question for Waterford Triathlon folk

kayaksurfbum

Why are so many waterford triathaletes in the carrick club? Whats wrong with waterford tri club?

vegas elvis

Because those tipp colours are more slimming than the waterford ones. Important when squeezing into lycra:)

jonnyfingers

vegas elvis wrote: »

Because those tipp colours are more slimming than the waterford ones. Important when squeezing into lycra:)

This is of course true! But there are other reasons. For a long time there was only the Carrick Triathlon Club in the south east. Then a number of years ago some of the members split to set up the Waterford Triathlon Club.

I myself joined the Carrick club almost 4 years ago, mainly because I contacted both clubs saying I was interested in joining and Carrick were the first club to get back to me. The majority of our members are based in Wateford, we have regular training in Waterford so it's not as if we're a Tipp club. We do have members from Tipperary, Kilkenny and Wexford as well though.

In my experience I find that the major difference between the two clubs is that the Waterford Triathletes are very serious about their sport. They train to a high standard and race very well. The Carrick club seems to be the more easy going club, we like to have lots of fun with the sport, we have good craic at training and aren't afraid of the odd night out! Don't be fooled though, we do have some top class athletes. But at the end of the day everyone is welcome to join no matter what their ability.

Plus we do have the best club gear and website!

Spins

I reckon there's more pure blaas in WTC than CTC all the same.
Two great clubs though.
Have to agree with jonnyfingers on the look of the website but it doesn't seem to be updated that much.
Don't agree on the club gear though, don't like the yellow much.

vegas elvis

Plus we do have the best club gear and website! [/QUOTE]


We just think the retro look is good in a website

In fairness I joined Waterford a few years ago found they couldn't have been any more welcoming and made lots of friends out of it - most of whom I wouldn't describe as athletes

There's a good mix of abilities and ages in the club.

Not everyone in the club is from Waterford either. Shouts of up the deise in races sting the ears of us non blaas. Better than UP TIPP i suppose though

kayaksurfbum

thanks for the replies.

So which one to join then? im in waterford and im not a beginner.

Are the carrick training sessions held in waterford?

Spins

vegas elvis wrote: »

In fairness I joined Waterford a few years ago found they couldn't have been any more welcoming and made lots of friends out of it - most of whom I wouldn't describe as athletes

+1

Having said that, there's plenty of serious dudes in the WTC if that's what you want. There's also loads more who race to complete rather than compete. Plus there's a healthy competitive buzz among club members of similar abilities.

One other thing of note I'd say is that, in my experience anyway, WTC tend to travel more to races, whereas the CTC tend to do the local races. Some of the CTC crew travel but in nowhere near the same numbers as WTC. For example, next weekend, there's more than 20 WTC members travelling to Kenmare to do The Lost Sheep Half Ironman triathlon. These trips away are always well organised with affordable accommodation sorted before you leave. The post race BBQ's are always good craic. This year 11 members travelled to compete/complete Ironman Switzeralnd. I know of 8 members who are already registered to do an Ironman next year, so if that's your goal, there's plenty of people to train with.

I'd recommend joining the Waterford Tri Club but obviously I would as I'm a member. There's plenty of opportunity to meet up when racing season is over. Saturday morning running in Portlaw woods. Sunday morning cycles. Tuesday/Wednesday evening track sessions. Wednesday evening pool swim sessions. Club TT every Thursday evening during summer. Of course the Monday night open water swim in Dunmore East during Summer.

Up the Deise (Sorry Vegas Elvis)

kayaksurfbum

Cool. Thanks for that Spins.

Ill be in Kenmare ill have a chat to one of ye there maybe.

jonnyfingers

To answer a few questions here....yes the Carrick Club hold regular training in Waterford. We're just at the end of the season now so things are winding down a bit. Next month a new training schedule should be done up.

Usually we have running and swimming training at least once a week. Swimming takes place in the Waterford Crystal pool during the winter and moves to the sea when things get warm. Usually we swim with the WTC in Dunmore. There is a long cycle at the weekends, sometimes with the WTC I think (Don't know as I haven't been training much this year). During the winter we have turbo training sessions on the bike, pilates was organised this year also and was great for flexibility and core strength. We also have club events, such as club duathlons and super-sprints (mini-triathlons held a few weekends in a row before the race season starts). During the summer we run a cycling time-trial league. There's also plenty of training organised by the members themselves.

Here's a good idea of what training is like during the year.

As for Carrick members not travelling to races...I'm not so sure about that. We go to lots of races, maybe not in as large a group at Waterford but that could be because there are multiple races on the same weekend. Also we have 10 members representing Carrick at international events this year, some in Ironman and Half-Ironman races. Some even represented Ireland in the European age-group championships.

As for the website not getting updated lately, I'm currently the one in charge of it but I haven't had much time to do it! Also I'm slowing winding down my triathlon involvement to do other sports so I'm not always aware of the goings on in the club to update the website effectively. Hopefully my admin duties will be passed on shortly!

As for which club to join I think you could take your pick really. Both clubs are great, have very active members and have training in Waterford. Anyone interested in joining are more than welcome to come to some of our training sessions to sample them out if they'd like. For anyone really adventurous we're holding a club duathlon at the end of this month. It's for members only but I'm sure we could include anyone who has a serious interest in joining the club. Just let me know.

And lastly, contrary to some beliefs, both the Carrick and Waterford clubs get on well together and at most there is a friendly rivalry between us! Still, Carrick is better!

P.S. As and added bonus for Carrick we're sponsored by Cyprus Tourism and we might be heading back to Cyprus next year for a cycling training holiday. I went a few years ago and it was fantastic, although I might have drank more than I cycled!

Also here's a few links for anyone interested.

Club Website

Club Facebook

Spins

Hey jonnyfingers,
Based on those posts you and I should be club PRO's I reckon.
By the way I wasn't dissin' CTC, just big uppin' WTC

kayaksurfbum

Have i started a club v club row? Tri suits at dawn!

Thats cool if ye do some of the training together.

do ye have coaches? swim in particular.

vegas elvis

kayaksurfbum wrote: »

Have i started a club v club row? Tri suits at dawn!

Thats cool if ye do some of the training together.

do ye have coaches? swim in particular.

This could turn ugly - we shave our legs better than them!! Nah its all friendly

One of our members in WTC is a swim coache, we do a session on a wednesday evenings with him when the evenings are dark. The plan is to combine it with pilates (at the request of the girlie Ironmen) when it starts back this year.

Some of us do intervals sessions at the track with WAC or in the park nothing coached though.

We don't have a formal cycle coache either. We do a bike maintainance course every year, with the year I've had I'll be taking a refresher couser this winter! We do have a few very good cyclists in the club as well who are very helpfull and are more than happy to point out anything your doing wrong.

Give us a shout after Kenmare if your around. We'll all be finished under 4:45 and will be comparing six packs and slugging recovery drinks at the finish line

Also keep an eye on or put a post on our club forum if your interested in training times, or informal meet-ups etc:

http://waterford-triathlon.forumotion.com/index.htm#

vegas elvis

Spins wrote: »

Based on those posts you and I should be club PRO's I reckon

Consider that motion put down at the AGM Spins:D

Spins

Doh!

jonnyfingers

kayaksurfbum wrote: »

Have i started a club v club row? Tri suits at dawn!

Thats cool if ye do some of the training together.

do ye have coaches? swim in particular.

We have qualified swimming coaches and the famous James Sullivan for a run coach!

Our swimming training is quite popular and a lot of members join for the swimming alone. We have the full Waterford Crystal pool hired out once a week from November to April and use 5 lanes. One coach takes the first 2 lanes and deals with beginners to swimming. Lanes 3-5 are for the intermediate to advanced swimmers and train with another coach accordingly. The cost is usually 70 euro for 8 sessions I think. 50 euro for anyone on shift work

Our running training usually consists of speed work and hill work. The coach will also work on technique with those that need it. Every month or so we do a timed tempo run to see if we've improved. The venue changes constantly to keep things fresh, whether it be the park, the beach, some random hill in the country side.....:D. The cost is 3 euro per session I think.

As with the Waterford Club we have no formal cycling coach. However we do hold regular workshops with knowledgeable cyclists. Last year we had 10 weekends worth of training with former professional Ciaran Power.

Spins wrote: »

Hey jonnyfingers,
Based on those posts you and I should be club PRO's I reckon.

I was the PRO for two years! Still have some responsibility for the website and I handle the entries for our triathlon. But I'm hoping to get rid of all responsibility soon!

oilcanharry

Both of the club members who have posted info on their respective clubs have given some very detailed info and have broken it down very well for someone thinking about joining a club locally.

I, like the original poster want to join a club in Waterford but don't know which one to go for. I know a few of the members in each club and all seem approachable enough and friendly. I think it is all down to whichever clubs training schedules etc fit best into your life.

After reading all of the above posts my mind is still as clear as mud on which club to join.