Sitting in the car park at Costa del Cymmer the temperature gauge on the car showed 1 degree, add a northerly breeze blowing down the valley which dropped the temperature to a comfortable -2 degrees. Feeling rather smug knowing nobody is mad enough to turn up and will be home at 10:30am for tea and crumpets. I was most disappointed when Ryan Evans turned up followed by a stream of other competitors. This was taking Christmas Spirit too far!!!!! There was a good representation from the junior section, Well Done! There was also a number of guest athletes from Corus who must have felt like a camel crossing the arctic having spent all week warming their feet next to the blast furnace. Well done lads.

At the race briefing many athletes were jumping up and down trying to keep warm which must have looked to the local population as a revival concert for the sex pistols. However race briefing was thankfully brief and proceedings got under way in earnest with Ryan and Jack Newton speeding off into the distance. Clearly feeling the cold more than the rest of us in an attempt to get warm. At the end of the run Jack had dropped out due to injury which allowed Ryan an easy passage to the finish line in first place with James Hockin second unable to bridge the gap on the bike and final run. Adrian Pearce came in a respectable third with the rest of the field strung out behind him. The female race was won by Melanie Stone who has been consistant in her performances throughout the series, followed by Christine Jones (second) who was returning from illness and Carol Vyner third.

There was a brave turn out from some of the juniors with Deri Stewart finishing first with Amy Colburn second and James Colburn third. Also a mention to Jason Short who completed the course having been told a few 'white lies' by his boss as to what exactly he was letting himself in for and to Melanie Colburn who for the first time had participated in such an event. A special thank you to all marshalls who gave their time and effort to make the series a success. For a full list of results please 'click' on the results and Duathlon Series 3.

Celtic Tri Awards Evening 2008 Celtic Tri will be holding their annual awards evening on January 26th at The Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea. The price for a ticket is £17.00 which includes a hot buffet, cabaret and disco. Within that price is a donation to breast cancer which Celtic Tri are supporting this year. Thus an item of pink clothing or an accessory would be appropriate. There are only a limited number of tickets available so you are advised to book early. For further informarion please contact: Rose or Kaz

Sunday 16th December will be the last race in the duathlon series. Registration will be open at the "Refresh" from 9:00am and the race will start at the later time of 10:00am. This has been an excellent series this year with a good turn out of athletes and competitive racing. We are hoping for a good turnout and may everybody bring some Christmas Spirit!

Well done to Melanie Colburn, Ieuan Jones and Joanna Freeman who have just passed their level 1 BTF Coaching Qualification. As the club continues to grow bigger Celtic Tri have invested in more qualified coaches and training sessions. In the new year we also have a number of coaches who have applied for level 2 and level 3 courses. Well done to everyone and a big thank you for all the time and hard work you have put in this year.

2008 Club Membership Just to inform club members you are now invited to renew your memebrship for the 2008 season on the following link.

Celtic Junior Tri Indoor Training

Celtic Juior Tri are now training indoors at Llangatwg Comprehensive School Gym. Training takes place on Wednesday evenings at 7.00pm ready for 7.15pm start till 8.15pm. Training includes turbo sessions, running intevals and conditioning and is open to all senior members. Price is £1.50 for juniors and £2.00 for seniors. You must bring your own bike and turbo. Any further information please contact: Andy Bartlett

Celtic Tri Duathlon Series Race 2

Sunday 11th November saw the second race in Celtic Tri's Duathlon series with over twenty athletes turning up in rather cold conditions. From the collection of athletes it was clear that it would be a two horse race between the young upstart, Jack Newton and the suntanned Hawaiian import Ryan Evans. There was also a good turn out from the Celtic Junior Tri section who part of the adult race. From the start Jack set a good pace and was aiming to put the pressure on and came into tranistion with a slight lead over Ryan. Iestyn Harrett from Celtic Junior Tri who was only doing half the run also put in a good run to come in with the leaders. There was a slight gap before the majority of the racers came in all fighting for third place.

On the bike course it was expected that Ryan would put on the squeeze and be back first into transition. However to everyones surprise Jack put in an excellent bike to come into tranistion first with Ryan not far behind, closely followed by the ever consistent James Hockin. By the end of the second run it was evident that Jack's courageous pace setting was taking its toll and was narrowly pipped at the line by Ryan who passed him in the latter stages to come first with jack finishing second. Again James Hockin put in a good performance finishing in a close third.

A few minutes back saw the bulk of the athletes finish led by guests Stephen Davies (4th) and Adrian Pearce (5th) who both finished strongly and hope to see at the final event on 16th December. Also a special mention to the Celtic Junior Tri athletes (Oliver Taylor, Amy Colburn, Iestyn Harrett) for competing in their first Duathlon event and to James Colburn who seems to be going from strength to strength with an excellent second run.

Well done to everyone who competed and the marshalls who endured the cold weather. Hope to see eveybody at the final race on 16th December (note later start time of 10.00am). For a full list of results please 'click' on the results page for Duathlon series 2.

Welsh Schools Cyclocross Championships

While senior members of Celtic Tri put their feet up having finished their triathlon season and are catching up on a summers worth of taped Eastenders programmes. Celtic Junior Tri members are putting in some quality winter training by competing at the Welsh Schools Cyclocross Championships in Brecon. In a demanding event, Ben and Luc Bartlett in the Year 3 category continued their progression into competitive sport by finishing 5th and 3rd respectively. In the Year 6/7 category Deri Stewart was looking for a podium finish but was too nice at the congested first bend and was carved up by two females athletes which lost him time on the leaders but battled through the field to a well deserved 4th place. Hannah Jones in the Year 8/9 category was competing her first ever cyclocross race and was feeling a little apprehensive. At the start she tucked in behind the leaders and was making good progress but sustained a calf injury on the major climb and was unable to fininsh.

In the College Category a battle was brewing between Jack Newton and Dale Thomas. At the start Dale shot off into the lead and was making life hard for the chasing athletes. However after the first lap the "lactate acid" demon got the better of him and allowed Jack to move into the lead which he managed to hold on to finishing 1st with Dale in 2nd. Well done to those who competed in what is a very demanding sport.

Celtic Tri Apparel

Tesco Vouchers

Celtic Tri are collecting the Tesco Vouchers so could you please collect them and hand them over to Andy Bartlett at swimming on Friday evenings. If you do not swim on Friday evenings could you hand them over to some one who does. We need millions !!!!!!!!!

Celtic Tri Duathlon Series Race 1

An early start did not stop the Celtic Tri hardcore from gathering at the Refresh in Cymmer on a cold and misty Sunday morning. After all the pleasantries out the way it was down to racing. From the off it was clear that Jack Newton, Ryan Evans and Steve Smith were not out for a morning stroll and sped off at a fast pace on the first run leg. By the end of the run Steve Smith led shortly follwed by Ryan Evans and Jack Newton as they all went off down the Afan valley on their mountain bikes. After a short break the second group of runners entered transition led by Dai Richards who was closely followed by James Hockin, Richard Webster, Deri Stewart and the first female Bethan Fowler. The "Lantern Rouge" was also hotly contested with Carol Vyner and Paul Waite being very determined.

At the turnaround on the bike leg Ryan Evans showed his quality biking prowess by edging into the lead over Steve Smith. Jack Newton was finding the steady ascent on forestry road quite tough as a gap had opened up. He would have to put in a monumental effort if he was to stay in contention. Meanwhile Dai Richards made steady progress followed by James Hockin who showed great determination in not letting Dai get away. Bethan Fowler was also going well by dominating the female race. For Deri Stewart the toughness of the course and competing against the adults was clearly taking its toll especiallly when your bike weighs heavier than you and slowly lost a few places. There was still a tough competition for "Lantern Rouge" with neither Paul Waite or Carol Vyner giving in.

Back at transition Ryan Evans entered first after a strong bike leg to start the final run leg in a comfortable lead. However Steve Smith showed what a "racing snake" he is by putting on his "snake skin" trainers and gradually running down Ryan to win the event with Ryan finishing second. Jack Newton had a storming second half to the bike leg to gain time on the leaders however he faded on the final run but managed to hang on the third place. Behind the three finishers James Hocking was like a monkey on Dai Richards' back all morning but could not beat the "ye olde timer". Meanwhile Deri Stewart finally gets back to tranistion having spent most of the bike course in reverse called it a day. In his post race briefing when asked, "What colour does a smurf turn when you grab him tightly around the neck"? He replied, "I don'y know, what was his race number". Clearly an athlete in an hypoxic state.

Bethan Fowler looked strong coming back to transition and run well to win the female race from Melanie Stone who was second. Carol Vyner although down the field battled on like "a terrier looking for a rottweiler to bite" was awarded with third place leaving Paul Waite to bring home the "Lantern Rouge".

Well done to all those athletes and marshalls who turned up for a thoroughly good mornings racing and a special mention to James Colburn and Deri Stewart who raced from the Junior section. Hope to see you all at the next race in November and hopefully some new faces. For a full list of results please go to our results page.

Celtic Junior Tri Presentation Evening

Friday saw the second Celtic Junior Tri Presentation evening with an execellent turn out of junior athletes with many being recoginsed for their achievements throughout the year. There were nine junior athletes who competed in their first triathlon event emphasising the growth of the junior section. Three athletes gained National honours throughout the year and many of the "old timers" made good progress. Many thanks to Welvan for sponsoring the event, the Refresh for allowing us the use of their facilities and all parents who have supported the Junior section throughout the year. Photos from the presentation evening are posted on the Gallery page and well done to Ieuan Jones who must won loads of awards as he is in nearly all the photos. Honours were: Most improved athlete - Aaron Wilkinson Most prominsing athlete - Ben, Luc Bartlett Athlete of the year - Jack Newton

Celtic Tri will be running the Off Road Duathlon Series again this year. Each race will consist of a 5km run, followed by a 20km mountain bike ride and then a further 5km run. Registartion for each event will take place at the 'Refresh Pub' in cymmer and will be open at 8:00 am. Entry fee will be £5.00 to Celtic Tri members and £10.00 to guest entries. Showers will be provided at Cymmer Swimming Pool (price £1.00) and refreshments after the race back at the 'Refresh Pub'. Race dates are:

Sunday 7th October (start 9:00 am)

Sunday 11th November (start 9:00 am)

Sunday 16th December (start 10:00pm)

Prizes will be awarded at the anual dinner which will be sometime in the new year. For further details plaese contact Terry or Rose at rjtjsporta@btinternet.com

This year saw a very competitive club championships with some very close races. This can only confirm the strength in depth and the quality of athletes within out club. The championships are based on each athletes best 5 races results nominated from 7 club championship races.

In the female category, Anne-Marie Hutchinson again confirmed what a good athlete she is by taking maximum points in all her races to gain first place. In second was female veteran Diane Walford and in third place Christine Jones. The male category was fiercely contested with a number of athletes in with a chance of winning. By mid way through the season Nigel Morse was comfortably in the lead, however you could never rule out the Hughes boys who were in hot pursuit and both put in excellent performances in the latter part of the season with Craig winning the club championships narrowly beating brother Grant who was second. There was also good performances from Ryan Evans who was third in his first full year in triathlon.

Well done to all the other competitors who competed this and a full list of results can be seen here>>>.

Sunday morning saw the second running of the Aberavon Beach Aquathlon. With a strong breeze blowing and quite choppy condition it was going to be a challenge for all sixty athletes. First out the water was junior triathlete Rhys Dovey who held onto his lead in the run to finish 1st, closely followed by Daniel Lugsden. In the the female event, local athlete Anne Marie Hutchinson showed her running background by storming through the field to finish first closely followed by Caroline Jones.

For a full list of results click on the following link. Results

Celtic Tri would like to express their thanks to sponsors, marshells and especially the athletes who turned to support our event and hope to see you next year.

There was a good turn out of Celtic Juniors at the Corus Swim, Bike, Run Challenge held at Aberavon Beach on Sunday 8th July. All participants did the club proud and can only mean good things for the future. Well done to all those who participated.

Well done to Iestyn Harrett and Jack Newton who have been selected to race for Wales at the Inter Regional Championships in Glasgow later in the year.

Red Bull energised our club!

Celtic Tri were visited by Red Bull the other week who fully energised our club. With personal bests already scheduled for the session they were a little short of Olympic standard. However like all training sessions there were plenty of Red faces and loads of Bull!

Celtic Tri achieve STAR Accreditation

May 2007 saw Celtic Tri become the first club in Wales to gain Star Mark Accreditation. This means that Celtic Tri meets at least the minimum standard in club management, coaching and competition, sports equity and ethics, and health and safety as outlined by the British Triathlon Federation. We are now seen by triathletes, sports professionals and the community as a quality club. Well done to all those who helped to reach accreditation and special thanks to John Nichols who coordinated its attainment.

Well done to all the junior athletes who braved the cold Wednesday evening at Cwrt Herbert. There was a good turn out, however I would like to see our other junior athletes there in the future. A list of junior races has been posted on the juniors web page. Entry forms will be available at training when they become available.

With regards to the youth races I would advise any youth who is seeking IRC selection to enter the Llanelli Waterside Sprint Triathlon on 20th May 2007 as the first youth male / female will be selected. Also first male /female at RAF St Athan on 1st July. However this race clashes with the Eton Super Sprint which is a European Youth Championship Qualifier.

There will be another IRC selection race but at the moment of writing it is not clear which race it is. Further in formation will be posted as soon as it is available.

Good luck to all the Celtic Triathletes who will be competeing this weekend in Llanelli. Don't forget your WT membership cards!. Also a website is only as good as its race reports.

Happy Racing!

Celtic Junior training will commence on Wednesday 28th March at Cwrt Herbert Playing Fields, 6:00 - 7:00pm. The aim of the session is to identify athletes and to assess fitness levels and sporting aims. All athletes from the ages 10 - 16 are welcome.

On Wedenesday 4th April a parental meeting will be held at 7:00pm (after training) in the Cwrt Herbert Cafe to discuss a number of issues regarding the development of the Celtic Junior section. For further information please contact: Andy Bartlett.

Celtic tri athlete, Joanna Freeman competed in her greatest challenge to date while partcipating in the S4C programme, Cwmnida which is screened sometime in May. The challenge consisted of racing around the Maindy Cycle track against the programme presenter. However, there was a 'catch' in that Joanna had to race on a 1970's speed machine, the Raleigh Shopper fully laden with fruit and veg plus French loaf. While the presenter donned his racing steed. Once the pleasantries were out the way it was down to business. Could Joanna pedal at 200 rpm? Was the Raleigh Shopper going to self-destruct past 5 mph? Could the presenter ride a bike? Who won? You will have to wait and see.

The first Welsh Championship event (and club event) is held on April 1st at Llanelli. April 1st is also the renewal date of your Welsh Triathlon Membership. You are able to renew your membership now at the Welsh Traithlon website (welshtriathlon.com). The importance of this especially if you are competing at the Llanelli event is that no membership on the day will result in you not being eligible to compete for the championships. The advise is that to renew your membership ASAP as it will take some time to come back and to avoid any frustration on the day. Happy racing.

Club membership for the 2007 triathlon season is now due. Membership forms are available on the membership page and sent to theclub secretary, Colin Price.

Bike Maintenance Course

Celtic Tri held its first cycle maintenance course at the Barn in Morriston on Saturday 17th February. There was a excellent turn out with many people finding the course a great help. Athletes felt that they had more confidence in setting up and maintaining their bikes prior to competitions and training. Such was the success that further courses may be scheduled for later in the year. Thanks to everyone who turned up and to those who gladly shared their experiences and knowledge. Further photos can be found on the Gallery page.

We have nearly completed our club Starmark application, but there is one more course that a few club members have to attend. John Nicolls is attending but would like some company. If any club member can or would like to attend please contact John.

Details of course: Volunteer Management.

The next workshop we can do for Starmark is:- 7th March 12-3pm University of Glamorgan.

We have decided to change the format slightly for this years Celtic Tri club championships. They will be based on an overall champion, plus second and third place male and female. The championships will be based on the best 5 results out of 7 nominated races. The scoring system is still to be finalised but will be published and monitored by Jayne Arnold.

The nominated races for 2007 are:

• April 1st Llanelli Duathlon
• May 7th Vale of Neath Sprint Triathlon
• May 20th Llanelli Sprint Triathlon
• June 3rd Bala Middle Distance Triathlon
• July 1st Pembroke Standard Distance Triathlon
• July 15th Tuska Sprint Triathlon
• August 19th Aberavon Beach Aquathlon

The Celtic Tri Annual General Meeting will take place on Saturday 17th February at 17:30 hrs. The location will be The Barn in Morriston which is located near Morriston Hospital. All members are welcome.

Tuesday run sessions:-

At the last committee meeting it was decided not to charge the normal £2 for the coached run sessions on Tuesday evenings until 3rd April 2007. The main reason for this decision was to encourage new members to come along and boost the numbers which have been tailing off over the last several months.

We meet at 6.30pm in the car park at Cwrt Herbert running track and finish around 7.30pm. The main emphasis over the next 2 months will be level 2 interval sessions around Milland Road and hill sessions up Penywern Road. Do come along and join in as these sessions are aimed at all standards and are 'guaranteed' to improve your race performances - be that cross-country, aquathlon, duathlon or triathlon!

Thursday bike sessions:-

We have a great bike session on Thursday evenings at Llangyfelach starting at 5.30pm. Come off the M4 at junction 46 and head towards Felindre, we use the road between the 2 roundabouts which runs parallel to the motorway. The surface is good and the road is reasonably quiet and well lit, although it is still advisable to bring lights for these darker evenings. This is very much a dip-in, dip-out session with some members riding up to 2 hours, but anyone can join in or out between 5.30pm and 7.30pm as it is a fairly small looped circuit. Get off those turbo-trainers, get the winter gear on and develop those bike handling skills. It is open to all standards of riders.

Saturday 20th January 2007 was the chosen night for our 2006 race season awards night. The awards ceremony actually started on Friday evening up at Cymmer pool, with a Lifetime achievement award being presented to our Dai Richards who has, so far in his racing career, achieved a huge amount. His sporting talents are many and varied, he has represented Wales at Cyclo Cross, Marathon Kayak, Triathlon, Mountain Running, Cross country and mountain biking. One of his greatest moments was in August 2000 when he became World Quadrathlon Champion (Veteran) a well deserved award and I am sure his sporting achievements are far from finished. A presentation was also made to Dale as one of our talented youth squad; he has already started to show great sporting promise and is following in his Fathers footsteps by recently being selected for the Welsh cycle cross team and also a Welsh vest in orienteering.

The awards evening on the Saturday night was held in the Dylan Thomas centre, Swansea. This proved to be a good venue with easy access and plenty of parking spaces. 100 members and guests enjoyed the meal and the presentations.

The main category winners for the season were: Celtic Tri Duathlon Male: Brian Palmer Champions Female: Fay Sharpe Celtic Tri Sprint Male: Steve Wilkinson Champions Female: Anne-Marie Hutchison Celtic Tri Standard Male; Huw Arthur Distance Champions Female: N/A Celtic Tri Middle Male; Brian Palmer Distance Champions Female: Jayne Arnold Celtic Tri Aquthlon Male: Dai Richards Champions Female: Anne-Marie Hutchison

Overall “Celtic Tri” Club Champions for 2006 were: Male: Brian Palmer Female: Anne-Marie Hutchison

Celtic Tri also ran its own Off Road Duathlon 3 Race Series, which proved a useful off season training marker.

Award winners of the series were: Series 1 Male: Brian Palmer Female: Christine Jones Series 2 Male: Jack Newton Female: Anne-Marie Hutchison Series 3 Male: Brian Palmer Female: Anne-Marie Hutchison The most improved athlete of the series was Tim O’Leary who was recognised with a special award. Because of a mix up with some Welsh Championship medals during the season we also gave out some belated awards. Jayne Arnold Welsh Standard Championships 3rd Place Female Jack Newton Welsh Youth Sprint Championships 3rd Place Male Joanna Freeman Welsh Youth Sprint Championships 1st Place Female (Joanna was not able to attend)

This year’s winner of that award was Jack Newton.

The last award of the evening was for somebody that works hard in our sport to promote Welsh Triathlon within the British Federation. Congratulations to Dean on his nomination for BT volunteer of the year.

Dean is Chairman of Welsh Triathlon, who does a lot of work behind the scenes. He is also a competing athlete who regularly competes for GB on the World stage. But he would be a far greater athlete if he could stay on his bike, so to help him achieve this Celtic Tri presented him with a special award, his own set of stabilisers.

The one complaint we had was that the evening ended too early, a sign of a good night !!

Look forward to next year, same venue.