HSBC Triathlon Series Newsletter

Thank you for participating in the Welland Triathlon and Duathlon races. If you do not wish to receive a pre-race email please let us know during the online registration process or email us.

Volunteers - Thank you

Our volunteer sponsor for the Welland races was Goodlife Fitness. Look for their logo on the back of all the Volunteer T-shirts.

A special thanks to all of the volunteers and especially the local citizens of Welland. Also a special thanks to Ron Lemon and Dave Boone.

The Race With HSBC Contest Is Back

The Race With HSBC Contest returns for a second year. This year the contest is all about you, your health, and your performance. If you win, you can custom tailor your prize up to a value of $2,500!

Need a new bike? HSBC can do that. Looking for a swim coach? HSBC can do that. Need a nutritionist, wetsuit and gym membership combo? HSBC can provide those too. Your prize package is your choice and all courtesy of HSBC. A total of three grand prizes will be awarded with three early bird draws for secondary prizes! Odds are good and even better when you refer-a-friend. Here is the link for all of the contest details.

Draw Prizes and Racers Awards

Beside the draw prizes from All Seasons and Champion Bicycles we had some great draw prizes courtesy of our sponsors. Here is why it pays to stick around for the awards.

Post Race Survey - Tell Us How We Did On Race Day

Please take a moment to complete our online post-race survey. We really want to know what you thought of the race and we use this information to improve venues or make changes that you suggest. After you have entered three or more races every completed post-race survey is also eligible for entry into our series long draw for prizes totaling more than $15,000. Full details are on our Season Long Draw page

Race Day Report

First I would like to thank all of the volunteers who supported the athletes this past weekend. Thank you also to everyone who participated and for making this such a successful weekend. The Time Trial start is a great test for every athlete because it truly is about racing against yourself and the clock. Here is a recap of the races based on the actual splits.

Triathlon (750m/30km/7.5km)

It seems that every weekend we have a race I know that Tom Stiene will be in the men's post-race report. This weekend is no different. Tom and two other athletes were within two seconds of each other in the swim. The fastest swim split went to Scott Taylor in 13:38, Jim Sunners and Tom Stiene were both out of the water in 13:40 (this includes the run up to transition). From that point it was really down to Sunners and Stiene. They were one/two on the bike and both of them averaged over 40kph on the 30km bike course. Jim Sunners capped off a great race with the fastest run split on the day and won by over three minutes. On the day Sunners had the fastest bike split and run split for the men and tied for second on the swim. Tom Stiene was second, Norman Gervais, Matt Reynolds and Al Uhrich were second through fifth for the men overall.

The women's race was really no contest for first overall. Seanna Rishor put together a very impressive performance. She had the third fastest swim split overall and was only one second behind the top three men. She averaged 36kph on the bike and then posted the fifth fastest run split on the day overall. Tomoko Tamaoki was very nine minutes back in second. There was a great race for three of the top 5 podium spots between Paula Emslie, Stacey Berdan and Jill Manning. All three women were within a minute of each other after the swim with Manning and Berdan pulling away from Enslie on the bike. Leaving T2 for the run the order was Manning in third, Berdan in fourth and Emslie in fifth. At the finish line the order had flipped completely with Paula Emslie finishing in third, Stacey Berdan in fourth and Jill Manning was fifth overall.

Duathlon (5km/30km/5km)

The men's Duathlon started with Patrick Menzies having the fastest run split and over a minute lead coming in to T1. A slower bike split saw Menzies quickly drop from contention and another race between John Groppo and John Stewart developed. While Gord Avann had his usual strong bike split for fastest bike overall Groppo and Stewart were third and second fastest overall on the bike. Stewart was hanging on to an eight second lead starting the second run with Groppo right behind him. Groppo pulled away over the course of the run to win it by just under a minute. Bruce Grant, Speedy Gonsalves and Robert Esplin finished third through fifth overall. Special mention to Charlie Sheridan. Charlie races in the e60 to 64 age group and was 14th OVERALL.

The women's race saw Catherine Friesen completely dominate winning by almost seven minutes. The story was second place with 60 to 64 year old age group athlete Sharryn Oleskiw solidly in second place. Erica Blom was third, Tamara Forrest fourth and Barb Szybka was fifth overall.

Give It A Tri (400m/10km/2.5km)

There were approximately 30 first time Triathletes competing in the Give It A Tri. It was great to see so many people who clearly were very happy in finishing their first Triathlon race. Spencer Blackwood and Derek Govier battled for first overall. Blackwood had a very commanding lead heading out on the run. Govier made up over a minute on the run but it was not enough as Spencer outlasted him to win by twelve seconds.

Stephanie Crouch and Heidi Mikitka went back and forth in the women's race. Crouch was 1:20 ahead leaving T1 but Mikita whittled away on the bike to close within twenty-seven seconds going out on the run. Mikita pushed hard on the run but Crouch was able to hang on for the win.

Kirk Nielsen, Alan Rickels and Frank Murphy were the other men in the top five. Holly Blackwood, Kimberly Stevenson and Virginia Govier (Derek's mom) were third to fifth overall for the women.

The HSBC Racer Of The Day - It Could Be You

Congratulations to the two athletes who were chosen as the HSBC Racer's Of The Day in Welland.

Welland was the first race where we chose multiple HSBC Racer's Of The Day. HSBC awarded two (2) athletes with Racer Of The Day prizes.

We are really excited about the HSBC Racer Of The Day and hope you will be as well. It is just another example of HSBC's commitment to our age group mass participation sport and our series.

HSBC and Mike Cheliak Photography Present"The Shot Of The Race"

A new feature of the 2007 series is the Mike Cheliak Photography “Shot of the Race” that is the “Best in Show”. It will be the photo that best exemplifies the fun, competition and dedication that the series is about. Make sure you smile when Mike is around because you’ll never know if you might be the Shot of the Race. Each winner will receive a plaque mounted 8x10 photo of their winning shot. The photo can be picked up at t future race or it can be shipped at no cost to the winner.

For more information on the HSBC Shot Of The Race courtesy of Mike Cheliak Photography please visit the Mike Cheliak Photography website.

The Welland Shot Of The Race is Nancy Plaice

For more information on the HSBC Shot Of The Race courtesy of Mike Cheliak Photography please visit the Mike Cheliak Photography website.

What's coming Up - Future Races

Race Day Awards

Race day award winners were recognized for their accomplishments and received a medal. They will also be receiving a 5 x 7 personalized finishers picture. See below for details.

The Welland Triathlon had over 150 registered two (2) weeks prior to race day. Medals and pictures for the top three (3) finishers in 5 year age categories were awarded.

The Welland Duathlon and Give It A Tri races had under 150 registered two (2) weeks prior to race day. Medals and pictures for the top three (3) finishers in 10 year age categories were awarded.

Here is a sample of the personalized picture award. Click on the picture below to see a larger version.

Race Day Awards - You Get To Personalize Your Award

We have developed a new format this year for our race day age group awards. The basic premise is that you get to design your own award by choosing the race picture you want on your award. Please go to our Awards Page for all of the details.

PLEASE NOTE:

Make sure your BIB number is facing front when you finish. Racers who can not be identified at the finish line due to the misplacement of their bib numbers will not receive their award until they can contact Mike Cheliak with a specific photo number from the race. It is too difficult to cross reference and identify every racer especially at the large venues.

The Awards Pictures from all earlier races this season will be ready for pick-up.

Mike Cheliak Photography

Mike Cheliak Photography is happy to be the official series supplier of photographic services for the HSBC Triathlon Series. We will be providing on site event photography for the entire series and will be capturing time line action photos throughout each race as well as finish line photos. Our service will allow for near real time viewing of the action shots. We will also be able to provide on site high quality photo printing and CD ROM creation.

Our Season Long Draw For 2007

Enter three or more races during the season and be eligible to win a prize in our Season Long Draw. There are over $14,000 in prizes.

Back again for the fifth year is our Season Long Draw. Here are some of the prizes so far in 2007. Two (2) Quintana Roo Kilo bikes, a CompuTrainer, a ZIPP 808 Wheel set, a Yakima Sky Box Pro Roof Carrier, a Zoot Zenith Wetsuit, Zoot Tri bags, a Tri All 3 Sports Bike Box, a Tri All 3 Sports Wheel Case, Head Sweats Hats, two (2) Timex Heart Rate monitors, with more to come.

It's our way of thanking you for coming out to our races all year. With the draw being held at the end of October 2007 it means the more you race the better your chance to win. As you can see, this year we are off to a fantastic start with the prizes in our season long draw. We will track your races and once you have entered THREE OR MORE RACES you are automatically entered. You also get additional chances to win by completing our Post-Race Survey.

We intend to keep adding prizes all year and will keep updating the prize list as the season progresses. The Season Long Draw page has all of the details.

A CompuTrainer

Click on picture for a larger version

Two (2) Quintana Roo Kilo bikes.

A ZIPP 808 racing wheelset

A Zenith Wetsuit valued at $660

A Yakima Sky Box Pro 16 Roof Carrier

Retail value $825

4 Zoot Tri Bags with a value of $115 each
Click on picture for a larger version

A Tri All 3 Sports wheel case

A Tri All 3 Sports bike case

2 Timex Heart Rate Monitors

Retail value approximately $130 each

We already have over $14,000 in prizes with many more to come.

Thanks To All Of Our Sponsors

As you all know there would be no race or series without sponsors. We extend our thanks to each and every sponsor starting with the HSBC Bank Canada or the local bike and running shops in the communities where you race. We hope that you all take a moment to visit the sponsors page and see what they do and look at the products they sell. Please thank them for supporting the sports of triathlon and duathlon by trying and using their products. If you do visit them please take a moment to thank them for supporting triathlon and duathlon.

Series Sponsors

HSBC Bank Canada is extremely proud to be the title sponsor of Canada's fastest growing triathlon series.

HSBC Bank Canada, a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc, has more than 170 offices and is the leading international bank in Canada. With around 10,000 offices in 82 countries and territories and assets of US$1,861 billion at 31 December 2006, the HSBC Group is one of the world’s largest banking and
financial services organizations.

HSBC, both here in Canada and around the world, has a strong tradition of supporting both local and national events. Health, fitness and a balanced life is important. Many of the initiatives we support are based on this premise. Whether its our sponsorship of HSBC Stars on Ice (skating), the HSBC Calgary Marathon, The Vancouver Sun Run, HSBC Childrun, HSBC Triathlon Series, the ITU Brampton Pan American Cup, or the 2007 Ford World Curling Championships, presented by HSBC we believe our presence in communities across Canada should extend far beyond meeting the financial services needs of our customers.

The Welland Triathlon and Duathlon

Post-race Report