with triathlon club
By KATIE McVOY
News Writer
Saint Mary's is on its way to making campus history with the announcement of the first ever Saint Mary's triathlon.
This year Saint Mary's introduced the Triathlon Club, the first club to be sponsored only by Saint Mary's. Other club sports in the Notre Dame/Saint Mary's community are either co-sponsored with Notre Dame, or are exclusively sponsored by Notre Dame.
The club began meeting last year but became an established club this fall.
"This fall we really feel like a formal club," assistant athletic director Gretchen Hildebrandt said. "We have members who are consistent and uniforms for the women."
Hildebrandt, a tri-athlete, took a leading role in the establishment of the Triathlon Club.
The club will sponsor its first triathlon Oct. 8, at 1 p.m. The course will involve a 400-yard swim, a nine-mile bike ride and a three-mile run.
"It's going to be great," Hildebrandt said. "It will be run very professionally."
Registration for the triathlon may be done as an individual or as a relay team. Individuals must pay a registration fee of $6, and teams will pay a registration fee of $12. Proceeds will go to support the triathlon club.
Participants will time the race and the top finishers will receive awards, including the first three individuals and the first team to complete the course.
The race will begin with 20 laps in Regina Pool. Several heats will swim due to the smallness of the pool, so timing will be an important part of the race.
Following the swim portion of the race, participants will head to the commons in front of Regina where bicyclists will start racing according to their swim times. The bike race and the running event will be continuous.
Although the first triathlon will only have Saint Mary's students for competitors, the club plans to open the next triathlon to the rest of the community.
Due to limited facilities, only 60 individuals or teams can participate in the race.
"I'm a little nervous about turnout," Hildebrandt said. "We just want to get one triathlon under our belt before we open this to the community."
The next triathlon, tentatively scheduled for sometime this spring, will be open to members of the Notre Dame community as well.
"We want to get Notre Dame involved so that [the Triathlon Club] is co-sponsored," Hildebrandt said.
The addition of Notre Dame to the club would open up additional facilities. Hildebrandt said this would allow the two schools to create a very good course.
"We want to create a quality course for the area," she said. Hildebrandt said the Triathlon Club's event will bring a unique newcomer to the community.
"[The triathlon] should give the club recognition, which is very important," she said. "This is the first time that Notre Dame or Saint Mary's has seen this kind of club."
"In addition, the spring triathlon will get noticed in the community," she added. "There are a lot of tri-athletes in the community that will respond."
All News Stories for Thursday, September 28, 2000
