Multisport: Big season for Bay

Bay of Plenty will feature strongly again with Triathlon New Zealand announcing dates and venues for the 2013/14 Tri Series.

While Kinloch at Lake Taupo and Mt Maunganui will host Tri Series events, Rotorua will not, instead focussing on the Rotorua Half Ironman in December.

Changes are in store for the thousands of participants who take part in the series each year.

The Tri NZ team will deliver seven events throughout the summer and for the first time will be directly involved in delivering the iconic Craigs Investment Partners Tinman and Port of Tauranga Half, both at Mt Maunganui.

The Craigs Investment Partners Tinman event kicks off the Tri Series season on December 8 at Mount Maunganui before The Port of Tauranga Half celebrates its 25th running, promising a great occasion on January 4, with medals handed out in each age group as the Tri NZ National Long Distance Championships.

Triathlon New Zealand events manager Kate Melville is looking forward to working with Sport Bay of Plenty on the Tinman and Port of Tauranga Half events.

"Craigs Investment Partners Tinman and Port of Tauranga Half are iconic events and ones we are delighted to be involved in. We will look to bring a fresh and innovative approach to these events, without compromising the history and qualities that have made them so successful for so long," she said.

"We are working closely with Sport Bay of Plenty to ensure the ongoing success of both hugely popular events and with the Port of Tauranga Half celebrating 25 years in 2014, there are great plans to mark the occasion."

The Tinman race serves as a perfect start to the season, with the standard course hit out taking athletes on much of the course used at the Port of Tauranga Half, including the iconic run around the base of the Mount.

The event is entering its 25th year (22nd race), emphasising the historic nature of the race.

Popular with elite competitors and age groupers alike, the race also features a strong corporate and teams categories, offering people of all abilities the chance to be involved in an iconic triathlon. The Port of Tauranga Half meanwhile is planning celebrations suitable to mark the 25th running of this historic event and will again see participants competing for Tri NZ Long Distance National Titles, with medals dished out in each five-year age group (20 to 24, 25 to 29 and so on) along with qualification spots at the ITU World Long Distance Championships.

The Tri Series will also visit regular locations in Takapuna, Kinloch (National Sprint Championships), Pegasus (Christchurch), and Wellington before athletes round out the season with the National Standard Age Group Championships in Auckland, as part of the Barfoot & Thompson ITU World Triathlon Series event in early April.

Changes to the calendar see Rotorua and Wanaka left off the programme, with Rotorua set to continue the popular Rotorua Half on December 14 with a new iron distance race option.

Entries for the Tri Series events will go online in August (www.triseries.co.nz) while entries are already open for the Port of Tauranga Half (www.tgahalf.co.nz).