The Ghana Triathlon Federation (GTF) has announced that the Africa Triathlon Union (ATU) West Africa Zonal Triathlon Championship will take place on 19th June 2021 the same day as their race honouring former Australian Ambassador to Ghana Andrew Barnes.
The competition was initially supposed to take place back in March 2021 but had to be rescheduled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, finally finding its home sharing the same day as the Ambassadorial Race.
Speaking to The Press Box, Administrator for the GTF, Eric Sena Adjeyi, revealed the reason behind the federation’s decision to hold both events on the same day.
“We are looking at making triathlon much more attractive in Ghana and what’s better stage can you get than an ATU Championship.”
“So, having the Ambassadorial race and the ATU Championship going head to head in the same day, same venue but just a slight difference in time is actually quite good for us [GTF].” He further stated
But will the GTF be able to handle holding two competitions on the same day? It should be noted that the Ambassadorial Race is honouring a man who dedicated himself to Ghana triathlon while the Zonal Championships serves as a qualifier to the 2021 African Triathlon Championships.
Well, the GTF have it all under control according to Administrator, Eric Sena Adjeyi, who believes the experience will be interesting for the federation to tackle.
“We have the Ambassadorial Race start and then maybe 10 or 15 minutes later we have the West African [Zonal Triathlon] Championships also start. What it means is that organizational-wise we have a way of identifying those partaking in the Ambassadorial Race and those going for the Zonal Championships.”
“There is no stress at all. We are just killing two birds with one stone using the same transition zone for two championships, using the same venue for two championships, using the same timing people for two championships, using the same sponsorship for two different races. So, it will rather be interesting for us.”
The ATU West Africa Zonal Triathlon Championship and the 2021 Ambassadorial Race are both set to take place at the University of Ghana (UG) Swimming Pool on 19th June 2021.
