Newcastle is the venue for the New
South Wales round of this summer’s Kellogg’s
Nutri-Grain IronMan Series and IronWoman Series.
Newcastle has pulled off another coup in the
surf. Nutri-Grain Series co-promoter and former ironman star Guy Leech have
announced that Newcastle will play host to the inaugural Junior Ironman Classic
for athletes in the under 17 age group on the same weekend as the sport’s elite
take to the surf in the Nutri-Grain IronMan Series and IronWoman Series.
The Junior
Ironman Classic is set to become a major first step along the pathway to the
professional ironman and ironwoman series and will feature on the program at
both Newcastle (January 21/22) and Noosa (February 18/19) this summer.
Leech said
the Junior Ironman Classic and Newcastle
was a great fit. “We have been very keen to provide a stepping stone to the
Nutri-Grain IronMan Series and IronWoman Series for aspiring young athletes for
some time and the Junior Ironman Classic is that pathway,” Leech said. “There
are so many talented young ironmen and ironwomen out there and this event will
give them a chance to pit themselves against the best in their age group around
the same course as the elite in the Nutri-Grain IronMan Series and IronWoman
Series.”
“Newcastle as a region has
a proud surf life saving history and we thought it would be a great place to
kick off this event. We are hoping it will expand into a bigger development
series and be a feature at more venues in the future.”
Member for
Newcastle Tim Owen said it was great to have another top class event in Newcastle. “This is
another major events coup for Newcastle
delivered by the NSW Government. It will be the first of two locations across Australia to
host the Junior Ironman Classic,” Mr Owens said. “On behalf of the NSW
Government, through Destination NSW, I am extremely proud that Newcastle has
been recognised amongst Australia’s most iconic beach locations to stage both
the Junior Classic and the third round of the overall 2011/12 series.”
“Newcastle provides the
perfect backdrop for the event and I’m sure visitors and viewers alike will
enjoy all that it has to offer. Summer in NSW is a wonderful time with
sparkling surf beaches, pleasant weather and warm water temperatures. The event
will also provide another opportunity to showcase Newcastle
as a truly natural highlight of NSW, boosting its significance as a major
tourist attraction on Australia’s
premier surfing and beach coastline.”
Fast Facts
- The
Junior Ironman Classic will have male and female races and be open to members
of surf life saving clubs.
- The
Junior Ironman Classic will be in Newcastle
(round 3 of the Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain -IronMan Series and IronWoman Series) and
Noosa (round 6)
- The Newcastle round will be
the first ever Junior Ironman Classic race
- Open to
U17 male and female competitors
- Ironman /
Ironwoman race with no ski leg (swim/board/run)
- Up to 80
competitors broken into 4 heats of 20 on Saturday
- Top 5
from each heat to final to be run between IronWoman Series race and Kellogg’s
Nutri-Grain IronMan Series race on Sunday
No comments:
Post a Comment