I was thinking about joining the Chicago Tri Club. Anyone have any pro’s/cons to share about club experience? The only drag is I’m about 40 miles out of the city so I’d miss alot of the weekly training sessions. Or…maybe I’m just being a pus and looking for excuses to continue my lame under a rock existence?
I took care to join a club with a good reputation in the tri community. Most clubs can offer friendships, training partners, equipment discounts, and entry fee discounts. I give them two hooves up.
I think it’s a great idea to join a club if there’s one you can join.
I joined the Cleveland Triathlon Club this year and have had a really good time so far with group training. We have group rides, runs, and open water swims. It’s great to have people to train with, especially since most are more experienced than I am and can help me learn more about the sport.
Club discounts at local stores never really hurt anything either…
Agree. I am VP of our club. Our annual membership is $15, and some of our local S/B/R stores give up to 15% club discounts. So, you buy one pair of shoes, and you cover your nut. We also have socials, group training events, a Kids Tri camp, a “members only” tri, and other good stuff. We are looking into putting on a half- or full-day seminar with stroke anaylsis, bike fitting, Computrainer session, gait/stride analysis, etc. I don’t think you could invest $15 better as a triathlete in this area.
Tri clubs are an easy way to assure yourself discounts on goods, training partners, training advice and people to travel to races with. Joining a triathlon club has made a difference for me. Just be careful when someone says “have you ever considered serving on the board?”. All kidding aside, it’s a great opportunity you shouldn’t pass up.
Dave M
Curious, how big is your club and do most people participate in your group workouts or is it just the same core people who show up and others just join to get a discount and maybe show up to a race? I have thought about joining one really just to meet some people that I could train with and race with, but I don’t want to feel obligated to go to all the planned activities or have people be upset because I don’t show up enough, however much that may be. It mostly comes down to scheduling for me and not wanting to have to rearrange my schedule to meet the group all the time and that I actually do like to train alone most the time.
I’d love to join one, if there were any near here. I’d like the choice of going on a group ride, even if I said no alot of the time.
I can’t begin to say how much Masters has improved my swimming
There are a few Chicago Tri Club members who post here and a few more who lurk. The club is great. I have made alot of friends and really, I mean drastically, improved my racing since joining.
The club is big, but not clicky. There are all types from the multiple ironman finisher to the newbie and every sort inbetween. It can be as much social as training, depending on what you looking for. Some training is in the city, most group riding is done in the burds.
At a race in Bloomington on June 5th we had 40 members go down, 35 race. From that group we had the male overall winner who set a new course record, 2nd female overall, 1,2,3 in women 30-34 AG and at least 5 other top 5 AG winners. In the same race we had 4 people finish their first tri ever. It was a great time.
I can’t say enough about the club. You can send me a Private Message and I’ll answer any questions.
I belong to Chicago Tri Club and also live out of the city. Its has been beneficial; good sharing of information, group rides, networking, etc… Well worth the 20 or 30 bucks. They do alot of rides in the burbs.
What my club has made available to me: At least 4 group rides per week. At least 2 group ocean swims per week. At least 2 group runs per week. Weekly Track workouts in season Free monthly club races. (Makes the club fee totally worthwhile) Monthly Aquathlons in season Tons of club discounts Club Meetings with talks by top pros, multisport “personalities”, manufacturers, and even Slowman Social events like: Pub Runs Baseball Games * Wine Tasting fundraisers * Camping/Training weekends A Camping/Training trip to Xantusia * Moonlight Ocean Swims A midnight century
(* Required participants to chip in some cash)
That’s the short list. The best part is just meeting tons of people to train with. I used to think the idea of a club was a bit strange given the individual nature of the sport. Membership has more than paid for the cost of joining. The races alone cover the membership fee and they can get pretty competitive. Even if we didn’t have the races (which many clubs do not) I’d still give joining a club a shot and see how you like it.
So, any tri clubs in the Spokane area?
Anyone interested in starting one?
5280,
Our club has about 100 active single and family members. A lot of the people that come to our workouts are non-members. We have a “basic” group called “Mere Mortals” that is geared primarily for first-timers, but a lot of experienced people go to it too. There is an advanced group, but it didn’t get too much participation last year. There is no expectation of people to have to come to group workouts. A lot of our members are also in running, biking, ad/or swimming groups also, so they work out with them. We keep a list on our website of local training opportunities, and people can also post messages if they want to start something up. Getting volunteers to help with stuff is always a big issue, as in anything else.
Maybe I’ll see you on the roads in Denver. I’ll be out there visiting my family from 6/27 through 7/11. Go Broncos!
BC
Thanks for the info. Where are you visiting? Heading to the hills or just around town?
I like the clubs although…I live in Chicago too and like the idea of being able to train with em…only problem with the Chicago tri club is they tend to do group training rides on Sunday and all my rides are Saturdays. However, the monthly meetings are pretty good…although I am notorious for drifting in and out of social scenes with the club…I lurk around sometimes…
A group is riding tomorrow. 60 miles- 18-20 mph Check this for details;
http://www.chicagotriclub.com/msgbds/ShowThread.asp?Topic=General&WhichBoard=TblGeneral&Id=6313
Or email me if your interested.
oops…just emailed about the ride and then noticed 18-20 mph…I need to do 100 miles. any chance you might be going close to that distance? I am not familiar with that area.
thanks
We were thinking 3 maybe 4 hours. At least I was, I can’t speak for all going. I don’t know the route that well either, so I will be following.
Speaking from the POV of an officer in my Club, I’d say I think its tough for a tri club to present one “face” that’s going to please everybody. We can offer the official weekly rides, swims, runs, etc., but ultimately those are not going to be in a place or time that’s convenient for everyone, etc.
This is such a diverse sport. I encourage people to join (the vendor discounts we offer will very quickly pay for the price of admission into ours), but also to get actively involved once they do join. So my advice if you’re considering a club would be to not only look and see what the club can offer you, but think about what you might be able to bring to it.
Sounds rather JFK-esque, eh?
IMO a good triathlon club performs the following functions:
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Provides an interface for athletes via a central club web forum, etc.
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Provides a cadre’ of experienced athletes to introduce entry level/first timers to accepted, safe training routes.
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Provides a cadre’ of experienced athletes to introduce entry level/first timers to racing and training skills.
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Develops unity within the sport through group training and meetings.
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Provides travel coordination resources for members to “away” events that multiple club members are attending.
IMO a tri club’s purpose should NOT be:
- Primarily social in nature.
- An organized attempt to extort discounts from retailers (this is raqueteering and it is a felony).
Thankfully retailers and manufacturers want to become our sponsors and offer discounts.
So in addition to not commiting extortion, I think tri clubs should not:
Actively support terrorism
Abuse and neglect animals
Work to depose foreign and domestic governments