This month has seen students up and down the country head back to the classrooms for the start of the new school year, but, before breaking up for the summer holidays, students from Whinmoor St Paul's C of E Primary School in Leeds got the chance to head out of the classroom for their own unique swim, bike, run experience.
Eight students, along with teacher Kate Wallis, had the opportunity to join schools from across Leeds for a blue carpet experience at AJ Bell 2022 World Triathlon Championship Series Leeds when the city hosted the international event in June.
At the two-day event, hosted by British Triathlon, the British Triathlon Membership Team ran a competition giving away prizes throughout the weekend with Whinmoor St Paul's winning the main prize of a Wahoo KICKR.
Reflecting on the day and the indoor bike trainer prize, Mrs Wallis said: “We set off to enjoy a day of new experiences and the opportunity to enjoy live sporting events again and this time in a well-known place close to our school. During the day we got to enjoy the opportunities to meet the triathletes, being their flag bearers, take part in our own mini triathlon and enjoy the festivities of the day.
“We knew that the day was going to be a full-on day, however, over the past nine years of teaching this has to be the most amazing experience with my pupils I have had. It wasn’t just a fun, action packed day, it was inspiring, motivating and an incredible day and on top of that we also won the Wahoo KICKR.
“At first, we were just excited we had won something, we had absolutely no idea what we had actually won until we looked closer, we knew that this was something that we would make into an extra special piece of equipment in our school. Our Year 5 and Year 6 team have been using the machine as part of their fitness lessons.
“After Covid-19, we noticed that a lot of children’s fitness levels had taken a dip and this machine gave us a new edge, making the children motivated to get on the bike, knowing they had some help from the Wahoo KICKR gave them a thrill of excitement, a new thirst to join in in these sessions. It also gave our staff the opportunity to use this for their own fitness.
“At Whinmoor St Paul’s, we believe that staff mental health is hugely important to ensure that our school community runs as well as it does, and we understand the huge importance of physical activity to support a positive mindset and mental health.
“We know and fondly remember that day as a day that helped us to motivate our children and staff to be more active and enjoy the different sporting experiences they come across.”
