Triathlons boost tourism in southwest

Andre Gordon, Gleaner Writer

TREASURE BEACH, St Elizabeth:

St Elizabeth has quietly become the hub of sports tourism in Jamaica over the years with the distinction of hosting beach football, which in 2010 attracted record crowds, and the annual Jake's Off-Road triathlon.

This year marks the 16th staging of the March 22 event which has attracted several Jamaican and international participants in past years. In fact, the event has been dubbed one of the best five off-road races in the world by Triathlete Magazine.

A press release put out by the organisers outlines the sequence of events for the day. The triathlon kicks off at 7 a.m. with a 500 metres ocean swim at Great Bay, followed by a 25km mountain bike course and 7km country run.

For the second year in a row Jake's Off-Road race organiser, Jim Curl, has teamed up with Iona Wynter, a former Olympic triathlete who represented Jamaica in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, to marshall additional weekend festivities under the banner 'The Treasure Beach Sports Festival'.

This festival will include the Sunset Run on the evening of April 15 and the Jake's Likkle Kidz triathlon, which immediately follows the Off-Road race on April 16. The Likkle Kidz triathlon is open to males and females from 8-14 years old, and the course includes a 100 metres swim, 2.5 miles bike stretch and a 800m run. Cyclists will also have their time to shine on an intensive uphill biking course at the weekend.

There are great prizes to be won in both triathlons, including bicycles, sporting equipment and fabulous weekend vacations.

proceeds to breds

All proceeds will go to Breds, the Treasure Beach foundation, which is a wholly volunteer-based charitable organisation run by members of the community, for the benefit of the community in Treasure Beach.

"Jake's Off-Road is defined by a strong community spirit and friendly atmosphere. From the voices of the cheering spectators, to the sponsors' onsite offerings and close collaboration, to the athletes' shared sense of accomplishment, collectively, they come together to make this one-of-a-kind event so successful," exclaims Jason Henzell, owner of Jake's.

With the Treasure Beach Sports Park which is currently under construction and is scheduled for a May 2011 completion date, St Elizabeth will become the hub of sports tourism in Jamaica, expectations from the owners are very high with a hope to attract international high school and college sports teams for summer training camps.

The cost for Jamaican residents to register for Jake's Off-Road triathlon is $3,000 (individual) or $5,500 (relay). The cost for the Jake's Likkle Kidz triathlon is $500 (individual) and $800 (relay).