April 17 – 19th was the annual Academy Games held in the great location of Tamworth. This is a weekend where all the NSW Regional Academies come together for their annual competition. Whilst our squad are not members of an official academy, we are able to race in ROSTA, Rest of State Triathlon Academy.
The weekend is not just about the race but also a chance to stay in a camp environment to further work on skills development, life skills, race day preparation, recovery and independence. It was a great weekend travelling together with other ROSTA athletes and the Central Coast Academy (CCAS) and staying in camp with other triathletes across various NSW academies.
Saturday was a solid day with 38 athletes across the state coming race. Each competitor raced 2 heats on the Saturday with Liam making the A final and then focus on recovery for the finals on Sunday morning. Finals results were Liam 3rd Junior male, Olivia 2nd Youth female, Anastasia 3rd Youth female and in the fantasy Mixed Team relay, Liam and Olivia combined with Koby to form the ROSTA team and taking 3rd in the relay.
A great weekend of racing and end to the season for pathways racing. Super pleasing for all our squad represented coming away with medals. We also were able to attend a pathways in sport presentation with 3 Olympians presenting and available for questions. On Sunday Jaz Hedgeland (Australian Olympian – Triathlon) presented the awards and many athletes relished the opportunity to be able to chat and ask her questions about triathlon and racing at the top level, which was a highlight of the weekend for them.
Andrew Tong | Triathlon coaching 