Steve Brown, the man who helped organize the Penticton Ironman back in the 1980s, is the race director for the inaugural Osoyoos Lake Loop Triathlon that is coming to town on Sunday, June 28. Brown is confident dozens of volunteers will come forward to help ensure the new event is successful. Brown is shown checking out the start line for the swim event at Lions Park in Osoyoos. (Keith Lacey photo)
The Town of Osoyoos has already proven it can host a world-class triathlon event and Steve Brown is convinced his new Osoyoos Lake Loop Triathlon is going to have a bright future.
Brown, who is a founding member of the organizing committee that started the Penticton Ironman Triathlon back in the 1980s, is the new race director with the Osoyoos Lake Loop Triathlon, which is coming to town on Sunday, June 28.
This race will replace the Osoyoos Desert Half Ironman event that took place for almost a decade.
That race was cancelled last year when organizer Joe Dixon pulled the plug citing low registration numbers.
Last fall, Brown announced the formation of the Three Lakes Triathlon Series, where he and his team had planned to run triathlon events in Osoyoos as well as Sylvan Lake and Cultus Lake in Alberta.
Several weeks ago, Brown decided to cancel the two scheduled races in Alberta, once again citing low registration numbers.
However, he was unwilling to cancel the event in Osoyoos as Brown believes the long success of the Desert Half Ironman proved that this community would support a well-run and well-organized triathlon event.
“After the Desert Half Ironman was cancelled last year, I saw an opportunity to bring another quality event to Osoyoos,” said Brown, a former competitive triathlete who competed in the world-famous Hawaii Ironman event on two occasions in 1987 and 1994. “I want people to know that this event is completely different than the Desert Half Ironman and is more of a fun race to introduce newcomers to the sport of triathlon.
“The idea will be to start small and hopefully grow the event into something big over the next few years.”
The Osoyoos Lake Loop Triathlon will feature distances of a one-kilometre swim, 60- km bike and 10-km run for a single loop and two-km swim, 90-km bike and 20 km run for a double loop.
“While each event is slightly different in its distances, we are not concerning ourselves with exact distances based on traditional triathlons,” said Brown. “We are going to work with what the local terrain offers us.
“The big change for Osoyoos is the race will start at Lions Park on Spartan Drive, with the swim immediately off the beach at Lions Park, followed by the bike, which will go out to Black Sage Road, then back to Lions Park, where the run will start. The finish line will be at Gyro Park after travelling out and back along 86th Avenue. This makes the course completely different from the original course in Osoyoos.”
With the race less than three weeks away, Brown has put out a call asking for dozens of volunteers to come forward.
“We are now looking for local volunteers and to get residents actively involved to become part of the local race organizing committee,” said Brown. “We need 75 local volunteers for the swim, bike and run courses as quickly as possible. Our organizing group will work with the local volunteers to get prepared to welcome the athletes.”
Volunteers are needed for all positions involved in running a quality triathlon, including lifeguards, boaters, kayakers and wet suit strippers for the swim course, aid station volunteers, direction control personnel and course set up and take down, said Brown.
Volunteers will also be needed for registration, food and rejuvenation preparation and timing, he said.
“Members from local non-profit organizations will be paid honorariums for helping organize the event and for having volunteers available for race course support during the event,” he said. “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 and they want to be made to feel welcomed by the community. I think that is very important.
“But Osoyoos has a long history of supporting triathlon events and I’m very confident we’ll get the volunteer support we need because events like this can’t succeed without the dedicated services of volunteers.”
As of late last week, close to 80 athletes had registered to compete in the inaugural Osoyoos Lake Loop Triathlon and Brown is hopeful as many as 120 will register before race day on June 28.
“I would love to get up to 120, but we’ll be happy with 100, which is a decent number for a first-time event,” he said. “The hope is to really grow this thing and hopefully be able to cap the number of racers at 300 as soon as next year.”
The reality is there are numerous triathlon events taking place in B.C. and Alberta virtually every single weekend throughout the summer months and this has made organizing successful events very challenging, said Brown.
“The advantage of Osoyoos is you simply don’t get the amazing beauty and great weather that is almost guaranteed,” he said. “This is a place where competitors want to come to compete and I’m very confident this new race can become a success in a hurry.”
Brown is hoping the Osoyoos Lake Loop Triathlon will be returning to this community for many years to come.
“This is a new event and there will be a growing process, but we need to do things right this year and make competitors want to return,” he said. “Osoyoos is a beautiful place, the venue will be spectacular and now we need to put the right volunteers in place to ensure the event goes off without a hitch.”
Anyone wishing to volunteer can call 250-869-6544 or 250-490-3334 or visit the website at www.osoyooslakelooptri.com/volunteers/
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
