Saturday (17 September) welcomed the first Triathlon England Skills School day to Torbay Leisure Centre and Velopark in Paignton, Devon; offering young athletes an introduction to duathlon.

Youngsters from across the South West gathered together to take part in a duathlon skills training day; including a mix of affiliated club members and athletes from other sports who wanted to give multisport a try.

The day kicked off with all athletes concentrating on their agility skills with a ‘Treasure Island’ game, seeing children perform different skills along various pathways and racing back to their group with their ‘treasure’. They were then given the chance to extend their skills by creating their own pathways.

After a brief rest, focus turned to cornering skills on the Velopark, later practicing in a competitive cycling team pursuit race. Dead turns and other technically challenging skills, including transition, followed before the day’s finale had athletes preparing for a duathlon brick session and planning a strategy for executing the task quickest.

The afternoon was led by Juliet Paterson (South West Skills School Lead) and delivered by Julie Bowditch (Plymouth Triathlon Club), Justin Robbins (Swindon Triathlon Club) and Pete Wilby (Exeter Triathlon Club), who dedicated their time to help create a positive learning environment.

Skills School is the first Coach Development Programme from British Triathlon specifically aimed at coaches working with children. Using the aims of Skills School the coaches delivered fun, creative and challenging sessions for the young athletes, aged 10-16 years.

Triathlon England would like to thank all of the athletes who attended and we look forward to seeing you all again. We would also like to thank the coaching team who made the day a successful one with their contributions.