As a Victoria resident and three-sport enthusiast, Matt Patriquin is ready to make a bold prediction about Triathlon Canada’s upcoming Super Sprint and Relay National Championships.
Staged August 22-23 in Victoria, the course is going to be simply spectacular — on the waterfront, with a vista of mountain ranges.
Hence Patriquin’s expectations.
“I can already visualize it – any of the pictures taken will be put on the home page of Triathlon Canada’s web site, because it’s an absolutely beautiful place,” says Patriquin. “A postcard-worthy backdrop, it’s going to be amazing.”
The new event features more than a stunning setting. The weekend will provide a range of compelling possibilities for everyday athletes, according to Triathlon Canada’s interim CEO Rachel Macatee.
You can watch the country’s finest triathletes rip through the crowd-pleasingly snappy course — 300-metre ocean swim, 9.5-km bike, 3.5-km run. And, while the abbreviated stages of the super sprint give the sport’s best a chance to go full throttle, those distances also serve as an enticing entry point for newcomers to triathlon.
These options, points out Macatee, are not necessarily either-or — you can do both.
Watch elite racers in action and give the sport a whirl.
Registration — for elite triathletes, age-group competitors, first-timers, youngsters — is now open for the increasingly popular format.
“Super sprint has this really high-performance element, but, because it’s so short, it’s very approachable,” says Macatee. “It’s super doable for people who have dabbled in any of those three sports. Because the distances are so short, it’s appealing and accessible.”
Something else worth celebrating? That Victoria — despite being the home base of countless triathletes, despite being the headquarters of Triathlon Canada — is hosting the nationals for the first time in a quarter-century.
“It’s such an absolute mecca,” says Patriquin, who, as a bike mechanic, will be on hand to support the participants. “This is going to really showcase how inviting the triathlon community is in Victoria. For families, it’s one more activity to get involved in. It’s going to be super cool, and I’m really excited about it.”
The weekend’s schedule includes team mixed-relay races, which have become a go-to spectacle at the Olympic Games and the World Triathlon Championship Series. In this race, participants — on two-men-two-women teams — complete the full super sprint course before tagging their next teammate.
For the mixed-relay racing, the top three teams, in each category, will qualify for the 2027 World Triathlon Age Group Championships in Germany.
“The relay is so much fun. We want to pull more people into that environment,” says Macatee. “They can race with their friends and family. It’s engaging and exciting.”
Super sprint heats/finals and team mixed relay events are only part of the itinerary. Triathlon Canada is making sure there is something for everyone.
“We’re trying to create layers of things to do,” says Macatee. “That’s what we’re shooting for — a cool framework that we can build on and turn into a longstanding event.”
In addition to a free 5-km fun run, Kids of Steel (K-OS) — a national program for youth aged 3 to 15 — is offering introductory racing at no cost. Planned, too, is a Para triathlon showcase that will expose community members to Para athletes and their adaptive equipment.
Partnering with Sport for Life, Triathlon Canada is also establishing an initiative for new Canadians, for whom there will be a variety of ways to engage — volunteering, tackling the fun run, trying the triathlon, observing the action.
“By removing barriers to participation, we want our sport, and our events, to be accessible to everyone,” says Macatee. “Sport is such an amazing avenue for people to build their community. It’s something we want to focus on in our long-term hosting strategy.”
Macatee hopes to see Victoria’s festival become a mainstay on the country’s triathlon landscape.
By offering experiences for athletes of all levels, along with a sport expo, Triathlon Canada is aiming to grow the sport, making it more appealing and less intimidating — with a weekend that can be circled on the calendar every year.
“We want this to become a staple,” says Macatee. “We need to start looking at new and different ways to get the community excited. So people know that Victoria’s event is going to happen, that your whole family is welcome, that there are lots of things to do, that it’s going to be a cool way to be active in sport.”
