In the last rwo years I have reassociated myself with the triathlon scene in Southern Ontario - albeit this time, mostly from the sidelines. I was involved in the first wave of popularity of the sport back in the early and mid-80's. It was a fun time. It was all so new and fresh. We just threw ourselves at the training and racing and somehow figured it all out. We ran with runners, cycled with roadies and swam with masters swim groups( or tried to in my case - once a stone in the water always a stine in the water!) Race numbers grew quickly going from 100 to 200 to 300+ rather quickly, but the sport was still small enough that everyone knew everyone else.
In 1986 Graham Fraser put on the first TriSport race and the sport in the area took a huge leap forward in terms of the qualiity and quantity of events that were within an hour or so drive of Toronto. Graham's brother Mitch took over the series a few years ago.
In the early 90's I moved to Vancouver and was out of the Ontario loop for 10 years. I moved back a couple of years ago and by that time had semi retired from serious training/racing. However, via my girlfriend's involvment in the sport, I have been back to a number of the old TriSport race venues and I am pleased to say that the participation numbers are outstanding. But, there has been a BIG turnover. Other than the odd soul, I recognize no one at these races. At a recent TriSport event with close to 1500 entries I met and saw exactly 3 people that I knew from days gone by and one of those was Mitch Fraser. None of the orginal pioneers seem to be in it any more and many people when questioned at events this year seem to be "new" to the sport.
This has to be good news for the sport over all as it moves forward, but what happened to the dedicated folks from years gone by? And how long will the current crop stay in the game?
Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog
In 1986 Graham Fraser put on the first TriSport race and the sport in the area took a huge leap forward in terms of the qualiity and quantity of events that were within an hour or so drive of Toronto. Graham's brother Mitch took over the series a few years ago.
In the early 90's I moved to Vancouver and was out of the Ontario loop for 10 years. I moved back a couple of years ago and by that time had semi retired from serious training/racing. However, via my girlfriend's involvment in the sport, I have been back to a number of the old TriSport race venues and I am pleased to say that the participation numbers are outstanding. But, there has been a BIG turnover. Other than the odd soul, I recognize no one at these races. At a recent TriSport event with close to 1500 entries I met and saw exactly 3 people that I knew from days gone by and one of those was Mitch Fraser. None of the orginal pioneers seem to be in it any more and many people when questioned at events this year seem to be "new" to the sport.
This has to be good news for the sport over all as it moves forward, but what happened to the dedicated folks from years gone by? And how long will the current crop stay in the game?
Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog