A new era is set to dawn this coming Sunday (17th November) for one of the longest running Interclub Competitions in NSW as the five NSW affiliated clubs of the Central West region and their members lock horns once again to battle it out to be crowned Central West Interclub Champion.
The first ever Central West Interclub race was way back in Orange at Lake Canobolas in 1988. Over 20 years later and the competition is still going strong and bringing together clubs and athletes from across the region. This season marks the 21st Edition of the prestigious Central West Interclub Series and will begin in Mudgee at Lawson Park.
For the first time ever, Triathlon NSW will be helping to administer the competition and will provide further support to the incredible volunteers that invest their time and efforts into ensuring the competition continues to thrive. The competition will continue to run the same successful format that it always has, with each participating club hosting a round.
However it is the scoring system and MVP points tally that will be different this season, with a shift over to the points scoring system introduced by Triathlon NSW last season for the five other Interclub Series. To read all about that click here.
It includes an equalisation strategy, which allows clubs with a large membership to compete against clubs with a smaller membership. Clubs can earn a maximum of 25 points at any one event, ensuring that one race doesn’t necessarily result in a club winning a division.
Triathlon NSW spoke with Giselle Denley, committee member from Mudgee Triathlon Club, who was excited about welcoming the other four clubs to their town. They expect Bathurst and Orange to once again be strong, and expect them to come in full force, but only time will tell if one of the other ‘dark horses’ will step up and make themselves be counted.
The Mudgee Triathlon Club, off the back of their hugely successful Mudgee Running Festival, is well placed to give the concept a red hot crack this year, but also have other events on their radar including the Big Husky Triathlon Festival and the Triathlon NSW Club Champs.
And when we asked Giselle what makes Interclub Races so great, she quickly replied ‘It’s just a wonderful opportunity to catch up, see old friends and make some new ones’. And they are confident they can deliver on their promise, to delight all competitors & supporters with beautiful weather and scrumptious post-race pancakes!
The local club are conducting additional skills sessions this week, in the lead up to the event, and it will feature a unique five leg format (run, swim, bike , swim, run). This is designed to break the field up a bit, before hitting the water and minimising drafting out on the course.
The event features:
Little Devils (approx 3-8 years): 15m swim, 1km bike, 500m run
Big Devils (approx 9years+): 50m swim, 3km bike, 1km run
Super Sprint (Enticer) Race: 200m pool swim (start in the shallow end, exit at ladder), 7.5k ride (5 laps of Short/Lawson Street), 2k run
Enduro (Main) Race: 2k run, 250m pool swim (dive into pool from transition end, exit at ladder at shallow end), 18k ride, 250m pool swim, 2k run
To get more info on their event, click here.
All clubs have drunk from the sweet cup of Interclub Success since inception, however it’s the Devils that remains the most successful club. having won 12 of the 22 titles on offer. But they would be pretty thirsty, given they haven’t won since 2015.
Bathurst won their first and only title so far in 2018, but they only had a year to enjoy being on the top of the mountain, when they were knocked off the pedestal in 2019, after the regions powerhouse, the Piranhas returned to the summit.
Who will be standing on top come the final round in March 2020? Only time will tell!
To find your closest Triathlon NSW Club – https://nswtriathlonclubseries.com/clubs/
