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Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia  
In This Issue
Message from our Chair
Grant Money for Junior Elite Athletes
Paratriathlon Grants Available
Ultra Distance Regional Championship
Splash & Dash Youth Series
Regional Championship and Special Qualifier Thanks
Regional Championship Thanks
Club Regional Championships
Youth Regional Championships
Paratriathlon Regional Championships
USAT MA Skills Camp
Youth and Juniors Shine at National Championships
Coaches Corner
Quick Links
Message from the Chair

Thanks to all of the Mid-Atlantic Athletes who have joined us at one of our 2014 Regional Championship Races. We still have one more to go, our Ultra Distance Regional Championship coming up in October in Wilmington, North Carolina and several other races going on throughout the region. We're looking forward to announcing our 2015 Regional Championship races this fall and are working on our spring expo calendar as well. It's always great to see and talk to the membership. 

 

Your council members are triathletes too, but we love hearing new ideas and feedback. The Council is always looking for additional members in the region interested in volunteering their time on one of our committees, writing an article for the blog or our newsletter, or sharing any updates for our facebook page. Please contact me or any other member of the Council if you would like to get involved.

 

Have a great rest of the season, 

Cory Churches

Chair, USAT Mid-Atlantic Council

Grant Money Available for Junior Elite Athletes 

Through a grant provided by the USA Triathlon Mid-Atlantic Region, grant money is available to help support region triathletes within the development pipeline. Grant money can be used toward race entries, USA Triathlon designated camps and travel costs.  

 

Applications for grant monies will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis through October 31, 2014. Download the application HERE

 

If you have any questions, please email Christy Lausch ([email protected]).

Paratriathlon Grants Available

The 2014 triathlon race season is in high gear. As part of ongoing efforts to promote paratriathlon across the region, USAT Mid-Atlantic provides mini-grant funding to paratriathlon initiatives such as clinics, camps, event speakers and other such activities. The application process is ongoing with a separate application for clinics/camps/speakers and individual athletes (race/clinic entry fees, travel, tri club membership, etc.). Applications can be found online on the special paratriathlon section of the regional website. 

 

Additionally, do you or an athlete you know want to try the sport of paratriathlon but don't want to commit to the equipment yet? The region has purchased an adult handcycle that is available to be borrowed by paratriathletes across the region who want to give it a try. Go to the paratriathlon section of the website for more information and contact [email protected] if interested.
 
UltraDistanceUltra Distance Championship Scheduled for October
We're looking forward to our final Regional Championship of the year down in Wilmington, North Carolina at the PPD Beach 2 Battleship Iron Distance Triathlon on October 25. 
 
The PPD Beach 2 Battleship is an internationally recognized Iron-distance and half Iron-distance triathlon. Competitors from around the country and the world have traveled to the Wilmington, North Carolina area to enjoy everything this world famous waterfront destination has to offer and to experience a competition Triathlete Magazine named as one of the top five Iron-distance triathlons in the world. 
 
PPD, a leading global contract research organization, supports the event as its title sponsor to educate the public on the vital role of clinical research and participation in clinical trials to deliver new medicines to improve health and save lives, and to support the local community. All of the event's net proceeds are contributed to the Wilmington Family YMCA.
Splash & Dash Youth Aquathlon Series
There's one race left in the 2014 Splash & Dash Youth Aquathlon Series on October 5 in Huntersville, North Carolina. It's not too late to jump in. 

May 31: Arlington Triathlon Club Splash & Dash, Arlington, VA
June 7: Strive 2 Tri Youth Splash & Dash, College Park, MD
June 21: OBX Tri Fest Splash and Dash, Outer Banks, NC
June 28: 2PA Splash and Dash presented by Endorphin Fitness/Peluso Open Water, Richmond, VA
July 20: Asheville Kids Splash and Dash, Asheville, NC
August 17: LPC Kids Splash and Dash, Fletcher, NC
October 5: Kids Splash N Dash at HFFA, Huntersville, NC

Athletes ages 7-10 will complete a 100-meter swim and a 1-kilometer run, while athletes ages 11-15 will complete a 200-meter swim and a 2 -kilometer run. CLICK HERE for more information.
Regional Championship and Special Qualifier 

This year's Special Qualifier took place at Rock Hall international Triathlon on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. As a way of recognizing all of our Mid-Atlantic athletes who qualified for the National Championship race at one of our events, we provided everyone with a USAT MA visor to wear at the National Championships. We hope you all enjoyed them.
Thank you to Set Up Events for hosting us.  
 New Jersey State Triathlon Logo
Our Regional Championship took place in July at the New Jersey State Triathlon. It was another great day on the course in New Jersey. Keep in mind this one was an early sellout as we announce our 2015 race. Thank you to CGI Racing for hosting us. 
Regional Championship Thanks

Thank you to a few more races for hosting us throughout the season:  

 


Short Course Regional Championship: Lake Logan Multisport Festival, August 3 

 

 

Youth Regional Championship: Nottingham Kids, August 23

Club Regional Championship: North East Triathlon, August 24

Long Course Regional Championship: Savageman 70.0 Triathlon, September 14 

 

Paratriathlon Regional Championship: Atlantic City Triathlon, September 14

Focus on: Club Regional Championships
Breakaway Racing, PHPI Racing and The Bike Rack Multisport take top honors in Division IV Club Championship race [Photo courtesy of Piranha Sports, LLC]

This year's Mid-Atlantic Club Championship event, hosted by the North East Triathlon and Piranha Sports, showcased the region's top club competitors. Twelve clubs from four divisions competed for a prize purse of $5,000 and bragging rights for top honors. The day started with a swim in the Susquehanna River, a hilly ride through the picturesque back roads of Cecil County, and a challenging out and back run. 

 

Division winners include DC Tri Club (Division I), Turk's Head Racing (Division III), Breakaway Racing (Division IV), and Sportfit Lab (Division V). 

 

Complete results are available online

 

Congratulations to everyone who competed and get ready for 2015 and another great club competition at the NJ State Triathlon.

Mid-Atlantic Regional Youth Championship 

Mini Cow Tri Club The 2014 Mid-Atlantic Regional Youth Championship returned to the Nottingham Kids Triathlon this August in Mount Airy, Maryland, for the fourth year. Almost 300 youth athletes aged 7-15 traveled to race against some of the best youth triathletes in the region. To see the results, visit http://www.minicowtriclub.com/results.

Mid-Atlantic Paratriathlon Championship: Atlantic City Triathlon 

Athletes in Atlantic City show able-bodies how to "get it done."

 

Our Regional Paratriathlon Championship took place recently in in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Kyle Bryant from Norristown, Pennsylvania, David Richardson from Mechanicsville, Virginia and Daniel Romanchuk from Mt. Airy, Maryland competed in the TRI AC's sprint triathlon as paratriathletes, each with different activity limitations.

 

Missing from the event were many paratriathletes from the region that were already enroute to Tempe, Arizona for the USA Triathlon Paratriathlon National Championships that took place on Sunday, September 21. Read more about our paratriathletes on the blog. 

 

More information about this year's championship and individual athlete reports are linked on the regional facebook page for paratriathletes.

 

Congratulations to all the paratriathletes who raced in both Atlantic City and in Tempe.

USAT Mid-Atlantic Skills Camp 

The USAT Mid-Atlantic Region Skills Camp once again returned to McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland in Mid-July. One of only six camps in the nation, the camp drew 25 experienced youth and junior athletes from four states. Campers learned open water swimming techniques, entry level draft-legal racing skills, ITU style transitions, and running technique and drills. 

 

A group of campers took a break to pose for a photo during camp. Photo credit: Brian Lausch

The Mid-Atlantic Region Youth and Junior Elite Athletes Shine at National Championship
Mid-Atlantic athlete Taylor Knibb on the run in West Chester. 

The Mid-Atlantic Region's best and fastest athletes traveled to West Chester, Ohio, in early August for the USA Triathlon Youth and Junior Elite National Championships. In the Youth and Junior Elite races, region athletes made seven top 20-finishes including two podium finishes: Taylor Knibb (DC) third place female junior elite and Page Lester (DC) first place female youth elite. In the youth age-group championship race, regional athletes made eight top five finishes. Congratulations to all of the athletes who raced in West Chester, Ohio.

 

Photo credit: Brian Lausch.

Coaches Corner: Triathlon 101 

Mid-Atlantic Triathlon Coach and member of the Bike Rack Multisport Team Jon Ryder recently put together a Triathlon 101 presentation that we thought was worth sharing with our members. It might be good to share with friends interested in the multisport lifestyle, training for their first triathlon, or just understanding what you are up to with your training. 

 

Ryder's three best pieces of advice are:

1. Follow a plan - It doesn't matter where the plan is from (Internet, a coach, a book, wherever). Just having a road map that will get you from A-to-B is going to make your journey to the finish line much simpler and better.
 
2. Practice open water swimming - Swimming is often the Achilles' heel of triathletes, even for people with a comfortable pool-swimming background. It is also often the most challenging thing to practice, as finding open water in which it is legal/safe to swim can be hard. However, I think that getting some experience swimming outside the pool is a must for new athletes and should be practiced by experienced athletes as well.
 
3. Don't underestimate the bike leg - If you think about it, in a triathlon you are riding a bicycle for the majority of the race. It is where smaller increases in power, efficiency, and endurance can translate into the biggest decreases in overall time. Having a good bike leg also effects how you run off the bike as well. For the athlete who has limited time to train, focusing extra time on cycling will pay dividends in their next race.

To view Ryder's full presentation, click here.

Jon Ryder is a USA Triathlon Level I and USAC Level III certified coach located in Takoma Park, Maryland.  Jon specializes in coaching athletes toward Olympic and Sprint distance races and brings over 20 years of competitive experience to his practice.  Follow him on Facebook (RPMcoaching) or at www.rpmcoachingdc.com.
 
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We are looking for coaches from the Mid-Atlantic Region to contribute to our Coaches Corner newsletter item. If you are interested in submitting an article to be included in our newsletter, please contact us. Thank you.