Below we explain where the Regional Committee sits in the context of British Triathlon and Triathlon England, what the Regional Committee does, who we are and how you too could get involved.
The structure of triathlon in the UK
At the top of the UK triathlon tree is the British Triathlon Federation. It’s members are the Home Nation's Associations of Triathlon England, Triathlon Scotland and Welsh Triathlon.
The British Triathlon Federation is responsible for matters such as the Great Britain Elite, Paratriathlon and Age-Group Teams, British and International events, Anti-Doping and International Representation.
The Home Nations deal with the day to day operations of the sport within their country.
Triathlon England is managed by the Triathlon England Management Board (‘TEMB’).
The TEMB is over seen by the Triathlon England Council – the eyes and ears of the individual members and clubs within the country.
The Triathlon England Council is made up of a representative from each of nine Regional Committees. This is usually the Chair of the regional committee but can be another committee member. Your Regional Committee is the Triathlon England South East Committee (“TESE”) covering the counties of Kent, Surrey and Sussex.
The Regional committee consists of unpaid volunteers and full-time Regional Programme Manager (funded by Triathlon England) that work to encourage and support triathlon clubs and events in the region. The aim of the committee is to make the very most of the limited time and funds available to ensure first-class opportunities for everybody in the region who wishes to participate in the sport.
All TESE Committee Officers are elected by the Triathlon England members who reside in the South East region at an Annual General Meeting held in October each year. All Committee Officers automatically retire from office at the AGM and are eligible for re-election.
The Committee is governed by a Constitution. Within this you can see the full Aims and Objectives of the Committee together with a more detailed definition of the region’s members.
What we actually do
As mentioned above, the aim of the regional committee is to make the very most of the limited time and funds available to ensure first-class opportunities for everybody who wishes to participate in the sport.
The committee receives limited funds from Triathlon England, some of which are specifically earmarked for such things as the Regional Academy. Additional funds are generated by the Regional Manager organsing coach education courses within the region.
These funds, together with the time provided by the volunteer committee members enables the committee to focus on such things as;
A Regional Junior Race Series – combining a number of existing children’s races across the region to deliver a race series, regular results updates, regional winners in the different ages categories and an awards ceremony.
Inter-Regional Championships and other regional races – within the Junior Race Series there are specified races that allow qualification to be part of the regional junior squad that races against the top junior athletes from all the regions in the country at the IRC’s (usually in August in Nottingham). Further information on the IRC’s can be found here. Need link. In addition to the IRC’s a larger squad (c.40 juniors) is picked from the results of the Junior Race series to race against other regions. In 2014, a South East Junior squad of 40 children raced against their counterparts from London, at the Olympic park in Lee Valley.
A Regional Senior (adult) Race Series – combining a number of existing adult races across the region to deliver a race series, regular results updates, regional individual & club winners and an awards ceremony.
Technical Officials – The regional technical coordinator sits on the committee and acts as a liaison between the Technical Officials (Race referees) and the permitted events within the region, to ensure that all registered events have a race official if they want one and that it’s not just one race official having to cover all the events!
Coach Education Courses – monitoring demand and then organising courses throughout the region to match this demand. These courses can, for example, be Level 1 or 2 coach education, Safeguarding and Protecting Children, Ride leaders, Leadership in Running Fitness, or Swim Smooth open water swimming courses.
Workforce Awards – judging the nominations for the regional entries to the annual Triathlon England Workforce Awards and organising an awards ceremony for the winners.
Communicating at a county level – Each county within the region has a ‘County Rep’, whose role is to create links with the clubs and members within their county to ensure that information and communications are disseminated down to the members across the region. The county reps also report to the Committee meetings, any issues that are raised within their county.
Regional Academy – Each Region has a Regional Academy. The aim of the Academy is to select and develop the talented young athletes within the region. The next step for the Academy Athletes is to be selected into the Triathlon England Talent Squad, before ultimately entering the national elite squad under the control of the British Triathlon Federation. The Academy runs trial days throughout the year. For more info on the standards required and an application form, see here.
Want to get involved?
The Triathlon England South East committee depends on the goodwill of volunteers to accomplish all that it does. The Committee would welcome the involvement of any Club and/or TE members in the region at any stage of the year. There are a number of vacant positions, but also many additional opportunities to be involved in the decisions and activities that encourage Triathlon provision and development in the South East.
Who’s who
To find out who's who and how to contact us please visit our Regional Committee and Regional Development Manager pages.
