Triathlon club planning big reunion
RACING has begun in the 25th anniversary year of Coffs Harbour Triathlon Club.
To mark the milestone a reunion weekend will coincide with a scheduled club event on November 21.
There will be a gathering of current and former members for a barbecue at the yacht club on Saturday, November 20, from 6pm, followed by a race on Sunday morning which also includes a barbecue breakfast.
All former members are invited to attend and are asked to reply to coffsmaley@hotmail.com so that catering is adequate for the expected large turnout.
Returning members may notice a huge increase in competitor numbers – particularly females – and feel as if they've entered a time warp when noticing Tim Kitching's name on result sheets.
After a lengthy sabbatical during which he took up a running scholarship in the United States, Kitching is back in full training and looking as though he was never away.
In the first club race back he obliterated the best time over the current course to finish in a blistering 58 minutes 45 seconds
He notched the fastest bike, the fastest run, and the second fastest swim on the day.
With club member Andrew Rowlings sourcing historical items to illustrate the anniversary, a treasure trove of black and white photographs has been unearthed in The Coffs Coast Advocate archives.
There are plenty of a young Kitching and more than a few of Melissa Bulloch, who's dominated a variety of athletic competitions for so many years the mention of her name has been known to scare off contenders.
But among the images is one taken by staff photographer Trevor Veale of the Woolgoolga Surf Life Saving Club team preparing for a Coffs Triathlon held on March 6, 1997.
Three members of the Moffatt family are featured with the youngest kneeling in the centre of the front row.
Thirteen years later, Emma Moffatt, is world champion in her chosen sport.
The Coffs Harbour Triathlon Club's next event is on this Sunday.
Take a picture . . . and souvenir the results list.
There might be another champion among the names waiting to be discovered.
