By JOLENE OGLE
LOCAL triathletes were on hand to launch the 2015 Noosa Triathlon and announce some exciting changes in the popular event’s format.
Ironman Asia-Pacific CEO Geoff Meyer said the exciting changes include moving the swim leg of the multi-sport event from the Noosa Sound canals to Noosa Main Beach, a move that has been welcomed by athletes.
“Noosa Triathlon has always been a benchmark for other events,” he said. “As event managers, we need to always work towards keeping the Tri as the benchmark of our sport. So this year in our planning, we’ve been looking at ways to refresh and evolve the event to stay relevant to our customers and give the best athlete experience possible.”
Mr Meyer said the proposed change to the course had been an innovation the team had worked on for “years on end”.
“It’s not as easy as it sounds. There is a lot of logistics that go into it,” he said. “But what we want to do this year is move the swim course to Noosa Main Beach.”
Mr Meyers said changes to the Noosa Tri swim leg will become more spectator friendly as it moves onto the beach.
“We want to create a theatre,” he said. “It will be something that will be so spectator friendly, which we’ve never had in the past being in the canal, and it’s going to be an athlete experience second to none.”
While the final approval is yet to be received, the move from the canals to the beach would mean Hastings Street will be closed to traffic as triathletes will cross the road to transition between courses.
Sunshine Coast-based triathlete and 2012 Ironman World Champion Pete Jacobs said the change moves the Noosa Tri to “the next level”.
“Ocean swims in triathlons are becoming rare,” he said. “So to take the swim leg and put it on such an iconic beach … is really exciting especially when it’s such a protected beach and such an Australian icon.”
More than 8000 triathletes are expected to flock to Noosa for the main event on Sunday 1 November, with up to 13,000 athletes to take part across the event that runs from Wednesday 28 October.
The first Noosa Triathlon was held in 1983, and is now the world’s second largest Olympic distance triathlon, Australia’s largest triathlon and the largest multi-sport festival of its kind in the southern hemisphere.
