their abilities.
“They’ve built some really lovely friendships. They’ll support each other in training but then will want to beat each other in that competitive sense.”
Although many kids without thinking about it, do all three – swim, bike, run. They often struggle with putting it together especially around transition. And for Cheryl one of her key focuses throughout her Mov3 sessions, has been around the concept of transition and ensuring the kids have the skills and know-how to set up their area with their shoes, helmet and bike so they can do it in the safest and quickest way possible.
“I’m always really proud that we teach the kids how to do a transition. So the kids have to be self-sufficient and able to do it themselves.
“If you put transition into a process and these kids practice it, then they don’t panic about it. It’s super cool to watch and great for the parents to watch their kids and see that they’ve nailed it. They don’t need to be involved and don’t need to handhold them,” Cheryl explained.
The Mov3 program enables kids to develop fine-motor skills while also exposing them to triathlon and encouraging them to get active. Cheryl also highlighted how the program was helping to shape the next generation of triathletes coming through the pathway in the ACT.
“In Mov3 we’ve got 20 young athletes. They’ve already got the skillset, so they’ll be able to just go straight into the next stage at School Sports and hopefully do really well.”
For Cheryl it’s also about building confidence and equipping the kids with skills that go beyond sport such as teamwork and camaraderie.
“It’s really supportive, it’s not about who was first, who was last. It’s always about how did you go?”
And the Canberra Kids Triathlon was a perfect place for the youngsters to get together, combine all of their Mov3 training and hit the course – with many of them doing it for the first or second time, eager to track their development.
“A lot of them are really excited to see how much they’ve grown since last year,” she said.
“Reflecting on my daughter, 12 months ago she did the Kids Triathlon and she had no idea what was going on. Now she’s done a couple of triathlons, and she knows how to do transition. She can put it all together and knows what to expect.”
