Europe Triathlon

After La Nucia last year we were again fortunate to be able to hold our annual President’s conference and Gala as a face to face meeting, a clear sign that things are going back “to normal”. We are very grateful to our hosts the X-Bionic Sphere in Samorin and the Slovak Triathlon Federation for the hospitality and the fantastic organisation of a very successful weekend.

With over 30 National Federations and 100 delegates we had a very busy weekend with people obviously very glad to be able to meet in person once more. Slovak President Jozef Jurasek, representatives from the X-Bionic Sphere and Renato Bertrandi, Europe Triathlon President, welcomed everyone to the conference on Saturday morning. He also welcomed the new presidents: from Israel, Israel Lewinson, from Netherlands, Ellis Van der Weerden, from Montenegro, Vedran Rocenovic, from Croatia, Hrvoje Tisaj and from Ukraine Vidgan Mykhalus. The presence of the Ukranian delegation made the conference special in these times of so much trouble and heartache.

The Conference started with updates from the Board Members on Finance, Development, Innovation & Paratriathlon Support, Races and Media and Marketing. Questions were taken after each presentation and noted to make sure to improve on what was presented. Want to see more, check out the latest video on our YouTube channel.

After a very good lunch at the local canteen, Marisol Casado, World Triathlon President, gave a short speech just before the whole group broke into three round table session. One on “Breaking barriers without crossing borders” led by Martin Breedijk, one on “Media and Marketing” led by Chris Kitchen and Pascal Salamin and the third on “Economic impact of events” led by Herwig Grabner.

Martin said: “Education and raising awareness is the most important in securing a safe environment for all. Almost everybody saw the parents, especially the “pushy” ones, as the biggest challenge concerning the youth and juniors”.

Pascal said: “ The marketing round tables were an important moment of exchange. Each participant had the opportunity to react and give feedback on the objectives presented in the morning. Globally the new strategic approach was warmly welcomed. It highlighted as well the importance of the three selected products. Some federations were focusing more on youth, some others on age groups, some on the juniors…now the task is to meet the expectations, do corrections based on the feedback and communicate it to our community!”

After ending the conference the day was capped with our Annual Gala Ceremony. The delegates were able to enjoy some amazing speeches from our guests Paul Bristow (European Championships Management Director) and Non Stanford (Professional Triathlete), and of course some fantastic food and drink from our hosts the X-Bionic Sphere and the Slovak Triathlon Federation. All our nominees and winners for the various awards were celebrated and some inspiring speeches were made, truly showcasing all the great aspects of our sport.

LIST OF AWARD WINNERS:
➡ Male athlete - Leo Bergere (FRA)
➡ Female athlete - Nina Eim (GER)
➡ Male para athlete - Florian Brungraber (AUT)
➡ Female para athlete - Francesca Tarantello (ITA)
➡ National Federation - SPAIN
➡ Developing National Federation - LATVIA
➡ Technical Official - Kalle Jensen (NOR)
➡ LOC - Munich (GER)
➡ Executive Board award - Non Stanford (GBR)

Renato Bertrandi, Europe Triathlon Presidents, following the weekend said: “I like to think that the Presidents Conference has become, for our Triathlon Europe family, a fixed yearly appointment not to be missed.

The 2023 edition in Samorin has been a confirmation: more than 30 National Federations present and all represented at their top level. I want to use this occasion to thank you all for having been part of this event and I do hope that we have been able to provide you with some value added.

The Slovakia NF did a great job in the set up of this long weekend of meetings and the Gala and I want to thank in particular Jana and Josef who have been the key figures behind it. I came home very motivated by the positive “atmosphere” that I perceived during the working sessions and the Gala: that is the prerequisite, in my opinion, for success. We want to be transparent, we want to be open to accept your ideas, your inputs in order to continue being the leading Continent in our Sport. Eager to meet you, if not before, at the Congress in Madrid”.

Want to see more, check out the latest video on our YouTube channel. With the Presidents Conference and Annual Gala now over for another year the focus now turns to the European Duathlon Championships in Venice-Caorle on the 17th until the 19th of March.