Anybody know if the Vancouver area is served well with tri clubs? What’s the area like for multi-sport? Can you swim open water in many placwes and for how much of the year?
There are several clubs in the Greater Vancouver Area.
UBC (Univ of BC) Tri Club
SFU (Simon Fraser Univ) Tri Club
North Shore Tri Club
Pacific Spirit Tri Club
Langley, Surrey, Coquitlam & Delta also have clubs.
For a complete list, go to TriBC (http://www.tribc.org/main.htm) and select “club information” from the pull down menu.
Opern water swimming can be done year round if you have a wetsuit, or are impervious to the cold (but the water DOES get cold in the winter!) The Vancouver Open Water Swimming Association (http://www.vowsa.bc.ca/) has regular organized open water swims all summer at Kitsilano Beach, and an open water race series.
As for the racing, there is a pretty healthy race schedule in the area (check the TriBC site for a calendar) and there are a lot of triathletes out riding on most weekends. Kits pool is also packed with them. I would say that Vancouver is quite a strong area for training and racing. After all, the National training center is just a short ferry ride away.
Khai, thanks for that very comprehensive listing on clubs in the Vancouver area. I look forward to trying out some of the club sessions in Septemeber.