Africa Triathlon

The final technical course for 2011 has also offered a glimpse into the future, with the ITU Technical Officials Level 3 Course in Budapest the second under the new technical education programme.

A total of 17 participants from a wide range of national federations took part in the ITU Technical Officials Level 3 Course in Budapest, Hungary from December 1 to 4. The course was facilitated by senior ITU staff Thanos Nikopoulos (GRE), Enrique Quesada (ESP) and Gergely Markus (HUN).

The two and a half day event was the second course under the new ITU Technical Education Programme, which aims to create a more structured pathway for all ITU TOs. All participants at the Level 3 course had to meet prerequisites, including two years experience as Level 2 officials and as a TD at least four ITU events. The first Level 3 course under the new structure took place earlier this year in Bali.

The programme covered World Championship venue and technical operations, Olympic Games’ policies and procedures, Paratriathlon operations, team relay operations, communication strategies among TOs, athletes and coaches, and sustainability.

Gergely Markus, ITU Sport Director, said that the course would benefit triathlon worldwide.

“Having many of the finest triathlon officials in the same room for three days had a huge value for ITU,” Markus said. “It will positively impact the events international, continental and local levels. The Level 3 course provided with the specific tools and information for these officials to run any level of ITU events in the future. I would like to acknowledge the professional work by Thanos Nikopoulos and Enrique Quesada running the course.”

The participants included Kiriyo Suzuki (JPN), Shanelle Barrett (NZL), Stephanie Kraus (LUX), Alpar Nagy (HUN), Andreas Galanos (GRE), Dr. Bela Varga (HUN), Casper Kriel (RSA), David Hoong (SIN), Dominique Frizza (FRA), Eugene Kraus (LUX), Helmut Menger (GER), Hugh McAtamney (IRL), Jorge Garcia (ESP), Lorand Kalotai (HUN), Paul Groves (GBR), Qin Jianqiu (CHN) and Ramon Marchan (PHI).

This is the last course of the 2011 Technical Education program which included 26 courses - including community level, Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 and national level paratriathlon classifiers - across all the continents. National federations that hosted these courses include those from Solomon Islands, Kazahkstan, Belize, Indonesia, Chile, Mozambique, China, Chinese Taipei, Nicaragura, Serbia, Israel, Spain, USA, Hungary, South Africa, Belgium, Great Britain, Austria, Italy, Canada and New Zealand.

The ITU would like to thank the confederations, the national federations and ITU facilitators for their contribution to the ITU technical education program this year.