Noosa Superkidz and Tingirana Special Tri create a morning to remember

Hundreds of children and people of all abilities descended on Chaplin Park in Noosaville this morning for the Noosa Superkidz Triathlon and TINGIRANA Noosa Special Tri.

The morning kicked off with the Noosa Superkidz Triathlon, with more than 600 children between 7 and 13 years old swimming, running and riding their way around the Chaplin Park course.

The event was a special one for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games representative and long-time Noosa Triathlon participant Ky Hurst, with his son Koa taking part for the first time.

“For the last eight years I’ve been wanting to make sure that my kid could come here and I could experience this because this weekend is not just about the individual races, it’s about the whole family as well and to be able to share it collectively as a group,” said Hurst. “It’s such a positive energy and we all want to be a part of it, and I can now share that with my kids.

“We’re so blessed to be here in Queensland and to have an event like this, there’s almost 9,000 competitors over the week of Noosa Tri and that’s beautiful to see,” he said. “How wonderful for all the families to be able to come down here and experience this and for the kids what an amazing opportunity, I’m really lucky as a parent that I can put my son in and he can run around and love this atmosphere and mingle with the other kids as well.”

Koa Hurst took part in Superkidz alongside friend Nixon Wallace, son of Olympic gold medallist Ken Wallace, with Ken enjoying being a part of the morning.

“There’s a lot of kids out here ready to race as hard as they can, and there’s a lot running around with big smiles on their faces as well and that’s all we ask for,” said Wallace. “My son Nixon had his first triathlon today and he’s been looking forward to it for a while.

“This is one of the best events that we can come to, watching the kids out there smiling, having a great time, we love handing out the medals, and being in transition getting helmets on, getting singlets on, trying to find lost bikes, it’s one of the funnest parts,” he said. “Every kid here gets a medal today, and on the back of every medal it says ‘champion’ and every one of these kids is a champion for getting out there and taking part.”

Former NRL player Ben Hannant has been a long-time supporter of Superkidz, with five of his children, Ava, Brax, Channing, Ella and Mia, all taking part today.

“It’s all about people coming together and competing and helping each other out, there’s a lot of team events but also a lot of charities being supported as well and not only a lot of people trying hard but also having fun,” said Hannant. “You bring all of that together and that’s where excellence comes from, people helping each other out, people giving their all, and this week is all about finding out who you are, when you’re out there competing or supporting.

“For me and my kids it’s all about soaking in the whole weekend, if you don’t leave here having had a fantastic time and learning something along the way I don’t think you’ve had a go,” he said.

The TINGIRANA Special Tri provided a great opportunity for people of all abilities to get involved in triathlon.

The event was created to allow people with special needs to experience a triathlon in a safe and welcoming environment, with almost 50 taking part on Saturday morning.

Participants completed a 100m swim, 3km ride and 500m run, with all triathletes receiving a TINGIRANA Special Tri medal as they cross the finish line.

Kingsley Ferguson was taking part in his fifth Special Tri, supported out on course by Anita Absolon.

“He was awesome, an absolute legend,” said Absolon. “It’s just amazing that they get to compete and feel like an athlete, it’s unbelievable. It’s a great way to get these guys out into the community and have a chance to do what everyone else does and it’s amazing. Kingsley started five years ago, and it’s great that we got to do it after last year, it’s very important, makes him feel included and like an athlete.”

Noosa Triathlon is supported by the Queensland Government, through Tourism and Events Queensland, and is a feature on the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar.