ANDOVER Triathlon Club members gathered for their annual general meeting and awards ceremony, celebrating another successful year of achievements and camaraderie within the triathlon community.
The evening, at the historic White Hart’s oak-panelled function room in Andover Town Centre on Saturday, January 27, commenced with discussions on various club matters including finances, club kit, training programmes, championship races, and charitable initiatives.
Members engaged in fruitful deliberations before transitioning to the highlight of the event – the much-anticipated award ceremony.
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The club congratulated Vance Worley and Deborah Wilson for clinching the titles of Sprint Champion male and female respectively, while Toby Ledger and Naomi Ledger claimed victory in the Sprint Veteran Champion categories.
Jeremy Burgess emerged victorious as the Sprint Super Vet champion.
In the Olympic category, Simon Kershaw and Gina Graham were crowned male and female champions, with Jeremy Burgess securing another win in the Olympic Super Vet division.
Strava segment winners included Dan Mason, Fiona Minx, Pete Dunnett, and Jane Dyson.
Acknowledging newcomers and the most improved athletes, James Richley, Fiona Teasdale, Graham Shannon, and Karen Carey were recognised for their outstanding progress and contributions to the club's dynamic.
Neville Breach received the coveted title of 'Triathletes' Triathlete', as voted by members, along with the outstanding achievement award for his remarkable Iceland challenge.
Helen Daniels, a former rugby player, was honoured with the Tony Ireland Trophy for her exceptional commitment to the club, notably restructuring training programmes and assuming leadership as the club’s chair.
However, not all awards were for athletic prowess; the humorous wooden spoon award was presented to Nick Grace for taking too many selfies while snapping other people’s blood sweat and tears in the background.
Sarah-Jane Fox a committee member from the club said: “Andover Triathlon Club is a nonprofit making club which is run by its members and has ten qualified coaches. We cater for all abilities and have a diverse mix of members from those training for their first triathlon, to seasoned athletes who have competed in events from sprint distance to Ironman and ultra marathons, we also have some GB athletes amongst us.
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“Some members enjoy other sports such as mountain biking and supercross or simply just choose one discipline from the three. There are plenty of training sessions to pick and choose from every week. We are a very social bunch and enjoy a few arranged social events throughout the year as well as the occasional impromptu beer after cycling. We also get together for charity rides etc.”
Andover Triathlon Club also hosts its own triathlon event which includes children and adult races.
It takes place at Farleigh School on Sunday, July 14.
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