Europe Triathlon

A group of 11 coaches from the Turkish National Federation came together in Istanbul, Turkey last weekend to attend the 2012 Istanbul ITU Level 1 Club Coaches Course.

The Club Coaching Course was held at the Volley Hotel in Istanbul, the official hotel of the Turkish National Volleyball Federation with excellent conditions for training and lectures.

The course, organized by Zeljko Bijuk (CRO), ITU Development Coordinator for Europe and financed by Turkish Triathlon Federation, included theoretical and practical sessions about triathlon, based on the ITU’s Level 1 club & community coaching manual.  This included information on everything from the swim, bike, run and transitions to basic nutrition and coach responsibility.

The participants of the course had a practical opportunity to put into practice their new found knowledge by taking part in a triathlon race on the Sunday in Yalova, just across the Sea of Mamara from Istanbul and on Asian soil, under the supervision of ITU facilitators Grega Zore and Milos Petelin, both from Slovenia, and Bijuk.

During the race, Bijuk and facilitators identified some talented young and junior athletes with great potential to excel in triathlon if exposed to optimal coaching structures in the future.

“The majority of the coaches were national team coaches, some of them still active triathletes, who all share the same enthusiasm to help triathlon reach a higher level in their country. All of them are keen to approach the Level 2 Competitive Coaching Course as soon as possible to learn more,” said Bijuk.

ITU facilitator Milos Petelin said after the course, “In spite of language difficulties, for me it was a challenge to teach to people in Turkey. We are very grateful for their wonderful hospitality and sharing passion for our sport.”

“This whole course was conducted at the highest level thanks to the great knowledge, passion, experience and hard work of the presenters who were patient and stayed longer than planned to pass the knowledge,” said Aytug Akar, coach of the Turkish military triathlon team.

Click here for the full calendar of 2012 ITU Development Courses