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2018 Arden Park Youth Triathlon Race Summary

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It’s been almost two weeks since our 7th edition of the Arden Park Youth Triathlon, but the excitement feels like it was yesterday. As I think of all of the proud faces crossing that finish line, my heart fills with joy! It also fills with gratitude for all of the people that made this event go off without a hitch.

The Joyce Family - August 19, 2018THANK YOU to all of our wonderful volunteers. Many of you stepped up when the call was put out that we needed help the day of the event. I was fortunate to have three ladies from our community step up when the call was put out early that the event was in danger of not happening because there weren’t enough people to plan. Cassie, Sylvia and Hester, thank you for your willingness to help! This event is simply not possible without the support of our community. Please consider joining in on the planning fun for next year. Plans are already under way. Email me at ardenparktriathlon@gmail.com for details!

I can’t say enough about our amazing sponsors. You all seriously brought the fun this year! Swansons Cleaners, Szymanowski Orthodontics, Chalmers Dental, Little Whale Swim School, Lisa Nielsen Laptalo, DMD – Dentistry for Children, The Salvetti Group – Wealth Advisors, Augustine and Associates, J.K. Groves Real Estate Group, MBK Engineers, Starbucks (Watt & Fair Oaks), Yo-Yo Yogurt, Bel-Air at Eastern and Arden, thank you for your continued support of this event! Our course was made and kept safe again this year by the equipment generously donated from Teichert Construction. The delicious cookies and breakfast bars were donated again by Fat Cat Bakery. And, who doesn’t love the sound of that familiar voice…Steve Buzzard rocked this event, again!

This year we had a few new sponsors, Ross Rushton, Loan Officer with Big Valley Mortgage, The Niello Company, and California Family Fitness (Watt). Thank you for joining the APYT family and helping to make this event so successful! We hope to have you all back next year! Performance Bicycles – Howe Avenue was there again this year to help with any bike repair needs. I got a chance to go over and thank the gentleman that came out to work the event. He’s not from our local store, but still close by. He was in awe of our event. He told me that it reminded him of when he grew up in a small town where families would go out and just be together being active, cheering on their friends and enjoying life. The excitement he showed about our event warmed my heart and gave me a great sense of pride for our community. We all came together to make this awesome event happen for our children.

I can’t wait to see what next year brings…the new faces that will carry this tradition on to a whole new set of kids of all ages doing their first triathlon or the seasoned pros that have done this event since the very beginning. Watching Zach Chambers race his heart out and cross the finish at a full sprint was almost as fun as watching my own 5-year-old son cross that line for the very first time.

PS. If you lost any items the day of the event, please contact me. I have a full bag of lost and found including some pretty nice towels and coffee mugs!

Christina Joyce
Race Director
Arden Park Youth Triathlon
ardenparktriathlon@gmail.com

2017 Arden Park Youth Triathlon Race Summary

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2017 Arden Park Youth Triathlon Finish LineAnother fantastic year of the Arden Park Youth Triathlon is in the books. We had perfect weather, great sportsmanship and lots of fun. Right after the event I had a dad email this photo to me thanking us for creating an environment that fosters sportsmanship between the children in our communities.

Speaking of community, I think one of the most important things we do on this day is bring children together and introduce them to a community that is kind, generous (both financially and with their time), healthy and active. One of the things my 9-year-old noticed was how many people it takes and how many hours we spend to put the event together. We may not think they are watching, listening, or noticing all the effort we put into all we do, but I think they are.

This event takes an incredible amount of people to be safe and successful for our children. Our volunteer coordinator, for example, spends countless hours positioning volunteers so that the jobs are covered while allowing for parents to watch their son or daughter race. Many of our volunteers don’t even have a child racing or are on the swim team! They just show up out of the kindness of their hearts. I’d like to send a huge shout out to all of the high school volunteers that manned the course in so many areas! You are amazing! We couldn’t have done it without you.

I think everyone loved the fun zone this year! Having a safe and fun area to wait for your waves was a great way to pass the time. Thank you to all of the volunteers that worked hard in that area all day!

As we continue to grow and identify the best way to do all of the jobs that go into this day, we welcome your suggestions and feedback. Please feel free to email them to us (ardenparktriathlon@gmail.com)!

We have come to a point with the race that the original team that has put this event on for the last 6 years is ready to hand off to a new team of people who love this community, love this sport, and who enjoy seeing children achieve great things. We are seeking a committee team of both key volunteer positions (such as Bike Course Coordinator, Transition Area Coordinator, etc.) and for members on our base committee. If we do not fill these spots, we may not be able to continue this wonderful event!

If you have any interest in becoming part of our team, please email me at ardenparktriathlon@gmail.com.

Finally, I’d like to close with a heartfelt thank you to the outstanding team of people I’ve gotten to work with all year! Don Fonseca, Ron and Amy Salvatori, Tori Medeiros, Amy Halloran, Casey Martin, and Merry Iseley, you are all an inspiration to the rest of us. We are incredibly lucky that there are people like you in our community to bring us together.

Thank you for all of your hard work!

Christina Joyce
Race Director
Arden Park Youth Triathlon

2016 Arden Park Youth Triathlon Race Summary

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2106-apyt-female-finish-300x400This year’s Arden Park Youth Triathlon was another huge success! It’s always exciting to see the participants who are doing their very first triathlon. The struggle to get everything just right, the parents making sure their child is all set up, the huge smile of pride spread across the faces of both the child and their parents at the finish line! It’s also fun to watch the growth of children who’ve been doing it for years. Watching them get better at transition, strive to do their very best and have the same beautiful smile of accomplishment at the end.

My name is Christina Joyce and I’ll be taking on the job of Race Director for the 2017 Arden Park Youth Triathlon. My son, Preston, has done this event for 3 years and is also on the Arden Park Dolphins swim team. My family and I were impressed by this event the first year we participated and it’s been exciting to see it grow!

This year brought a new bike course that everyone seemed to approve of. It was safer with fewer laps to keep track of and a physical challenge. I don’t think anyone in the community thought La Sierra had as many hills until we decided to have children ride their bikes on it! But, a challenge can be a good thing and helps us grow as athletes. It was also fun to see the number of families who came out of their houses to cheer on the athletes along the course. Bringing the community together is what it’s all about!

We had the addition of the Fun Zone. This was a great distraction for kids waiting for their wave. We are anticipating having that back next year and bringing it a little closer to the action.

On behalf of our entire race committee, I’d like to say thank you! Thank you to the families that participate. Seeing the children accomplish this makes all the hard work completely worth every minute. Thank you to our amazing sponsors! Your support of this community is always above and beyond our expectations. Thank you to the Arden Park Recreation and Park District for helping us secure permits, supplying the venue, and helping with all the behind the scenes event maintenance. And last, but not least, thank you to all of the volunteers! Without you, this event wouldn’t be possible! Whether counting laps in swim, setting up, providing safety on the bike course or helping in transition, each person played an integral part in making the day the success that it was.