Sri Chinmoy Triathlon Festival Cool Water Contingency
The water temperature at 3 pm on Friday 16 October, measured at several places around the swim course at a depth of 1 metre, varied between 13.6 and 14.1 degrees.
Therefore a preliminary ruling is that wetsuits will be compulsory for the Sri Chinmoy Joyathon, Sprint Triathlon, Peace Triahlon and 'Classic' Tri. A final ruling for Saturday's events will be made at 12 noon on Saturday; and for Sunday's event at 7 am on Sunday.
* New start times for Sunday races
The Sri Chinmoy Peace Triathlon will now start at 8:00 am (not 7:00 am as advertised) and the Sri Chinmoy 'Classic' Tri will now start at 9:00 am (not 8:30 am as advertised).
* Sri Chinmoy Junior Joyathon now a Duathlon
Because most entrants in the Sri Chinmoy Junior Joyathon do not possess wetsuits, the event, at 1:00 pm on Saturday will be staged as a Duathlon, with the 80 m swim replaced by a 500 m run leg.
* Come prepared for cold water
Please come prepared for cold water. All competitors are asked to please bring a wetsuit and expect to wear it, if you own one. Participants are also encouraged to bring their own silicon swim caps, which provide additional protection against the cold. Please also bring a towel, to dry off prior to commencing the bike leg, which greatly assists the body's warming after a cold swim – riding cold and wet is a recipe for hypothermia.
* Still an event for everyone
An optional Duathlon will be staged concurrent with the Triathlon event, with a shorter run leg in place of the swim for those who do not own a wetsuit, or choose to avoid the cold water. Just tell us at Registration that you are choosing the Duathlon option. The bike and final run leg of the Duathlon will be exactly the same as for the Triathlon. Those who participate in the Duathlon will have their times recorded and published, though will not be eligible for awards in the Triathlon event.
Approximate distances for the Duathlon first run leg will be: Sri Chinmoy Joyathon – 1 km; Sri Chinmoy Sprint Triathlon – 2 km; Sri Chinmoy 'Classic' Tri – 3 km; Sri Chinmoy Peace Triathlon – 5 km. The courses for the first run will follow the cycle path east towards Commonwealth Ave Bridge, and return the same way.
* The swim would only be cancelled...
... if the water temperature is deemed to pose a significant risk to health and safety – either in its own right, or in combination with other factors such as wind or low ambient temperature on the day. Then the entire event would become a Duathlon, and all will compete together for the same award categories as originally advertised for the corresponding Triathlon event.
