Contaminated waterways from recent flooding across Auckland has prompted Sanitarium to postpone the Auckland Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon to March 26 . The decision was made by organisers after the Point England Reserve remained under black alert warning by Safeswim.
Two and a half thousand kids aged 6-15 across Auckland have been training to complete the TRYathlon with the swim leg at the Point England Beach – a beach identified as a black alert waterway after the flooding across Auckland.
“There is still a very high health risk and swimming in waterways under any alert is not advised. We have been advised this alert will stay in place until the middle of next week, with no guarantee that the alert will move through red (high risk) to green (suitable for swimming) in time for next weekend’s event,” Sanitarium announced today.
“We hope the postponement is not a setback for all the kids who’ve been looking forward to the TRYathlon. Many families and schools are playing catch up with the back-to-work and school routine and with many schools now not opening until next week, we do not want to add extra pressure and stress to the Auckland community with what should be a celebration of our Kiwi kids getting active and healthy.
“We understand that there will be a few of our TRYathlon families for whom the new date will not be suitable, but we felt that the event experience would have been compromised if we had attempted to proceed with next Sunday’s event. We wanted to give some early certainty at a time of continued disruption for many.”
Everyone already registered for next Sunday’s event will automatically be transferred to the Sunday 26th March event. There will be an email sent next week that gives refund options to those that are unable to participate on this new date.
Open to all kids aged 6 – 15 years, the TRYathlon caters to all fitness levels, with the focus on participation and giving it a try. TRYathletes are required to swim, bike and run their way around age-appropriate courses.
Every child will receive a gold medal from a Kiwi sporting star when they cross the finish line.
The Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon, now in its 32nd year, is the world’s biggest triathlon series in the world for kids aged under 16, and has events all around the country every year.
“Three of twelve TRYathlon events across eleven regions have gone off without a hitch this season and we look forward to putting on another great event for Auckland in March when it is safe to do so,” says Sanitarium national marketing manager NZ Peter Davis.
Entries remain open and more information can be found at https://tryathlon.co.nz/
