Triathlon
On. January 11th 2014 The Saba Triathlon took place after being absent for four years. The triathlon was organised by four medical students, Charlene Pan, Nicole Falls, Michelle Silva, and Michael Dobson, a professor from the medical school, Ramona Dumitrescu, and Koen van Laar.
Koen van Laar, one of the organisers was interviewd about the event.
Koen says he had three main reasons for revitalizing the Saba Triathlon. The first reason being how beautiful the island is. As a racer the participants get to see all the unique and breathtaking aspects of the island. Also, the island's steep terains, rough open waters and slippery narrow trails made it a challenging and unique track for participants. The second reason is that Koen believes there is a need for different sports such as cycling, running and swimming on Saba. In order to bring these sports to life on the island Koen thought that the triathlon would be a great opportunity for the youths to practice these sports. However, there were not many young Saban participants but he hopes to see more young partipants from Saba in next year's triathlon. In order to ensure this happens the organisers want to start a promotion campaign at the beginning of the next school year. The will give youngsters time to train .Their hope for next year is to have a few young Saban teams taking part and also involve the GVP school in St. Eustatius.
Koen says the third reason is a personal one. He has two active triathlete friends in the Netherland who plan to participate in next years triathlon. He hopes that they bring friends in order to make it a more international event.
The biggest challenge during the planning of the triathlon was that none of the organisers mentioned had ever organised a triathlon before. In order for the triathlon to be a success Koen says,"we had to be creative and make sure we didn't forget anything."
The Saba Triathlon received an abundance of support from people involved in the triathlon in
Koen van Laar, one of the organisers was interviewd about the event.
Koen says he had three main reasons for revitalizing the Saba Triathlon. The first reason being how beautiful the island is. As a racer the participants get to see all the unique and breathtaking aspects of the island. Also, the island's steep terains, rough open waters and slippery narrow trails made it a challenging and unique track for participants. The second reason is that Koen believes there is a need for different sports such as cycling, running and swimming on Saba. In order to bring these sports to life on the island Koen thought that the triathlon would be a great opportunity for the youths to practice these sports. However, there were not many young Saban participants but he hopes to see more young partipants from Saba in next year's triathlon. In order to ensure this happens the organisers want to start a promotion campaign at the beginning of the next school year. The will give youngsters time to train .Their hope for next year is to have a few young Saban teams taking part and also involve the GVP school in St. Eustatius.
Koen says the third reason is a personal one. He has two active triathlete friends in the Netherland who plan to participate in next years triathlon. He hopes that they bring friends in order to make it a more international event.
The biggest challenge during the planning of the triathlon was that none of the organisers mentioned had ever organised a triathlon before. In order for the triathlon to be a success Koen says,"we had to be creative and make sure we didn't forget anything."
The Saba Triathlon received an abundance of support from people involved in the triathlon in