Steve Brown, who was a founder of the Penticton Ironman triathlon 30 years ago, unveiled his plans to bring a new triathlon event called the Osoyoos Lake Loops Triathlon to town next June. Brown is shown here with his assistant Sarah Opp and Gerald Davis, the town’s director of community services. The tentative date for the race scheduled in Osoyoos is on June 28 next summer. (Keith Lacey photo)
Town of Osoyoos council has tentatively thrown its support behind organizers who want to bring a triathlon event back to Osoyoos next summer.
Steve Brown, who has been involved in organizing triathlon events for more than 30 years and was part of the original group that formed the Penticton Ironman back in 1984, informed town council of his intentions to bring the Osoyoos Lake Loops Triathlon to this community in late June of 2015.
The tentative race date has been set for Sunday, June 28.
His company is looking to host an event in Osoyoos in late June, a second event in Sylvan Lake, Alta. in mid-July and a third and final event in Cultus Lake, B.C. in early September.
The Three Lakes Triathlon Series would involve “Olympic or Half Marathon” distances in swimming, cycling and running, said Brown.
Brown is the current owner and operator of Ultraman Canada, a three-day, multi-stage ultra distance triathlon that has been taking place since 1993 and is also the owner of the Peach City Half Marathon in Penticton since 1996. He was also the race director for the Valley First Challenge Penticton this past summer.
His business partner in the Three Lakes Triathlon Series is Sarah Opp, who has owned and operated a sporting event management company since 2001 and was the volunteer co-ordinator and manager of the strategy-planning group for the 2014 Valley First Challenge Penticton.
The proposed races in British Columbia and Alberta would be known as “loops triathlon” where seasoned competitors would complete double loops in all three events, while beginner and intermediate competitors could complete single loops, said Brown.
The goal is to produce a quality event that would attract many of the top triathletes from across western Canada looking for training events to get them prepared for full Ironman races, said Brown.
Osoyoos has proven it can hold a large-scale event as it supported the Osoyoos Desert Half Marathon for numerous years, said Brown.
While the race will be the focal point, the plan is to turn the event into a “full festival weekend” complete with events for family members of all ages, a vendor exposition, kids fun run and hopefully evening entertainment, said Brown.
“We would like to build a festival atmosphere and have fun with the entire event,” he said.
The tentative plan is to hold the swimming event at Gyro Park, the bike course from Osoyoos to Black Sage Road between Oliver and Osoyoos and back and a run course on the east side of town focusing around Lakeshore Drive, he said.
“We want to work with the town to develop a spectator, family and resident-friendly site,” he said.
The goal is to get local residents actively involved to become part of the local race organizing committee and name volunteer swim, bike and run captains as quickly as possible, he said.
Members from local non-profit organizations would be paid honorariums for helping organize the event and for having volunteers available for racecourse support during the event, he said.
The organizing committee would work with Brown and Opp to develop the swim, bike and run courses as well as transition area, he said.
“We want the course to be safe, spectator friendly and not impacting traffic on major roadways,” he said.
A safety plan would have to be worked out and finalized with RCMP, local volunteer fire department, the Ministry of Transportation and town staff, he said.
He would like to sign a three-year deal with the town to ensure the long-term viability and support for the race event, he said.
In exchange for the town’s support, he would personally sign performance clauses that would ensure all bills are paid in advance and the town would not be liable for any cost overruns, said Brown.
With scheduled meetings with leaders in Sylvan Lake and Cultus Lake in the next couple of weeks, Brown is hoping to officially launch the Three Lakes Triathlon Series and begin a promotion and marketing plan the first week in November.
Mayor Stu Wells said he loves the concept for the new event and believes it could quickly become a huge success.
“We would really like to see better community buy-in … it would really be good if we make the entire town a big part of this,” he said.
Osoyoos has the experience of being involved in triathlon events and has the accommodations, restaurants and other amenities needed to make this event successful right away, said Wells.
“We know how to do this and we are not naïve,” he said. “We know what you what and we know what you need and we would like to be back on the (triathlon) circuit.”
Brown said he agrees community buy-in is necessary to properly promote the race and to ensure the race can become a successful annual event in the long term.
“I know the athletes want community buy in,” he said. “They want to feel welcomed by the community. I think that is very important.”
Osoyoos has incredible hotels, motels and restaurants that can easily handle the hundreds of competitors and their family members and supporters, said Brown.
Coun. C. J. Rhodes said he’s excited it appears a new triathlon event will be coming to replace the Desert Half Marathon.
“I’m very excited about this and I think it’s a win-win for everybody that is involved,” he said.
Coun. Mike Plante said Osoyoos has the facilities and wonderful weather to become a training centre for top-level triathletes from across the province and other jurisdictions. Plante said he’s also excited about the prospects of this event becoming a big success quickly.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
