Wakefield Junior Triathlon club was set up in 2009 when it became independent of the senior Wakefield Triathlon Club with support from lottery funding. The club’s objective from the start was to offer a friendly and welcoming junior triathlon club for children from the ages of 8-16 years old (and subject to agreement we can take children from as young as 6 years old).
The ethos of the club is to introduce children to the sport of triathlon and multi-sports and support them with a welcoming club atmosphere, where teamwork and friendly, consistent, professional training help them be the best they want to be. It doesn’t matter if their goal is to take part in triathlons, duathlons and other multi-sport events for fun, or they are more serious about developing further in the sport.
Our coaches and club committee members are dedicated volunteers, and passionate about bringing out the best in our junior membership. We offer weekly structured coaching sessions for each of the three disciplines: swimming (Tuesdays), cycling (Fridays) and running (Mondays). As well as many of our sessions through the year also including the all important 4th discipline of transition between all three during races. Using a combination of warmups, drills, fun exercises and skills training, we aim to help kids build their confidence and ability in all the disciplines to bring out their personal best.
We have a club-run summer and winter series of races, with awards ceremonies and social event at the end of each series, and we encourage participation in local races with plenty of club support to cheer the participants on.
We consider teamwork, camaraderie and good sportsmanship to be an integral part of being a good triathlete, that’s why we also expect our junior club members to be respectful and well mannered when representing the club at competitions. All our adult coaches and volunteers demonstrate the same respectful behaviour to the children in order to provide good role models for how triathletes should be expected to behave.
Inclusion is something we are keen on encouraging and supporting, and we recognise that sometimes language, culture, disabilities, financial limitations or cultural differences can create challenges to participation. To that end we try to work with any interested families to make accommodations that can make the sport more inclusion-friendly. We already have British Sign Language trained volunteers and we’re always happy to discuss other barriers to participation or provide advice on other inclusive changes. We offer seasonal hire to reduce the financial burden of buying more expensive items like wetsuits or bikes, and we often have second hand kit and sports clothing donated by existing members.
To find out more about us and enquire about membership please email: WJTC Membership Enquiries