Working with Portsmouth City Council Seafront Services, the club identified and purchased the defibrillator and agreed its location, deciding on the Eastney Esplanade toilet and shower block.
Portsmouth Triathletes are a triathlon club that was first founded in 1988 and who swim, bike and run at venues across the city.
The position of this community defibrillator is near to their base for sea swim training but is also a popular running site among locals and the club are keen that this defibrillator is available to the wider community and accessible in case of emergencies.
“It is a public facility which can be accessed in an emergency by any member of the public,” commented Andy Elder, who is treasurer of the club and whose idea it was to purchase a defibrillator.
“The idea was stimulated by seeing various news articles where people had suffered a cardiac arrest and often died, in part, because it took too long for the emergency services to reach them.
“Portsmouth City Council were putting a couple of defibrillators along the seafront and I thought we could contribute one at a location which was not being covered. I agreed its location with the Portsmouth City Council Seafront Services Team who did the installation for us.”
The esplanade is one of the sites that the club use throughout the summer as a base for their sea swim training sessions and is also popular among local runners.
“Our location is adjacent to where Portsmouth Triathletes have a beach hut where we base our sea swimming sessions from,” Elder added.
“It is along the route where numerous people run on the seafront so it seemed like the ideal place. Hopefully it will never be needed but it’s useful to know it’s there in an emergency.
“I worked with PCC [Portsmouth City Council] Seafront Services who purchased the defibrillator on our behalf and arranged its installation. I identified the actual kit we wanted to acquire and as the council were purchasing a couple of other defibrillators we saved some money by using their procurement services.”
The club organise regular open water and pool swimming sessions and cycling sessions for members and newcomers to get involved with, as well as training sessions which focus on the growth and skills development of junior triathletes as part of their junior section.
For more information about the club, please click here - https://www.portsmouthtriathletes.co.uk/training-sessions/.
Clubs like Portsmouth Triathletes are a great way to get more involved with swim, bike, run, and provide opportunities for both juniors and seniors to hone their skills and connect with other triathletes. Find a club near you using the search below.
