3-phased plan for triathlon restart

Swimmer Jinnosuke Suzuki heads to the swim-bike transition area of the 2017 Tagaman Triathlon at Kilili Beach. (Contributed Photo)

Triathlon Association of the CNMI is adapting the USA Triathlon’s Return to Racing Guidelines to ensure the safety of its members and the community at this time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The guidelines have three phases with Phase 1 involving holding virtual races and allowing personal training sessions, but will still be strictly following safety rules set by authorities, such as social distancing.

For Phase 2, in-person racing is permitted, but restrictions on numbers of participants will be applied along with the government-set protocols. Phase 3 is where restrictions are eased and things are starting to get back to normal with in-person racing allowed and there are no limits on the size of the event. However, there are moderate restrictions plus health and safety practices before and during races.

TRAC secretary general Ricky Castro said that at this time, the organization is at Phase 1.

“For now, only virtual races are allowed. Additionally, we must follow US Tri and International Triathlon Union guidelines and also the rules from our local and federal governments,” Castro said.

Swimmer Jinnosuke Suzuki heads to the swim-bike transition area of the 2017 Tagaman Triathlon at Kilili Beach. (Contributed Photo)

Recently, some TRAC members joined the Go The Distance Challenge, a virtual event Urban Fitness Project Team from Guam organized with participants given a month (from July 1 to 31) to complete one of the four races—50-mile walk, 30-mile swim, 300-mile bike, and 100-mile run or combined three (“Ultimate Challenge”).

Castro added that TRAC is planning to hold an off-road duathlon (in-person race) in August, while the Tagaman Triathlon is still in the 2020 calendar, but all events will depend on the development of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CNMI is now on “Blue” under the Community Vulnerability Level or just one step away from the desired level (“Green”), easing restrictions on mass gathering (a maximum of 25 persons is allowed, including sports-related activities, as long as social distancing protocol is practiced).

“Finding the right schedule for the Tagaman is a challenge,” the TRAC official added.

Bikes are lined up during a duathlon race organized by Triathlon Association of the CNMI at Paupau Beach before COVID-19 struck the islands. (Contributed Photo)

Tagaman was originally set for March 21, but had to be suspended, as a week before the event, the CNMI government set restrictions on gathering of big crowds, including sports competitions. More than 100 had registered for Western Pacific’s longest-running triathlon event and nearly half of them are from off-island.

Besides the three-phase guidelines, TRAC will also refer to USA Tri’s other recommendations once it resumes actual races in the CNMI.

These include personal health evaluations/monitoring for signs and symptoms of COVID-19, observing good personal hygiene, limiting contact/interaction among athletes, volunteers, and race officials, and encouraging athletes not to share equipment and bring their own hydration kit.