Students from Minnekhada Middle School will have the opportunity to dip their feet in the pool and run through rugged trails.
The Splash and Dash 2015 sporting event will be held on Friday, April 10 at the school and Hyde Creek Recreation Centre from 1 p.m. until 2:45 p.m..
Sponsored by Sport Method Consulting, with support from Triathlon British Columbia, the event will give 460 students the opportunity to try an event that they may not be familiar with. The "aquathlon" will consist of a 300 meter swim or an optional shorter swim of 150 meters and students will be allowed to swim, float and use paddle boards to complete the distance, it will then be followed by a three kilometer run through trails adjacent to the school.
Todd Smith, vice-principal of Minnekhada has been a part of two IRONMAN Canada events, which featured swimming, cycling and running a full marathon, he said the school took on the opportunity of the Splash and Dash because it would involve every student.
"It gives them a little bit of interest in the sport of triathlon and it's great for team building for the kids," Smith said.
Some children will be volunteering and helping to organize the course instead of directly participating and medals, snacks and water will be handed out to the athletes said Smith.
Sport Method Consulting was a dream project for Andrew and Adam Godkin and Yue-Ching Cheng, the three grew up in the Tri-Cities and worked as lifequards in Port Coquitlam together. They incorporated Sport Method Consulting and began working in the community by using recreation as a tool to enable youth.
"Triathlon is great for kids because it's relatively low in cost and there's a lot of variety between swimming, biking and running, there's something for everyone." Cheng said.
Sport Method Consulting has a strategy to bring government agencies, schools, and local businesses together to increase community engagement in children and youth.
"The B.C. Sport Participation Program helps us expose the sport to a younger audience and put the sport on the radar to those that normally wouldn't consider participating in a multi-sport event like triathlon." said Allan Prazsky, executive director of Triathlon British Columbia.
To find out more about the event or Sport Method Consulting's community engagement projects visit www.sportmethodconsulting.com
